pioetpioet/simple-things3-skill/SKILL.md

things

Skill2 starsChanged 8 months agoMITView on GitHub

Control Things app on macOS via URL scheme commands. Use when the user wants to create to-dos, add projects, update tasks, navigate lists, or search in Things. Supports Chinese characters with automatic URL encoding. Triggers when user mentions Things, to-dos, tasks, projects, or wants to manage their Things database.

5 other projects use a version of this.

Adopted by

Most recently taken up by

SrdjanCoric/skillstheir own version, first seen Oct 13, 2026
ossianhempel/things3-clitheir own version, first seen Oct 9, 2026
danielfrg/skillstheir own version, first seen Mar 4, 2026
emanueleielo/ciana-parrottheir own version, first seen Feb 23, 2026
yourkenike/ciana-parrottheir own version, first seen Feb 23, 2026

Other versions5 projects use a version of this.
Word for word · 0
None found.
Edited · 0
None found.
Wrote their own version · 5
ossianhempel/things3-cli★ 119same name
emanueleielo/ciana-parrot★ 77same name
SrdjanCoric/skills★ 18same name
danielfrg/skills★ 1same name
yourkenike/ciana-parrot★ 1same name
How matches are found. Word for word: the exact same text. Edited: shares passages with this file (“99% same” means 99% of its five-word phrases also appear here; 10% or more counts). Their own version: similar meaning, or, weakest, the same name. We can’t tell which project had it first. Projects are counted among the 200 most-starred candidates, and mentions are links to the repository we found, up to 50 per site, so both counts are a floor.

The file

We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent

2 rules. 0 are common, 2 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.

0
Common
Most of the 5 edited versions we read keep these.
2
Distinctive
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
0
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

Common
Distinctive
Very specific

Distinctive:
IMPORTANT: All parameter values must be URL-encoded, especially for Chinese characters.
line 21
Distinctive:
When working with Chinese or other non-ASCII characters, always use URL encoding:
line 245

“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 5 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.

Files

SKILL.md

Things URL Scheme Skill

Control Things app on macOS via URL scheme commands using open -g things:///.

Quick Start

Execute Things commands using:

open -g "things:///command?parameter=value"

The -g flag runs Things in the background without bringing it to front.

URL Encoding

IMPORTANT: All parameter values must be URL-encoded, especially for Chinese characters. Use inline Python:

python3 -c "import urllib.parse; print(urllib.parse.quote('your text here'))"

For variables:

TITLE=$(python3 -c "import urllib.parse; print(urllib.parse.quote('中文内容'))")

Commands

1. add - Create a To-Do

# Basic to-do
open -g "things:///add?title=Buy%20milk"

# With notes, when, and tags
open -g "things:///add?title=Buy%20milk&notes=Low%20fat&when=today&tags=Errand"

# Multiple to-dos (newline separated: %0a)
open -g "things:///add?titles=Milk%0aBeer%0aCheese&list=Shopping"

# With reminder time
open -g "things:///add?title=Meeting&when=today@14:00"

Parameters:

Parameter	Description
`title`	To-do title (string)
`titles`	Multiple titles, newline-separated
`notes`	Notes text (max 10,000 chars)
`when`	`today`, `tomorrow`, `evening`, `anytime`, `someday`, or date string
`deadline`	Deadline date (yyyy-mm-dd)
`tags`	Comma-separated tag titles
`checklist-items`	Newline-separated checklist items
`list`	Project/area title to add to
`list-id`	Project/area ID (takes precedence over list)
`heading`	Heading title within project
`heading-id`	Heading ID (takes precedence)
`completed`	Set as complete (`true`/`false`)
`canceled`	Set as canceled (`true`/`false`)
`reveal`	Navigate to created to-do (`true`/`false`)

Returns: x-things-id with created to-do IDs

2. add-project - Create a Project

# Basic project
open -g "things:///add-project?title=Build%20treehouse&when=today"

# With area
open -g "things:///add-project?title=Plan%20Party&area=Family"

# With to-dos inside
open -g "things:///add-project?title=Vacation&to-dos=Book%20flights%0aPack%20bags"

Parameters:

Parameter	Description
`title`	Project title
`notes`	Notes text
`when`	When to start
`deadline`	Deadline date
`tags`	Comma-separated tags
`area`	Area title
`area-id`	Area ID (takes precedence)
`to-dos`	Newline-separated to-do titles
`completed`	Set as complete
`canceled`	Set as canceled
`reveal`	Navigate to created project

3. update - Update a To-Do

Requires auth-token. Get token from Things → Settings → General → Enable Things URLs → Manage.

