Embridge

Task lists for humans and machines

A markdown format that AI agents can parse reliably and you can edit by hand. No app required. No vendor lock-in. Just a text file you own.

Get Started View on GitHub (coming soon...)

The problem with task formats

Strict formats (JSON, YAML)

Machines parse perfectly
One typo breaks everything

Embridge

Free-form text (notes, prose)

Easy to write and read
Machines have to guess

Embridge is markdown with just enough structure. Flexible for humans, predictable for code.

Who it's for

Developers

Track project tasks in plain text, version them with git, edit in your favorite editor.

AI tool builders

Give your agents a reliable format to read and write tasks without complex parsing.

Teams

Share task lists that anyone can edit without special software or accounts.

Simple by design

# Shopping
- Apples
- Bread
- Coffee

This is valid Embridge. Start with what you know.

# To-do
- [ ] Fix login bug
prio: high, due: 2025-02-01, assignee: sam

- [ ] Update API docs
tags: "docs, backend"

- [x] Deploy staging build
status: done

# Backlog
- Research caching options
"Look into Redis vs Memcached for session storage"

Add metadata when you need it. Descriptions in quotes. Everything else is optional.

Markdown you know. Standard lists, checkboxes, headings. Nothing new to learn.
Metadata on the next line. Key-value pairs like prio: high or due: 2025-02-01.
Everything optional. A task can be one line. Add structure as you need it.
Plain text. Works in any editor, any OS, any git host.

Perfect for

~ Project backlogs

> AI agent handoffs

# Personal task files

@ Team checklists

* Meeting action items

! Bug trackers

One file, many tools

todo.md

Your single source of truth

AI AI Agents Read, update, create tasks

</> Your Editor VS Code, Vim, Obsidian

App Apps Boards, calendars, sync

Your tasks stay in a file you control. Tools come and go. Your data remains.

Design principles

Flexible, not fragile

Write prio: high or prio: 1 or prio: urgent. All valid. Parsers adapt to you.

The file is truth

Apps can add UI, but the markdown file owns the data. Delete an app, keep your tasks.

Forward compatible

Add custom fields anytime. Old parsers ignore what they don't know. Nothing breaks.

Zero dependencies

No runtime, no database, no account. A text file and a parser. That's the whole stack.

Get started

1

Create a file

Open any text editor. Save a new file as todo.md.

2

Write tasks

Use markdown lists. Add - [ ] for checkboxes. Add metadata on the next line if you want.

3

Use it anywhere

Commit to git, sync with Dropbox, or just keep it local. It's your file.

Full specification (coming soon...)