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Intent-Engine Quick Start Guide

中文 | English

5 minutes to experience Intent-Engine's core features.

Prerequisites

Step 1: Installation (1 minute)

# Method 1: Using Cargo (Recommended)
cargo install intent-engine

# Method 2: Using Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
brew install wayfind/tap/intent-engine

# Method 3: Using npm
npm install -g @origintask/intent-engine

# Verify installation
ie --version

Step 2: Create Your First Task (1 minute)

# Create a task with description (spec)
echo '{"tasks":[{
  "name": "Implement user authentication",
  "status": "doing",
  "spec": "## Goal\nUsers can authenticate via JWT tokens\n\n## Approach\n- Use HS256 algorithm\n- Token validity: 7 days\n- Support refresh tokens"
}]}' | ie plan

# Output:
# ✓ Plan executed successfully
# Created: 1 tasks
# Task ID mapping:
#   Implement user authentication → #1

What happened?

  • Intent-Engine auto-initialized in the current directory
  • Created .intent-engine/project.db (SQLite database)
  • Task saved with full specification
  • Task set as current focus (status: doing)

Note: Tasks with status: doing require a spec (description). This ensures you know the goal before starting work.

Step 3: Check Current Status (30 seconds)

ie status

# Output shows:
# - Current focused task
# - Task specification
# - Parent/child relationships (if any)
# - Event history

This is the "amnesia recovery" command - run it at the start of every session.

Step 4: Break Down Into Subtasks (1 minute)

# Add subtasks to the current task
echo '{"tasks":[
  {"name": "Design JWT token schema", "status": "todo"},
  {"name": "Implement token validation", "status": "todo"},
  {"name": "Add refresh mechanism", "status": "todo"}
]}' | ie plan

# Subtasks are automatically added under the focused parent

What happened?

  • 3 subtasks created under the parent task (#1)
  • Auto-parenting: new tasks become children of the focused task
  • Use "parent_id": null to create independent root tasks

Step 5: Record a Decision (30 seconds)

# Record why you made a choice
ie log decision "Chose HS256 over RS256 - single app, no need for asymmetric keys"

# Output:
# ✓ Event recorded
#   Type: decision
#   Task: #1

Decision logs are messages to future AI (including your amnesiac future self).

Other event types: blocker, milestone, note

Step 6: Complete a Subtask (30 seconds)

# Start working on a subtask
echo '{"tasks":[{"name": "Design JWT token schema", "status": "doing", "spec": "Define token structure and claims"}]}' | ie plan

# ... do the work ...

# Mark it complete
echo '{"tasks":[{"name": "Design JWT token schema", "status": "done"}]}' | ie plan

Key rule: Parent tasks cannot be marked done until all children are complete.

Step 7: Search Your History (30 seconds)

# Find unfinished tasks
ie search "todo doing"

# Search by content
ie search "JWT authentication"

# Find recent decisions
ie search "decision"

Congratulations!

You've learned Intent-Engine's core workflow:

  1. ie status - Restore context (always first)
  2. ie plan - Create, update, complete tasks (JSON stdin)
  3. ie log - Record decisions and events
  4. ie search - Find tasks and history

Command Summary

Command Purpose Example
ie status View current context ie status or ie status 42
ie plan Task operations echo '{"tasks":[...]}' | ie plan
ie log <type> <msg> Record events ie log decision "chose X"
ie search <query> Search ie search "todo doing"

Next Steps

Advanced Features

  1. Hierarchical Tasks: Use children in JSON for nested structures
  2. Priority: Add "priority": "high" (critical/high/medium/low)
  3. Dashboard: Run ie dashboard start for visual UI at localhost:11391

Documentation

FAQ

Q: What's the difference from todo apps?

A: Intent-Engine tracks strategic intent (What + Why), not just tasks. Each task has specifications, decision history, and hierarchy - it's AI's external long-term memory.

Q: Where is data stored?

A: .intent-engine/project.db (SQLite) in the directory where you first ran a command.

Q: Why must doing tasks have a spec?

A: You should know the goal and approach before starting work. This prevents "working on something" without clarity.

Start using Intent-Engine - give your AI the memory it deserves!