btwfyi

btwfyi (noun)
/ˈbɪt.waɪ.faɪ.aɪ/ — The art of looking productive while your task list grows, plus that nagging feeling when you remember you forgot something.

A lightweight task awareness overlay for development environments. btwfyi keeps tasks visible on top of your interface, helping you stay focused, plan effectively, and avoid forgetting important work. Designed for developers who want persistent task clarity without leaving the UI.

Installation

npm install @remcostoeten/btwfyi
# or
pnpm add @remcostoeten/btwfyi
# or
yarn add @remcostoeten/btwfyi

Usage

React

import { Btwfyi } from "@remcostoeten/btwfyi/react";
import type { CategoryConfig } from "@remcostoeten/btwfyi/react";

const categories: CategoryConfig[] = [
  {
    id: "my-tasks",
    displayName: "My Tasks",
    items: [
      { text: "Fix bug in login flow", action: "fix" },
      { text: "Add user profile page", action: "add" },
    ],
  },
];

function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      <Btwfyi category="my-tasks" categories={categories} enabled={true} />
    </div>
  );
}

New Features

Smart Syntax

Natural language task entry with automatic parsing:

• Dates: "tomorrow", "next friday", "dec 31"
• Tags: #bug, #feature, #urgent
• Priority: !high, !medium, !low

"Fix login bug tomorrow #auth !high" 
→ { text: "Fix login bug", dueDate: [tomorrow], tags: ["auth"], priority: "high" }

Bulk Import

Paste Markdown lists directly into the Command Palette:

- Fix login bug #auth
- Add dark mode #ui !medium
- Update docs

AI Enhancement

• Local AI: Uses Chrome's window.ai (Gemini Nano) for offline task enhancement
• Cloud AI (Grok): Pass aiConfig={{ grokApiKey: '...' }} for smarter parsing

Import/Export

• Export: Copy tasks as Markdown, JSON, or Slack format
• Import: Paste JSON arrays or Markdown lists

Command Palette

Press Alt + K anywhere in your app to open the btwfyi command palette. Search across every mounted overlay, jump directly to a task, or type btwfyi to enter management mode where you can show/hide overlays, clear connections, or reset statuses globally.

API

React Component

Props

• category: string - The category ID to display
• categories: CategoryConfig[] - Array of category configurations
• instanceId?: string - Optional instance identifier
• enabled?: boolean - Whether the component is enabled (default: true)
• onTaskCreate?: (task) => void - Callback when a task is created via Smart Syntax
• aiConfig?: { grokApiKey?: string; preferCloud?: boolean } - AI configuration

CategoryConfig

type CategoryConfig = {
  id: string;
  displayName?: string;
  items: TodoItem[];
};

type TodoItem = {
  text: string;
  action?: string;
  info?: string;
  description?: string;
  notes?: string;
  dueDate?: Date | string;
  priority?: "low" | "medium" | "high";
  tags?: string[];
  createdAt?: string;
  updatedAt?: string;
};

Vue Composition

import { useBtwfyiStore } from "@remcostoeten/btwfyi/vue";

const { state, store } = useBtwfyiStore({
  category: "dev",
  instanceId: "dev-overlay",
});

Theming

Pass themeOverrides, stylesOverrides, or set a colorMode to align btwfyi with your design tokens:

<Btwfyi
  category="dev"
  categories={categories}
  colorMode="dark"
  themeOverrides={{
    colors: { primary: "var(--brand-blue)", textMain: "text-white" },
  }}
/>

License

MIT