Jackson User Guide

Jackson is a desktop application for managing your tasks, optimized for use via a Command Line Interface (CLI). If you can type fast, Jackson can get your task management done faster than traditional GUI apps.

Quick Start

1. Ensure you have Java 17 in your Computer.
2. Download the latest jackson.jar file from here.
3. Copy the file to the folder you want to use as the home folder for your Jackson task manager.
4. Open a command terminal, cd into the folder you put the jar file in, and use the java -jar jackson.jar command to run the application.
5. Type the command in the terminal and press Enter to execute it. e.g. typing list and pressing Enter will show all your tasks.
6. Refer to the Features below for details of each command.

Table of Content

• Jackson User Guide
  • Quick Start
  • Table of Content
  • Features
    • Showing available commands: help
    • Adding todo task: todo
    • Adding deadline task: deadline
    • Adding event task: event
    • Removing a task: delete
    • Marking a task as done: mark
    • Marking a task as not done: unmark
    • Finding task by a keyword: find
    • Showing tasks: list
    • Exiting the program: exit, bye
  • Data Storage
  • Command Summary
  • FAQ
  • Known Issues

Features

Notes about the command format:

• Words in UPPER_CASE are the parameters to be supplied by the user. e.g. in deadline /by DATE, DATE is a parameter which can be used as deadline /by 2025-01-01.

• Items in square brackets are optional. e.g DATE [TIME] can be used as 2025-01-01 04:00 or as 2025-01-01.

• Extraneous parameters for commands that do not take in parameters (such as list, exit and bye) will be ignored. e.g. if the command specifies bye 123, it will be interpreted as bye.

• If you are using a PDF version of this document, be careful when copying and pasting commands that span multiple lines as space characters surrounding line-breaks may be omitted when copied over to the application.

Showing available commands: help

Shows a list of all available commands and their basic usage.

Format: help

Expected output:

Here are the available commands:
1. todo <description>
2. deadline <description> /by <date and time>
3. event <description> /from <start date and time> /to <end date and time>
4. list
5. list deadline/event before/after <date> [time]
6. mark <task number>
7. unmark <task number>
8. delete <task number>
9. find <keyword>
10. bye or exit

Details:

• The help command provides a quick reference for all available commands
• Shows the basic syntax and examples for each command type
• Includes formatting guidelines for dates and times

Adding todo task: todo

Adds a todo task with a description.

Format: todo DESCRIPTION

Example:

todo read book
todo submit assignment

Expected output:

Got it. I've added this task:
  [T][ ] read book
Now you have 1 task in the list.

Adding deadline task: deadline

Adds a deadline task with a description and deadline date/time.

Format: deadline DESCRIPTION /by DATE [TIME]

Examples:

deadline submit report /by 2025-09-30
deadline project presentation /by 2025-10-02 14:00

Expected output:

Got it. I've added this task:
  [D][ ] submit report (by: Sep 30 2025)
Now you have 2 tasks in the list.

Details:

• DATE should be in the format of YYYY-MM-DD
• TIME should be in the format of HH:MM (24-hour format)
• If time is not specified, the task is treated as due by the end of the day

Adding event task: event

Adds an event task with a description and start/end date/time.

Format: event DESCRIPTION /from START_DATE [START_TIME] /to END_DATE [END_TIME]

Examples:

event team meeting /from 2025-09-30 /to 2025-09-30
event conference /from 2025-10-02 09:00 /to 2025-10-02 17:00
event vacation /from 2025-12-20 /to 2025-12-30

Expected output:

Got it. I've added this task:
  [E][ ] team meeting (from: Sep 30 2025 to: Sep 30 2025)
Now you have 3 tasks in the list.

Details:

• DATE should be in the format of YYYY-MM-DD
• TIME should be in the format of HH:MM (24-hour format)
• The end date/time should be after the start date/time
• If time is not specified, defaults to the start/end of the day

Removing a task: delete

Deletes a task from your task list.

