botbook/src/04-gbui/apps/tasks.md

# Tasks

> **The machine does the work**

---

<img src="../../assets/chapter-04/autotask-interface.svg" alt="Tasks Interface" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;">

## What is Tasks?

Tasks is where the machine does the work for you. Instead of manually tracking to-do items, you describe what you want to accomplish in natural language, and the system compiles your intent into an executable plan with automatic step-by-step execution.

| Old Way | Tasks Way |
|---------|-----------|
| Create a task | Describe your goal |
| Do it yourself | Machine plans it |
| Mark complete | Machine executes it |
| Repeat | You approve critical steps |

---

## How It Works

| Step | What Happens |
|------|--------------|
| **1. Describe** | Write what you want in plain English |
| **2. Compile** | LLM analyzes intent, generates execution plan |
| **3. Review** | See steps, estimates, risks before execution |
| **4. Execute** | System runs the plan, pausing for approvals |
| **5. Monitor** | Watch progress, make decisions when needed |

---

## Creating a Task

### Write Your Intent

In the intent box, describe what you want to accomplish:

| Good Examples |
|---------------|
| "Make a financial CRM for Deloitte with client management and reporting" |
| "Create a website that collects leads and sends them to Salesforce" |
| "Build an automated email campaign for our product launch" |
| "Analyze Q4 sales data and generate a PDF report with charts" |

**Tips for better results:**

- Be specific about the outcome you want
- Mention the client or project name
- Include key features or requirements
- Specify integrations if needed

### Choose Execution Mode

| Mode | Best For | How It Works |
|------|----------|--------------|
| **Semi-Automatic** | Most tasks | Runs automatically, pauses for high-risk steps |
| **Supervised** | Learning/sensitive | Pauses before each step for your approval |
| **Fully Automatic** | Trusted workflows | Runs everything without stopping |
| **Dry Run** | Testing | Simulates execution without making changes |

### Set Priority

| Priority | Meaning |
|----------|---------|
| **Critical** | Urgent, run immediately |
| **High** | Important, prioritize |
| **Medium** | Normal priority (default) |
| **Low** | Run when resources available |
| **Background** | Run during idle time |

### Click Compile & Plan

The LLM will:

1. Extract entities (action, target, domain, client)
2. Generate an execution plan with ordered steps
3. Assess risks and estimate resources
4. Generate the underlying BASIC program

---

## Understanding the Execution Plan

After compilation, you see a detailed plan:

### Plan Header

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| **Plan Name** | Auto-generated title for your task |
| **Description** | Summary of what will be accomplished |
| **Confidence** | How confident the LLM is in the plan (aim for 80%+) |
| **Risk Level** | Overall risk assessment (None/Low/Medium/High/Critical) |
| **Estimated Duration** | How long execution should take |
| **Estimated Cost** | API and compute costs |

### Execution Steps

Each step shows:

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| **Step Number** | Order of execution |
| **Priority** | CRITICAL, HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW |
| **Step Name** | What this step does |
| **Keywords** | BASIC keywords that will be used |
| **Risk Level** | Risk for this specific step |

### Plan Actions

| Button | Action |
|--------|--------|
| **Discard** | Delete the plan, start over |
| **Edit Plan** | Modify steps before execution |
| **Simulate** | Preview impact without executing |
| **Execute** | Start running the plan |

---

## Monitoring Tasks

### Task States

| Status | Meaning |
|--------|---------|
| **Draft** | Created, not yet compiled |
| **Compiling** | LLM is generating the plan |
| **Ready** | Plan generated, waiting to start |
| **Running** | Currently executing |
| **Paused** | Execution paused by user |
| **Pending Approval** | Waiting for you to approve a step |
| **Waiting Decision** | Needs your input to continue |
| **Completed** | Successfully finished |
| **Failed** | Encountered an error |
| **Cancelled** | Stopped by user |

### Filter Tabs

| Tab | Shows |
|-----|-------|
| **All** | Every task regardless of status |
| **Running** | Currently executing tasks |
| **Need Approval** | Tasks waiting for your approval |
| **Decisions** | Tasks needing your input |

### Progress Tracking

Each task shows:

