[x]it! – A plain-text file format for todos and check lists

[x]it! is a plain-text file format
for todos and check lists.

File: demo.xit


                [ ]Do this.
                [ ]Do that.
                [ ]Do more.

                
                [x]This is done.
                [x]And that one.
                [x]But what for?

                Status
                [ ]Open.
                [@]Ongoing.
                [x]Checked.
                [~]Obsolete.
                [?]In Question.

                Items
                [ ]Items can be grouped.
                [ ]Groups can have titles.

                
                [x]
Group titles are optional, though.
                [ ]Long descriptions can be continued on the next line.

                    And so on.

                    And so forth.

                    (You get the idea.)
                [ ]
Indentation is 4 spaces, by the way.

                Priority
                [ ]! This one is important.
                [ ]!! And this is more important.
                [ ]!!!!!!! Boy, that escalated quickly.
                [ ]....!!! You can pad with dots on either side, for visual alignment.
                [~]....... (Should that fancy you.)

                Tagging
                [ ]Items can be #tagged.
                [ ]#Multiple #times, #actually.
                [ ]Tags are case-insensitive, so #this is the same as #THIS.
                [ ]Tags can also #have=values.
                [ ]The value #can="be quoted" if it contains spaces #or='punc:tu!a/tion'.
                [ ]Example use-cases for tags are: #work, #buy, #where=home, #project="192/c", or #created=.

                Due Dates
                
                [ ]Do this soon -> 
                [ ]->  This one afterwards.
                [ ]Things in real life are fuzzy
sometimes: -> 
                [~]This notation ^^^^^^^ is equivalent to writing -> , which is the last day of that period.
                [ ]->  It works with weeks too.
                [ ]->  Or quarters.
                [ ]->  Or years.
                [x](To keep things casual, you know.)
                [ ]And just in case you prefer slashes:
                there ->  you go.

(See here for a complete guide of the syntax.)

Get Started

All it takes to use [x]it! is a plain text file and the text editor of your choice. The file extension is .xit. Some examples:

todo.xit for your personal tasks.
loans.xit to keep track of things that people borrowed from you.
movies.xit as a backlog of films you want to watch.
packing.xit with things you really shouldn’t forget on your next camping trip.

Tooling

You don’t have to use a specific tool for .xit files, the basic operations like creating items or checking them off can be done in every text editor.

But tooling support makes working with [x]it! more fun, powerful and convenient. The ones below were created and shared by other users. (They are independent projects.)

Editor Support

xit! (Sublime Text)
xit! (VSCode)
xit! extended (VSCode)
xit.nanorc (GNU nano)
vim-xit (Vim)
vim-xit (Vim)
xit.nvim (Neovim)
xit-mode (Emacs)
Helix
ecode

Apps

tuido (Interactive CLI Tool)
xit2md (CLI converter)

Libraries / SDKs

tree-sitter-xit (Tree Sitter Grammar)
xit-parse (JavaScript Parser)
stage-left (Python Parser)

Feel free to develop your own editor plugin, app, library, helper program, or whatever else. If you like to share it with others, you can show it here.

Specification

You find the [x]it! file format specification on Github. It’s public domain (CC0/OWFa).

For thoughts, feedback, or questions, please open a discussion.