Gertrude Task Tracker

Gertrude is a desktop app for managing tasks, optimized for use via a Command Line Interface (CLI). If you can type fast, Gertrude can help you manage your tasks efficiently. It's named to be reminiscent of a grandmotherly figure, Gertrude. Given below are instructions on how to use it.

Quick Start

1. Ensure you have Java 17 or above installed on your computer.
2. Download the latest .jar file from the releases section.
3. Copy the file to the folder you want to use as the home folder for Gertrude.
4. Open a command terminal, navigate to the folder containing the .jar file, and run the following command:

   java -jar gertrude.jar
   

5. A CLI interface will appear, and you can start managing your tasks.

Features

Viewing Help: help

Shows a message explaining how to access the help page.

Format:

help

Adding a Task: add

Adds a task to your task list. Tasks can be simple todos, deadlines, or events.

Formats:

• Add a todo:

  add:<description>
  

  Example: add:Buy groceries

• Add a deadline:

  add:<description> /by <deadline>
  

  Example: add:Submit report /by 2023-12-01

• Add an event:

  add:<description> /start <start time> /end <end time>
  

  Example: add:Team meeting /start 2023-12-01 10:00 /end 2023-12-01 11:00

Listing All Tasks: list

Shows a list of all tasks in your task list.

Format:

list

Marking a Task as Completed: mark

Marks a task as completed.

Format:

mark:<task id>

Example: mark:2

Unmarking a Task: unmark

Marks a task as not completed.

Format:

unmark:<task id>

Example: unmark:2

Removing a Task: remove

Removes a task from your task list.

Format:

remove:<task id>

Example: remove:3

Finding Tasks: find

Finds tasks containing a specific keyword.

Format:

find:<keyword>

Example: find:groceries

Exiting the Program: bye

Exits the program.

Format:

bye

Saving the Data

Gertrude automatically saves your tasks to a file (data/gertrude.txt) after every command that modifies the task list. There is no need to save manually.

Editing the Data File

The data file is stored in plain text format and can be edited manually. However, ensure the format remains valid to avoid errors when loading the data.

FAQ

Q: How do I transfer my data to another computer? A: Copy the data/gertrude.txt file to the same location on the new computer where the Gertrude .jar file is located.

Command Summary

Action	Format, Examples
Add	add:<description>
	add:<description> /by <deadline>
	add:<description> /start <start time> /end <end time>
List	list
Mark	mark:<task id>
Unmark	unmark:<task id>
Remove	remove:<task id>
Find	find:<keyword>
Help	help
Exit	bye

Setting up in VSCode

I can't actually get Gradle for VSCode to work, so...
Prerequisites: JDK 17.

Specific versions for MacOS:

>> ip % java --version 
openjdk 17.0.14 2025-01-21 LTS
OpenJDK Runtime Environment Zulu17.56+15-CA (build 17.0.14+7-LTS)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM Zulu17.56+15-CA (build 17.0.14+7-LTS, mixed mode, sharing)

1. Run ./gradlew run for the GUI project.
2. Alternatively, navigate to src/main/java/gertrude/gertrude.java and click the Run button in VSCode to launch the CLI version
3. To get VSCode to recognise the Java project, you might have to explicitly set the path to java in .vscode/settings.json.

Warning: Keep the src/main/java folder as the root folder for Java files (i.e., don't rename those folders or move Java files to another folder outside of this folder path), as this is the default location some tools (e.g., Gradle) expect to find Java files.

Useful CLI commands

Action	Command
Run a basic test	./text-ui-test/runtest.sh
Run check for style	./gradlew checkstyleMain checkstyleTest
Build the project	./gradlew build
Run the project	./gradlew run
Generate a .jar file	./gradlew shadowJar
Run a .jar file	java -jar ./build/libs/gertrude.jar