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agent-sdk/todo-tracking.md 2026-05-04 22:58 UTC to 2026-05-05 23:00 UTC

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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.

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 automatically creates todos for:

  • 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

Examples

Monitoring Todo Changes

import { query } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";

for await (const message of query({
prompt: "Optimize my React app performance and track progress with todos",
options: { maxTurns: 15 }
})) {
// 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}`);
});
}
}
}
}

Real-time Progress Display

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) {
for await (const message of query({
prompt,
options: { maxTurns: 20 }
})) {
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();
}
}
}
}
}
}

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