tt backlog
Manage the global backlog of unassigned tasks.
Synopsis
tt backlog <SUBCOMMAND> [OPTIONS]
Description
Use backlog when work should exist in Tinytown but should not be assigned immediately.
Backlog tasks are stored in Redis, can be tagged, and can be claimed later by the right agent.
Subcommands
Add
tt backlog add "<TASK DESCRIPTION>" [--tags tag1,tag2]
Creates a new task and places it in the global backlog queue.
List
tt backlog list
Shows all backlog task IDs with a short description and tags.
Claim
tt backlog claim <TASK_ID> <AGENT>
Removes a task from backlog, assigns it to <AGENT>, and sends a semantic TaskAssign message to that agent.
Assign All
tt backlog assign-all <AGENT>
Bulk-assigns every backlog task to one agent (useful for manual catch-up or handoff).
Remove
tt backlog remove <TASK_ID>
Removes a task from the backlog without assigning it to any agent. Useful for cleaning up tasks that are no longer needed or were added by mistake. The task record is deleted as part of the removal.
Options
| Option | Short | Description |
|---|---|---|
--town <PATH> | -t | Town directory (default: .) |
--verbose | -v | Enable verbose logging |
Examples
Park Work in Backlog
tt backlog add "Investigate flaky auth integration test" --tags test,auth,backend
tt backlog add "Document token refresh behavior" --tags docs,api
Review and Claim by Role
# Backend agent role
tt backlog list
tt backlog claim 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000 backend
# Docs agent role
tt backlog claim 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440111 docs
Role-Based Claiming Pattern
When agents are idle, have them:
- Run
tt backlog list - Claim one task matching their role/tags
- Work it to completion, then repeat
This keeps specialists busy without over-assigning work up front.
See Also
- tt assign — Directly assign new work
- tt conductor — Orchestrate agents interactively
- Tasks Concept