> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://code.claude.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Todo Lists

> Track and display todos using the Claude Agent SDK for organized task management

Todo tracking provides a structured way to manage tasks and display progress to users. The Claude Agent SDK includes built-in todo functionality that helps organize complex workflows and keep users informed about task progression.

<Note>
  As of TypeScript Agent SDK 0.3.142 and Claude Code v2.1.142, sessions use the structured Task tools `TaskCreate`, `TaskUpdate`, `TaskGet`, and `TaskList` instead of `TodoWrite`. The Python SDK gets this change from the Claude Code CLI it launches, not from the Python package version: the switch applies once that CLI — the copy bundled inside the pip package, or one you point to with `cli_path` — is v2.1.142 or later. See [Migrate to Task tools](#migrate-to-task-tools) for how monitoring code changes. The examples on this page set `CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TASKS=0` to keep showing `TodoWrite` for sessions that have not migrated yet.
</Note>

### Todo Lifecycle

Todos follow a predictable lifecycle:

1. **Created** as `pending` when tasks are identified
2. **Activated** to `in_progress` when work begins
3. **Completed** when the task finishes successfully
4. **Removed** when all tasks in a group are completed

### When Todos Are Used

The SDK creates todos for most multi-step work, such as:

* **Complex multi-step tasks** requiring 3 or more distinct actions
* **User-provided task lists** when multiple items are mentioned
* **Non-trivial operations** that benefit from progress tracking
* **Explicit requests** when users ask for todo organization

It may skip todos for very short or single-step requests.

## Examples

Before running these examples, install the Claude Agent SDK by following the [quickstart](/docs/en/agent-sdk/quickstart).

Each example runs until the agent finishes and yields its final result message. If a session reaches its turn limit first, that result message has the `error_max_turns` subtype. Check `subtype` to detect that ending.

These examples use single-shot `query()` calls. After yielding an `error_max_turns` result, `query()` raises an error that includes `Reached maximum number of turns`. Each example wraps its loop in a try block to exit cleanly when that happens.

See [Handle the result](/docs/en/agent-sdk/agent-loop#handle-the-result) for the result subtypes.

### Monitoring Todo Changes

<CodeGroup>
  ```typescript TypeScript theme={null}
  import { query } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";

  try {
    for await (const message of query({
      prompt: "Optimize my React app performance and track progress with todos",
      // Re-enable TodoWrite, which this example monitors. Without it, the SDK uses
      // Task tools instead and these tool_use blocks never appear.
      options: { maxTurns: 15, env: { ...process.env, CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TASKS: "0" } }
    })) {
      // Todo updates are reflected in the message stream
      if (message.type === "assistant") {
        for (const block of message.message.content) {
          if (block.type === "tool_use" && block.name === "TodoWrite") {
            const todos = block.input.todos;

            console.log("Todo Status Update:");
            todos.forEach((todo, index) => {
              const status =
                todo.status === "completed" ? "✅" : todo.status === "in_progress" ? "🔧" : "❌";
              console.log(`${index + 1}. ${status} ${todo.content}`);
            });
          }
        }
      }
    }
  } catch (error) {
    // A single-shot query() throws after yielding an error result,
    // such as when the maxTurns limit is hit.
    console.log(`Session ended with an error: ${error}`);
  }
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  import asyncio

  from claude_agent_sdk import query, ClaudeAgentOptions, AssistantMessage, ToolUseBlock


  async def main():
      try:
          async for message in query(
              prompt="Optimize my React app performance and track progress with todos",
              # Re-enable TodoWrite, which this example monitors. Without it, the SDK uses
              # Task tools instead and these tool_use blocks never appear.
              options=ClaudeAgentOptions(max_turns=15, env={"CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TASKS": "0"}),
          ):
              # Todo updates are reflected in the message stream
              if isinstance(message, AssistantMessage):
                  for block in message.content:
                      if isinstance(block, ToolUseBlock) and block.name == "TodoWrite":
                          todos = block.input["todos"]

                          print("Todo Status Update:")
                          for i, todo in enumerate(todos):
                              status = (
                                  "✅"
                                  if todo["status"] == "completed"
                                  else "🔧"
                                  if todo["status"] == "in_progress"
                                  else "❌"
                              )
                              print(f"{i + 1}. {status} {todo['content']}")
      except Exception as error:
          # A single-shot query() raises after yielding an error result,
          # such as when the max_turns limit is hit.
          print(f"Session ended with an error: {error}")


  asyncio.run(main())
  ```
</CodeGroup>