- Current step number and name
- Progress bar with percentage
- Time elapsed and estimated remaining

---

## Approvals & Decisions

### When Approvals Are Required

High-impact actions require your approval:

- Sending emails to many recipients
- Modifying production databases
- Making external API calls with side effects
- Deploying to live environments
- Actions exceeding cost thresholds

### Approval Dialog

When approval is needed, you see:

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| **Action description** | What will happen |
| **Impact summary** | What could be affected |
| **Risk level** | How risky this step is |
| **Simulation result** | Preview of the outcome |

**Options:**

| Action | Result |
|--------|--------|
| **Approve** | Continue execution |
| **Defer** | Decide later |
| **Reject** | Skip this step or stop execution |

### Making Decisions

Sometimes the system needs your input:

- Choosing between alternative approaches
- Selecting from multiple options
- Providing missing information

Each option shows pros, cons, and impact estimates.

---

## Task Actions

| Action | When Available | What It Does |
|--------|----------------|--------------|
| **Details** | Always | View full task information |
| **Simulate** | Before execution | Preview impact |
| **Pause** | While running | Temporarily stop execution |
| **Resume** | When paused | Continue execution |
| **Cancel** | Anytime | Stop and discard task |

---

## Creating Tasks from Chat

You can also create tasks by talking to your bot:

**You:** "I need to build a customer portal for Acme Corp"

**Bot:** "I'll create a task for that. Here's the plan:
- 5 steps, estimated 3 hours
- Includes: database setup, authentication, dashboard, API integration
- Risk: Low

Should I execute this plan?"

**You:** "Yes, go ahead"

**Bot:** "Task started. I'll notify you when approvals are needed."

---

## Generated BASIC Code

Every task generates a BASIC program behind the scenes. You can view and copy this code:

```bas
' AUTO-GENERATED BASIC PROGRAM
' Plan: Financial CRM for Deloitte

PLAN_START "Financial CRM", "Client management system"
  STEP 1, "Create database schema", CRITICAL
  STEP 2, "Setup authentication", HIGH
  STEP 3, "Build client module", HIGH
PLAN_END

NEW_TABLE "clients"
  COLUMN "name", STRING
  COLUMN "email", STRING
  COLUMN "revenue", DECIMAL
SAVE_TABLE
```

This code can be:

- Copied for manual execution
- Modified and saved as a template
- Reused for similar projects

---

## Best Practices

### Writing Good Intents

| Do | Don't |
|----|-------|
| "Create a sales dashboard for Q4 data with charts showing revenue by region" | "Make something" |
| "Build an email drip campaign: welcome email, 3-day follow-up, 7-day offer" | "Do the thing we discussed" |
| "Analyze customer feedback CSV and generate sentiment report" | "Fix it" |

### Choosing Execution Mode

| Situation | Recommended Mode |
|-----------|------------------|
| New to Tasks | Supervised |
| Routine tasks | Semi-Automatic |
| Trusted, tested workflows | Fully Automatic |
| Experimenting | Dry Run |

### Managing Risk

- Review the risk assessment before executing
- Use Simulate for high-risk tasks
- Set up approval thresholds in settings
- Monitor running tasks actively

---

## Troubleshooting

### Compilation Failed

- Check that your intent is clear and specific
- Avoid ambiguous language
- Include necessary context (client name, data sources)

### Task Stuck on Running

- Check if an approval is pending
- Look for decision requests
- Review the execution log for errors

### Unexpected Results

- Review the generated plan before executing
- Use Dry Run to test first
- Check the BASIC code for issues

---

## Settings

Configure Tasks behavior in Settings:

| Setting | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| **Default execution mode** | Your preferred mode |
| **Approval thresholds** | When to require approval |
| **Cost limits** | Maximum spend per task |
| **Notification preferences** | How to alert you |
| **Auto-cleanup** | Remove completed tasks after X days |

---

## See Also

- [Autonomous Task AI](../../07-gbapp/autonomous-tasks.md) - Architecture details
- [CREATE SITE](../../06-gbdialog/keyword-create-site.md) - App generation
- [Calendar](./calendar.md) - Scheduled tasks
- [Chat](./chat.md) - Create tasks through conversation