feat: add --compact flag for minimal task list output (#1054)

* feat: add --compact flag for minimal task list output

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: Ralph Khreish <35776126+Crunchyman-ralph@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: github-actions[bot] <github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

scripts/modules/commands.js

@@ -1753,6 +1753,7 @@ function registerCommands(programInstance) {
 		)
 		.option('-s, --status <status>', 'Filter by status')
 		.option('--with-subtasks', 'Show subtasks for each task')
+		.option('-c, --compact', 'Display tasks in compact one-line format')
 		.option('--tag <tag>', 'Specify tag context for task operations')
 		.action(async (options) => {
 			// Initialize TaskMaster
@@ -1770,18 +1771,21 @@ function registerCommands(programInstance) {
 
 			const statusFilter = options.status;
 			const withSubtasks = options.withSubtasks || false;
+			const compact = options.compact || false;
 			const tag = taskMaster.getCurrentTag();
 			// Show current tag context
 			displayCurrentTagIndicator(tag);
 
-			console.log(
-				chalk.blue(`Listing tasks from: ${taskMaster.getTasksPath()}`)
-			);
-			if (statusFilter) {
-				console.log(chalk.blue(`Filtering by status: ${statusFilter}`));
-			}
-			if (withSubtasks) {
-				console.log(chalk.blue('Including subtasks in listing'));
+			if (!compact) {
+				console.log(
+					chalk.blue(`Listing tasks from: ${taskMaster.getTasksPath()}`)
+				);
+				if (statusFilter) {
+					console.log(chalk.blue(`Filtering by status: ${statusFilter}`));
+				}
+				if (withSubtasks) {
+					console.log(chalk.blue('Including subtasks in listing'));
+				}
 			}
 
 			await listTasks(
@@ -1789,7 +1793,7 @@ function registerCommands(programInstance) {
 				statusFilter,
 				taskMaster.getComplexityReportPath(),
 				withSubtasks,
-				'text',
+				compact ? 'compact' : 'text',
 				{ projectRoot: taskMaster.getProjectRoot(), tag }
 			);
 		});

scripts/modules/task-manager/list-tasks.js

@@ -294,6 +294,11 @@ function listTasks(
 			});
 		}
 
+		// For compact output, return minimal one-line format
+		if (outputFormat === 'compact') {
+			return renderCompactOutput(filteredTasks, withSubtasks);
+		}
+
 		// ... existing code for text output ...
 
 		// Calculate status breakdowns as percentages of total
@@ -962,4 +967,98 @@ function generateMarkdownOutput(data, filteredTasks, stats) {
 	return markdown;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Format dependencies for compact output with truncation and coloring
+ * @param {Array} dependencies - Array of dependency IDs
+ * @returns {string} - Formatted dependency string with arrow prefix
+ */
+function formatCompactDependencies(dependencies) {
+	if (!dependencies || dependencies.length === 0) {
+		return '';
+	}
+
+	if (dependencies.length > 5) {
+		const visible = dependencies.slice(0, 5).join(',');
+		const remaining = dependencies.length - 5;
+		return ` → ${chalk.cyan(visible)}${chalk.gray('... (+' + remaining + ' more)')}`;
+	} else {
+		return ` → ${chalk.cyan(dependencies.join(','))}`;
+	}
+}
+
+/**
+ * Format a single task in compact one-line format
+ * @param {Object} task - Task object
+ * @param {number} maxTitleLength - Maximum title length before truncation
+ * @returns {string} - Formatted task line
+ */
+function formatCompactTask(task, maxTitleLength = 50) {
+	const status = task.status || 'pending';
+	const priority = task.priority || 'medium';
+	const title = truncate(task.title || 'Untitled', maxTitleLength);
+
+	// Use colored status from existing function
+	const coloredStatus = getStatusWithColor(status, true);
+
+	// Color priority based on level
+	const priorityColors = {
+		high: chalk.red,
+		medium: chalk.yellow,
+		low: chalk.gray
+	};
+	const priorityColor = priorityColors[priority] || chalk.white;
+
+	// Format dependencies using shared helper
+	const depsText = formatCompactDependencies(task.dependencies);
+
+	return `${chalk.cyan(task.id)} ${coloredStatus} ${chalk.white(title)} ${priorityColor('(' + priority + ')')}${depsText}`;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Format a subtask in compact format with indentation
+ * @param {Object} subtask - Subtask object
+ * @param {string|number} parentId - Parent task ID
+ * @param {number} maxTitleLength - Maximum title length before truncation
+ * @returns {string} - Formatted subtask line
+ */
+function formatCompactSubtask(subtask, parentId, maxTitleLength = 47) {
+	const status = subtask.status || 'pending';
+	const title = truncate(subtask.title || 'Untitled', maxTitleLength);
+
+	// Use colored status from existing function
+	const coloredStatus = getStatusWithColor(status, true);
+
+	// Format dependencies using shared helper
+	const depsText = formatCompactDependencies(subtask.dependencies);
+
+	return `  ${chalk.cyan(parentId + '.' + subtask.id)} ${coloredStatus} ${chalk.dim(title)}${depsText}`;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Render complete compact output
+ * @param {Array} filteredTasks - Tasks to display
+ * @param {boolean} withSubtasks - Whether to include subtasks
+ * @returns {void} - Outputs directly to console
+ */
+function renderCompactOutput(filteredTasks, withSubtasks) {
+	if (filteredTasks.length === 0) {
+		console.log('No tasks found');
+		return;
+	}
+
+	const output = [];
+
+	filteredTasks.forEach((task) => {
+		output.push(formatCompactTask(task));
+
+		if (withSubtasks && task.subtasks && task.subtasks.length > 0) {
+			task.subtasks.forEach((subtask) => {
+				output.push(formatCompactSubtask(subtask, task.id));
+			});
+		}
+	});
+
+	console.log(output.join('\n'));
+}
+
 export default listTasks;

scripts/modules/utils.js

@@ -1430,6 +1430,20 @@ function ensureTagMetadata(tagObj, opts = {}) {
 	return tagObj;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Strip ANSI color codes from a string
+ * Useful for testing, logging to files, or when clean text output is needed
+ * @param {string} text - The text that may contain ANSI color codes
+ * @returns {string} - The text with ANSI color codes removed
+ */
+function stripAnsiCodes(text) {
+	if (typeof text !== 'string') {
+		return text;
+	}
+	// Remove ANSI escape sequences (color codes, cursor movements, etc.)
+	return text.replace(/\x1b\[[0-9;]*m/g, '');
+}
+
 // Export all utility functions and configuration
 export {
 	LOG_LEVELS,
@@ -1467,5 +1481,6 @@ export {
 	markMigrationForNotice,
 	flattenTasksWithSubtasks,
 	ensureTagMetadata,
+	stripAnsiCodes,
 	normalizeTaskIds
 };