Feature request: configurable task list display verbosity in system-reminders
Summary
Request a configuration option (e.g., taskListVerbosity in settings.json) to restore the previous behavior of inline-displaying pending task names in system-reminders, rather than only showing in_progress tasks with a count summary for pending.
Current behavior
System-reminder task list shows in_progress tasks inline (■) but compresses pending tasks to a count-only summary:
■ Task A (in_progress)
■ Task B (in_progress)
■ Task C (in_progress)
■ Task D (in_progress)
■ Task E (in_progress)
… +1 in progress, 4 pending, 57 completed
Pending task names are not visible in the system-reminder display.
Previous behavior (preferred)
Both in_progress (■) and pending (□) tasks were shown inline by name, with completed tasks summarized as a count:
■ Task A (in_progress)
■ Task B (in_progress)
■ Task C (in_progress)
■ Task D (in_progress)
■ Task E (in_progress)
□ Task F (pending)
□ Task G (pending)
□ Task H (pending)
□ Task I (pending)
□ Task J (pending)
… +57 completed
Why this matters
For long-running projects with many pending strategic tasks, having pending task names visible inline keeps context fresh during conversations and reduces the need for explicit TaskList tool invocations. The current count-only summary requires either:
- Asking Claude to invoke
TaskListto dump full state, OR - Remembering pending task names and IDs
Both add friction for users tracking a large but mostly-pending workload.
Suggested solution
Add a taskListVerbosity configuration key in settings.json:
{
"taskListVerbosity": "full"
}
Where:
"compact"= current behavior (in_progress inline + pending count)"full"= previous behavior (in_progress inline + pending inline + completed count)"in-progress-only"= even more compact (omit pending count too)
Default could remain "compact" for token efficiency; users who prefer explicit task visibility opt into "full".
Alternatives considered
- Slash command
/tasks --full— explicit dump on demand. Useful but adds per-request friction. - Environment variable
CLAUDE_CODE_TASK_LIST_VERBOSITY=full— works but less discoverable thansettings.jsonkey. - Project-level vs user-level setting — both should be supported following the existing
settings.jsonhierarchy.
Context
Discovered during long-running projects with 5+ in_progress + 5+ pending tasks. The current display compression hides the pending task list entirely, requiring explicit tool invocations to recall pending work. Adding a verbosity control lets power users opt into the older behavior without affecting the default.
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