Format: delete TASK_INDEX

Examples:

delete 1
delete 3

Expected output:

Noted. I've removed this task:
  [T][ ] read book
Now you have 2 tasks in the list.

Details:

• TASK_INDEX must be a positive integer within the valid range of current tasks
• Use list command to see the current task indices

Marking a task as done: mark

Marks a task as completed.

Format: mark TASK_INDEX

Examples:

mark 1
mark 2

Expected output:

Nice! I've marked this task as done:
  [T][X] read book

Details:

• TASK_INDEX must be a positive integer within the valid range of current tasks
• Marking an already completed task will have no additional effect

Marking a task as not done: unmark

Marks a task as not completed.

Format: unmark TASK_INDEX

Examples:

unmark 1
unmark 2

Expected output:

OK, I've marked this task as not done yet:
  [T][ ] read book

Details:

• TASK_INDEX must be a positive integer within the valid range of current tasks
• Unmarking an already incomplete task will have no additional effect

Finding task by a keyword: find

Finds tasks that contain the specified keyword in their description.

Format: find KEYWORD

Examples:

find book
find meeting
find project

Expected output:

Here are the matching tasks in your list:
1. [T][ ] read book
3. [D][ ] book report (by: Oct 15 2025)

Details:

• KEYWORD can contain spaces
• Only tasks with descriptions containing the exact keyword will be found

Showing tasks: list

Shows all tasks or tasks that meet certain criteria.

Format:

• list - Shows all tasks
• list deadline/event before/after DATE [TIME] - Shows filtered tasks

Examples:

list
list deadline after 2025-09-30
list event before 2025-12-25 15:00

Expected output:

Here are the tasks in your list:
1. [T][ ] read book
2. [D][ ] submit report (by: Sep 30 2025)
3. [E][X] team meeting (from: Oct 1 2025 to: Oct 1 2025)

Details:

• DATE should be in the format of YYYY-MM-DD
• TIME should be in the format of HH:MM (24-hour format)
• When filtering, only deadlines or events matching the date criteria will be shown

Exiting the program: exit, bye

Exits the Jackson application.

Format: exit or bye

Expected output:

Bye. Hope to see you again soon!

Data Storage

Jackson automatically saves your tasks to a data file located at ./data/jackson.txt. The data file is created automatically when you first run Jackson.

• Tasks are saved automatically after each command
• No manual save is required
• The data file uses a simple text format for easy backup and portability
• If the data file is corrupted, Jackson will show an error message on startup

Command Summary

Action	Format	Example
Help	help	help
Add Todo	todo DESCRIPTION	todo read book
Add Deadline	deadline DESCRIPTION /by DATE [TIME]	deadline submit report /by 2025-09-30
Add Event	event DESCRIPTION /from DATE [TIME] /to DATE [TIME]	event meeting /from 2025-10-01 14:00 /to 2025-10-01 16:00
Mark	mark TASK_INDEX	mark 1
Unmark	unmark TASK_INDEX	unmark 1
Delete	delete TASK_INDEX	delete 2
Find	find KEYWORD	find meeting
List All	list	list
List Filtered	list TYPE before/after DATE [TIME]	list deadline after 2025-09-30
Exit	exit or bye	bye

FAQ

Q: How do I transfer my data to another computer?
A: Simply copy the ./data/jackson.txt file to the same location on your new computer.

Q: Can I edit the data file directly?
A: While possible, it is not recommended as incorrect formatting may cause Jackson to fail to load your tasks.

Q: What happens if I enter an invalid date format?
A: Jackson will display an error message and ask you to enter the command again with the correct format.

Q: Can I have tasks with the same description?
A: Yes, Jackson allows multiple tasks with identical descriptions.

Known Issues

• Date parsing is strict and requires exact format (YYYY-MM-DD)
• Time must be in 24-hour format (HH:MM)
• Very long task descriptions may cause display formatting issues
• The application does not support undo operations