Keyboard-first task management: a practical BranchFirst workflow

Keyboard-first task management works best when the commands match a repeatable routine. You capture a thought, give it a place in the project, choose what deserves attention, and record what you finish. BranchFirst has shortcuts for those steps in its browser app and terminal client. Start with a few commands you can use immediately, then add others as the need appears.

Capture a useful task before polishing the plan

Imagine you are preparing a small release and notice that the installation instructions need checking. Open the relevant project and press n to create a task. Write ‘Check the installation instructions from a fresh terminal.’ That wording preserves what prompted the thought and gives your future self an action. It is more useful than a label such as ‘Docs’ when you return tomorrow.

Use the arrow keys to select a task and Enter to edit it. Ordinary letters become task text while you are editing, so think of typing and navigating as separate moments. Finish the edit before using a letter shortcut to change task state. This small habit helps avoid trying to trigger a command while the cursor is still inside the task name.

Shape the tree with indentation

A captured task does not have to stay where it first landed. Select it and use Tab to nest it beneath the work it supports. Use Shift+Tab when it belongs one level higher. For the release example, checking the instructions can sit beneath a ‘Prepare release documentation’ parent, beside tasks for the change summary and the quick-start example.

Prepare the release
  Prepare release documentation
    Check the installation instructions from a fresh terminal
    Write the change summary
    Update the quick-start example
  Verify the release candidate

BranchFirst also lets you move a task with its subtree using Shift+Up or Shift+Down. After a move, check the indentation to confirm the branch is where you intended. When a branch is taking up space you do not need, select its parent and press / to fold or unfold it. Folding changes what you see without making those tasks complete.

Learn one small set of commands

• n creates a new task; Enter edits the selected task.
• Up and Down select tasks; Tab and Shift+Tab change indentation.
• Space completes a selected task or reopens it.
• s stars a task so it appears in MINS; 0 opens MINS.
• The number keys 1 through 9 switch to the corresponding project.
• / folds or unfolds a branch, and Ctrl+Z undoes an action.

Try these on a small practice project if the keyboard workflow is new to you. Create a parent and two children, fold them, reopen the branch, and complete one child. Undo that completion once so you know how recovery feels before you need it during actual work. You can learn the less frequent controls through the app's help when a specific task calls for them.

Use MINS for the work session

Project trees answer where a task belongs. MINS answers which starred unfinished tasks you want available across projects. In the release example, star the installation check and perhaps one next action from another active project. Press 0 to see them together. This lets you choose a short work list while keeping the broader release plan in its original tree.

Use t to mark a selected starred task for today. Today's committed items appear above the rest of MINS. That separation is useful when a star means ‘keep this in view’ but you only intend to act on some items now. Keep nesting work inside the project: MINS is a flat combined view, so the place to reorganize the branch is its project tree.

Close the loop before switching context

After following the installation instructions, decide whether the task is complete. If you discovered a missing step, add a concrete follow-up under the documentation branch. Then use Space on the finished check. Completed tasks leave the active MINS list, and the done area gives you a way to review finished work. Your next session can start from the remaining actions rather than a memory of what happened.

Some terminal programs intercept key combinations before an application receives them. For example, a terminal may use Ctrl+Shift+arrow keys for its own scrolling. Use the terminal client's ? menu to check its supported alternatives. On a phone, use the web app's touch controls for the same task operations. The routine stays useful even when the input method changes: capture, structure, choose, finish.