### Real-time Progress Display

<CodeGroup>
  ```typescript TypeScript theme={null}
  import { query } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";

  class TodoTracker {
    private todos: any[] = [];

    displayProgress() {
      if (this.todos.length === 0) return;

      const completed = this.todos.filter((t) => t.status === "completed").length;
      const inProgress = this.todos.filter((t) => t.status === "in_progress").length;
      const total = this.todos.length;

      console.log(`\nProgress: ${completed}/${total} completed`);
      console.log(`Currently working on: ${inProgress} task(s)\n`);

      this.todos.forEach((todo, index) => {
        const icon =
          todo.status === "completed" ? "✅" : todo.status === "in_progress" ? "🔧" : "❌";
        const text = todo.status === "in_progress" ? todo.activeForm : todo.content;
        console.log(`${index + 1}. ${icon} ${text}`);
      });
    }

    async trackQuery(prompt: string) {
      try {
        for await (const message of query({
          prompt,
          // Re-enable TodoWrite, which this tracker watches for.
          options: { maxTurns: 20, env: { ...process.env, CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TASKS: "0" } }
        })) {
          if (message.type === "assistant") {
            for (const block of message.message.content) {
              if (block.type === "tool_use" && block.name === "TodoWrite") {
                this.todos = block.input.todos;
                this.displayProgress();
              }
            }
          }
        }
      } catch (error) {
        // A single-shot query() throws after yielding an error result,
        // such as when the maxTurns limit is hit.
        console.log(`Session ended with an error: ${error}`);
      }
    }
  }

  // Usage
  const tracker = new TodoTracker();
  await tracker.trackQuery("Build a complete authentication system with todos");
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  import asyncio

  from claude_agent_sdk import query, ClaudeAgentOptions, AssistantMessage, ToolUseBlock
  from typing import List, Dict


  class TodoTracker:
      def __init__(self):
          self.todos: List[Dict] = []

      def display_progress(self):
          if not self.todos:
              return

          completed = len([t for t in self.todos if t["status"] == "completed"])
          in_progress = len([t for t in self.todos if t["status"] == "in_progress"])
          total = len(self.todos)

          print(f"\nProgress: {completed}/{total} completed")
          print(f"Currently working on: {in_progress} task(s)\n")

          for i, todo in enumerate(self.todos):
              icon = (
                  "✅"
                  if todo["status"] == "completed"
                  else "🔧"
                  if todo["status"] == "in_progress"
                  else "❌"
              )
              text = (
                  todo["activeForm"]
                  if todo["status"] == "in_progress"
                  else todo["content"]
              )
              print(f"{i + 1}. {icon} {text}")

      async def track_query(self, prompt: str):
          try:
              async for message in query(
                  prompt=prompt,
                  # Re-enable TodoWrite, which this tracker watches for.
                  options=ClaudeAgentOptions(max_turns=20, env={"CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TASKS": "0"}),
              ):
                  if isinstance(message, AssistantMessage):
                      for block in message.content:
                          if isinstance(block, ToolUseBlock) and block.name == "TodoWrite":
                              self.todos = block.input["todos"]
                              self.display_progress()
          except Exception as error:
              # A single-shot query() raises after yielding an error result,
              # such as when the max_turns limit is hit.
              print(f"Session ended with an error: {error}")


  # Usage
  async def main():
      tracker = TodoTracker()
      await tracker.track_query("Build a complete authentication system with todos")


  asyncio.run(main())
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Migrate to Task tools

The Task tools split the single `TodoWrite` call into `TaskCreate` for each new item and `TaskUpdate` for each status change, with `TaskList` and `TaskGet` available for the model to read back the current list. Your monitoring code still inspects `tool_use` blocks in the assistant stream, but maintains a map keyed by task ID instead of replacing the whole list on every call. {/* min-version: 2.1.142 */}The Task tools are the default as of TypeScript Agent SDK 0.3.142 and Claude Code v2.1.142, so no `options.env` change is needed.

| With `TodoWrite`                              | With Task tools                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| --------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| One tool call rewrites the full `todos` array | `TaskCreate` adds one item, `TaskUpdate` patches one item by `taskId`                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| Match `block.name === "TodoWrite"`            | Match `block.name === "TaskCreate"` or `"TaskUpdate"`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| Item shape: `{ content, status, activeForm }` | `TaskCreate` input: `{ subject, description, activeForm?, metadata? }`. `TaskUpdate` input: `{ taskId, status?, subject?, description?, activeForm?, addBlocks?, addBlockedBy?, owner?, metadata? }`. `status` is `"pending"`, `"in_progress"`, or `"completed"`; set `status: "deleted"` to delete |
| Render `block.input.todos` directly           | Accumulate items across calls, or read a snapshot from a `TaskList` tool result                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |

The assigned task ID is not in the `TaskCreate` input. It comes back in the matching `tool_result` as `{ task: { id, subject } }`, so capture it from the result block to key your map. The following example shows the minimal change to the [Monitoring Todo Changes](#monitoring-todo-changes) loop. It reads only `tool_use` inputs and skips capturing IDs from `tool_result` blocks. To render a complete list, watch for a `TaskList` tool result in the stream or accumulate `TaskCreate` results and `TaskUpdate` inputs into a map.

The streamed `tool_use` input is the raw shape the model emitted. Claude Code repairs some close-but-incorrect key names before execution, mapping `id` or `task_id` to `taskId` and `active_form` to `activeForm`, but that repair is not reflected in the stream. Read `TaskUpdate` input fields defensively, as the samples below do, rather than assuming the canonical name is always present.

<CodeGroup>
  ```typescript TypeScript theme={null}
  import { query } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";

