Power User Guide

Power User Workflow & Tips ⚡

Take your HalpTask productivity to the highest level! This guide details advanced Vim shortcuts, subtree hoisting hacks, dynamic tag mechanics, configuration fine-tuning, and terminal shell integration.

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⌨️ 1. Vim Motion Combos & Lightning Navigation

HalpTask is built around authentic Vim navigation and manipulation concepts.

 Navigation          Subtree Editing            Folding & Focus
 ──────────          ───────────────            ───────────────
 j / k : Down/Up     oo : New below             zc / zo : Close/Open fold
 h / l : Parent/Child oc : New child (subtask)  za      : Toggle fold
 gg    : Jump Top    dd : Delete subtree        zM / zR : Close/Open all
 G     : Jump Bottom J/K: Move down/up          ff      : Hoist / Zoom view

Motion Combos to Master:

• oo vs oc: oo creates a sibling bullet directly below; oc creates a child subtask underneath current selection.
• i / a / e: Enter insert mode at the current node text.
• c: Clear the node text entirely and instantly enter insert mode.
• J / K: Shift items up or down among their siblings without losing subtree structure.
• Tab / Shift+Tab: Demote (indent) or promote (unindent) items across hierarchical levels.
• u / Ctrl+r: Full undo/redo stack for all structural changes, node deletions, and status toggles.

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🚀 2. Speed Hacks: Single t vs Leader Keys

HalpTask features two distinct ways to interact with tasks:

Lightning 1-Key Task Toggle (t)

In Normal mode, pressing single t performs an instant status cycle:

1. • (Bullet) ➔ [ ] (Todo)
2. [ ] (Todo) ➔ [~] (In Progress)
3. [~] (In Progress) ➔ [x] (Done)
4. [x] (Done) ➔ • (Bullet)

Tip

Power Tip: Tap t rapidly while moving with j/k to update task statuses across your list without opening any menus!

Explicit Leader Shortcuts (<space> t ...)

When you need direct, non-cycling status assignment:

• <space> t d: Mark Done ([x]) instantly.
• <space> t p: Mark In Progress ([~]) instantly.
• <space> t s: Mark Todo ([ ]) instantly.
• <space> t a: Open Tag Manager (🏷️).
• <space> t D: Toggle Default Creation Type (bullet <-> task).

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🔍 3. Subtree Hoisting / Zooming (ff)

When working inside deep task trees with hundreds of items, extraneous sections can cause visual distraction.

• Press ff on any parent node to Hoist / Zoom into that node.
• The screen zooms in, making the focused node the temporary root of your viewport!
• Press ff again to un-hoist and return to full document view.

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🧹 4. Task Cleanup: Hide & Purge Completed Tasks

Keep your workplace tidy with completed task management shortcuts:

• fc (Toggle Completed Filter): Hides or shows all [x] completed tasks from your view without deleting them. Perfect for focusing strictly on active work!
• da (Delete All Completed): Permanently purges all [x] completed tasks from the current document.

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🏷️ 5. Dynamic Tag Inheritance Secrets

HalpTask features a sophisticated tag hierarchy system:

1. Direct Tags: Created with T or <space> t a and stored in plain text as #tagname.
2. Inherited Tags: Dynamically derived from ancestor nodes. Subtasks automatically display [↖🔥 urgent].
3. Subtask Reparenting Behavior:
   • When you press Tab to demote a task under a tagged parent, it instantly inherits the parent's tags.
   • When you press Shift+Tab to promote a subtask out of a tagged parent, the inherited parent tags are automatically removed, preserving only direct tags.

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🖥️ 6. Terminal Shell Integration & Workflows

Multi-File Project Vaults

HalpTask supports opening project-specific files directly:

# Work-specific tasks
halptask -f ~/work/sprint_tasks.txt

# Personal goals vault
halptask -f ~/personal/goals.txt

Useful Shell Aliases (~/.zshrc / ~/.bashrc)

# Quick aliases
alias ht="halptask"
alias htp="halptask -f ~/projects/main.txt"
alias htv="halptask --encrypt -f ~/.config/halptask/vault.txt"

Tmux Split Window Workflow

Keep HalpTask permanently open alongside your code editor inside Tmux:

# In Tmux session:
tmux split-window -h -p 35 "halptask -f .tasks.txt"

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⚙️ 7. Configuration Dashboard & Editor Harmony

HalpTask provides two seamless ways to tune settings:

Interactive Config Dashboard (<space> c c)

1. Press <space> c c to launch the interactive modal.
2. Navigate settings with j/k or ↑/↓.
3. Press Space or Enter to toggle booleans (e.g. auto_save, show_which_key).
4. Press t to cycle visual color themes (default, tokyonight, catppuccin, dracula, nord).
5. Settings persist instantly to disk!

External Editor Harmony (<space> c e)

Press <space> c e to launch your system $EDITOR (Neovim, Vim, Nano) directly on ~/.config/halptask/config.yaml. When you save and exit your editor, HalpTask automatically reloads the updated configuration without restarting!