# Set when
open -g "things:///update?id=TODO_ID&when=today&auth-token=YOUR_TOKEN"

# Change title
open -g "things:///update?id=TODO_ID&title=New%20title&auth-token=YOUR_TOKEN"

# Append notes
open -g "things:///update?id=TODO_ID&append-notes=Added%20note&auth-token=YOUR_TOKEN"

# Clear deadline (empty value)
open -g "things:///update?id=TODO_ID&deadline=&auth-token=YOUR_TOKEN"

# Complete a to-do
open -g "things:///update?id=TODO_ID&completed=true&auth-token=YOUR_TOKEN"

Required: id, auth-token

Optional Parameters:

title - Replace title
notes - Replace notes
prepend-notes - Add before existing notes
append-notes - Add after existing notes
when - Set when field
deadline - Set/clear deadline
tags - Replace all tags
add-tags - Add tags without replacing
checklist-items - Replace checklist
append-checklist-items - Add checklist items
list / list-id - Move to project/area
heading / heading-id - Move to heading
completed - Complete/uncomplete
canceled - Cancel/uncancel
reveal - Navigate to to-do
duplicate - Duplicate before updating

Note: Cannot update repeating to-dos.

4. update-project - Update a Project

Requires auth-token.

# Set when
open -g "things:///update-project?id=PROJECT_ID&when=tomorrow&auth-token=YOUR_TOKEN"

# Add tags
open -g "things:///update-project?id=PROJECT_ID&add-tags=Important&auth-token=YOUR_TOKEN"

# Clear deadline
open -g "things:///update-project?id=PROJECT_ID&deadline=&auth-token=YOUR_TOKEN"

Required: id, auth-token

Optional Parameters: Same as add-project, plus:

prepend-notes
append-notes
add-tags
area / area-id
reveal
duplicate

5. show - Navigate to List/Item

# Show built-in list
open -g "things:///show?id=today"
open -g "things:///show?id=inbox"
open -g "things:///show?id=anytime"
open -g "things:///show?id=someday"
open -g "things:///show?id=logbook"
open -g "things:///show?id=upcoming"
open -g "things:///show?id=tomorrow"
open -g "things:///show?id=deadlines"
open -g "things:///show?id=repeating"
open -g "things:///show?id=all-projects"

# Show specific item by ID
open -g "things:///show?id=ITEM_ID"

# Show by name (search)
open -g "things:///show?query=Vacation"

# With tag filter
open -g "things:///show?query=Vacation&filter=Errand"

Parameters:

id - Item ID or built-in list ID (takes precedence)
query - Name to search for
filter - Tag titles to filter by

Note: Cannot show tasks using query; use id parameter.

6. search - Search To-Dos

# Search for text
open -g "things:///search?query=vacation"

# Open search screen
open -g "things:///search"

7. version - Get Version Info

open -g "things:///version"

Data Types

Type	Format
string	URL-encoded (max 4,000 chars)
date	`today`, `tomorrow`, or `yyyy-mm-dd`, or natural language (`in 3 days`, `next tuesday`)
time	`9:30PM` or `21:30`
datetime	`date@time` (e.g., `today@14:00`, `evening@6pm`)
boolean	`true` or `false`

Getting IDs

To-Do ID: Control-click → Share → Copy Link
List ID: Control-click list in sidebar → Share → Copy Link

Chinese Character Support

When working with Chinese or other non-ASCII characters, always use URL encoding:

TITLE=$(python3 -c "import urllib.parse; print(urllib.parse.quote('买菜'))")
open -g "things:///add?title=$TITLE"

Workflow Examples

Create a to-do with Chinese title

TITLE=$(python3 -c "import urllib.parse; print(urllib.parse.quote('买牛奶'))")
open -g "things:///add?title=$TITLE&when=today"

Create multiple to-dos

open -g "things:///add?titles=Task%201%0aTask%202%0aTask%203&list=MyProject"

Create project with to-dos

open -g "things:///add-project?title=Travel&to-dos=Book%20flight%0aPack%20bags%0aGet%20passport&when=today"

Complete a to-do

open -g "things:///update?id=TODO_ID&completed=true&auth-token=YOUR_TOKEN"

Show Today list

open -g "things:///show?id=today"

Rate Limit

Max 250 items can be added within a 10-second period.

Download now (ZIP)

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Adopted by

Most recently taken up by

Word for word · 0

Edited · 0

Wrote their own version · 5

The file

2 rules. 0 are common, 2 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.

Things URL Scheme Skill

Quick Start

URL Encoding

Commands

1. add - Create a To-Do

2. add-project - Create a Project

3. update - Update a To-Do

4. update-project - Update a Project

5. show - Navigate to List/Item

6. search - Search To-Dos

7. version - Get Version Info

Data Types

Getting IDs

Chinese Character Support

Workflow Examples

Create a to-do with Chinese title

Create multiple to-dos

Create project with to-dos

Complete a to-do

Show Today list

Rate Limit

Does it work?

No reviews yet

Your trail

Now do this for your own.