  try {
    for await (const message of query({
      prompt: "Optimize my React app performance and track progress with todos",
      options: { maxTurns: 15 },
    })) {
      if (message.type !== "assistant") continue;
      for (const block of message.message.content) {
        if (block.type !== "tool_use") continue;
        if (block.name === "TaskCreate") {
          const input = block.input as { subject: string };
          console.log(`+ ${input.subject}`);
        } else if (block.name === "TaskUpdate") {
          const input = block.input as {
            taskId?: string;
            id?: string;
            task_id?: string;
            status?: string;
          };
          const taskId = input.taskId ?? input.id ?? input.task_id;
          if (taskId && input.status) console.log(`  ${taskId} -> ${input.status}`);
        }
      }
    }
  } catch (error) {
    // A single-shot query() throws after yielding an error result.
    console.log(`Session ended with an error: ${error}`);
  }
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  import asyncio

  from claude_agent_sdk import query, ClaudeAgentOptions, AssistantMessage, ToolUseBlock

  async def main():
      try:
          async for message in query(
              prompt="Optimize my React app performance and track progress with todos",
              options=ClaudeAgentOptions(max_turns=15),
          ):
              if not isinstance(message, AssistantMessage):
                  continue
              for block in message.content:
                  if not isinstance(block, ToolUseBlock):
                      continue
                  if block.name == "TaskCreate":
                      print(f"+ {block.input['subject']}")
                  elif block.name == "TaskUpdate" and block.input.get("status"):
                      task_id = (
                          block.input.get("taskId")
                          or block.input.get("id")
                          or block.input.get("task_id")
                      )
                      if task_id:
                          print(f"  {task_id} -> {block.input['status']}")
      except Exception as error:
          # A single-shot query() raises after yielding an error result.
          print(f"Session ended with an error: {error}")


  asyncio.run(main())
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Related Documentation

* [TypeScript SDK Reference](/docs/en/agent-sdk/typescript)
* [Python SDK Reference](/docs/en/agent-sdk/python)
* [Streaming vs Single Mode](/docs/en/agent-sdk/streaming-vs-single-mode)
* [Custom Tools](/docs/en/agent-sdk/custom-tools)