fix: IMP-4/5/6 — parser allowlist, delete ID resolution, consistent errors

IMP-5: Replace strings.Contains(arg, ":") heuristic with an allowlist
of recognized attribute keys (ValidAttributeKeys). Colons in task
descriptions (URLs, "Meeting: topic") are no longer misinterpreted as
modifiers. Canonical key sets live in engine/keys.go and are shared
across parseAddArgs, ParseFilter, and ParseModifier. ParseModifier now
errors on unknown keys.

IMP-4: delete command now loads the working set and resolves display IDs
via GetTaskByDisplayID, matching the pattern used by done/modify.

IMP-6: All action commands (done, delete, modify, start, stop) now
return an error on no-match (stderr, exit 1). Previously done/delete
printed to stdout and exited 0; start/stop had no check at all.

Also adds requirements and design docs for the CLI UX improvements.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

opal-task/cmd/add.go

@@ -71,23 +71,29 @@ func addTask(args []string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// parseAddArgs extracts description and modifiers from args
-// Description = all non-filter/modifier words joined with spaces
-// Filters/Modifiers = args with +, -, or containing :
+// parseAddArgs extracts description and modifiers from args.
+// Tags (+tag, -tag) are always modifiers. For key:value tokens, only
+// recognized attribute keys (engine.ValidAttributeKeys) are treated as
+// modifiers — everything else becomes part of the description.
 func parseAddArgs(args []string) (string, []string, error) {
 	var descParts []string
 	var modifiers []string
 
 	for _, arg := range args {
-		isFilterOrModifier := strings.HasPrefix(arg, "+") ||
-			strings.HasPrefix(arg, "-") ||
-			strings.Contains(arg, ":")
-
-		if isFilterOrModifier {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(arg, "+") || strings.HasPrefix(arg, "-") {
 			modifiers = append(modifiers, arg)
-		} else {
-			descParts = append(descParts, arg)
+			continue
 		}
+
+		if idx := strings.Index(arg, ":"); idx > 0 {
+			key := arg[:idx]
+			if engine.ValidAttributeKeys[key] {
+				modifiers = append(modifiers, arg)
+				continue
+			}
+		}
+
+		descParts = append(descParts, arg)
 	}
 
 	if len(descParts) == 0 {

opal-task/cmd/delete.go

@@ -26,14 +26,31 @@ func deleteTasks(args []string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	tasks, err := engine.GetTasks(filter)
+	// Load working set to resolve display IDs (matches done/modify pattern)
+	ws, err := engine.LoadWorkingSet()
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to load working set: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	var tasks []*engine.Task
+
+	if len(filter.IDs) > 0 {
+		for _, id := range filter.IDs {
+			task, err := ws.GetTaskByDisplayID(id)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			tasks = append(tasks, task)
+		}
+	} else {
+		tasks, err = engine.GetTasks(filter)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
 	}
 
 	if len(tasks) == 0 {
-		fmt.Println("No tasks matched.")
-		return nil
+		return fmt.Errorf("no tasks matched filter")
 	}
 
 	fmt.Printf("Delete %d task(s)? (y/N): ", len(tasks))

opal-task/cmd/done.go

@@ -63,8 +63,7 @@ func completeTasks(args []string) error {
 	}
 
 	if len(tasks) == 0 {
-		fmt.Println("No tasks matched.")
-		return nil
+		return fmt.Errorf("no tasks matched filter")
 	}
 
 	// Confirm if multiple tasks

opal-task/cmd/modify.go

@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ func modifyTasks(filterArgs, modifierArgs []string) error {
 	}
 
 	if len(tasks) == 0 {
-		return fmt.Errorf("no tasks matched")
+		return fmt.Errorf("no tasks matched filter")
 	}
 
 	// Confirm if multiple tasks or no filters specified

opal-task/cmd/start.go

@@ -43,6 +43,10 @@ func startTasks(args []string) error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	if len(tasks) == 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("no tasks matched filter")
+	}
+
 	for _, task := range tasks {
 		task.StartTask()
 		fmt.Printf("Started task: %s\n", task.Description)

opal-task/cmd/stop.go

@@ -43,6 +43,10 @@ func stopTasks(args []string) error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	if len(tasks) == 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("no tasks matched filter")
+	}
+
 	for _, task := range tasks {
 		task.StopTask()
 		fmt.Printf("Stopped task: %s\n", task.Description)

opal-task/internal/engine/filter.go

@@ -42,17 +42,18 @@ func ParseFilter(args []string) (*Filter, error) {
 		} else if strings.HasPrefix(arg, "-") && !strings.Contains(arg, ":") {
 			// Exclude tag (but not negative modifiers like priority:-)
 			f.ExcludeTags = append(f.ExcludeTags, strings.TrimPrefix(arg, "-"))
-		} else if strings.Contains(arg, ":") {
-			// Attribute filter
-			parts := strings.SplitN(arg, ":", 2)
-			key := parts[0]
-			value := parts[1]
+		} else if idx := strings.Index(arg, ":"); idx > 0 {
+			key := arg[:idx]
+			value := arg[idx+1:]
 
-			if key == "uuid" {
+			if FilterOnlyKeys[key] {
+				// Filter-only keys (e.g., uuid)
 				f.UUIDs = append(f.UUIDs, value)
-			} else {
+			} else if ValidAttributeKeys[key] {
+				// Known attribute filter
 				f.Attributes[key] = value
 			}
+			// Unrecognized key:value tokens are silently ignored
 		} else {
 			// Try parsing as numeric ID
 			id, err := strconv.Atoi(arg)

opal-task/internal/engine/keys.go

@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+package engine
+
+// ValidAttributeKeys are the recognized key:value attribute names.
+// Used by parseAddArgs (cmd/add.go), ParseFilter, and ParseModifier
+// to distinguish modifiers from description text.
+var ValidAttributeKeys = map[string]bool{
+	"due":       true,
+	"priority":  true,
+	"project":   true,
+	"recur":     true,
+	"status":    true,
+	"wait":      true,
+	"scheduled": true,
+	"until":     true,
+}
+
+// DateKeys is the subset of ValidAttributeKeys that hold date values.
+// Used by Modifier.Apply and Modifier.ApplyToNew for date parsing.
+var DateKeys = map[string]bool{
+	"due":       true,
+	"scheduled": true,
+	"wait":      true,
+	"until":     true,
+}
+
+// FilterOnlyKeys are additional keys valid in filter context but not as
+// modifiers (e.g., uuid is a filter target, not something you set via modify).
+var FilterOnlyKeys = map[string]bool{
+	"uuid": true,
+}

opal-task/internal/engine/modifier.go

@@ -23,7 +23,9 @@ func NewModifier() *Modifier {
 	}
 }
 
-// ParseModifier parses command-line args into Modifier
+// ParseModifier parses command-line args into Modifier.
+// Only recognized attribute keys (ValidAttributeKeys) are accepted;
+// unrecognized key:value tokens produce an error.
 func ParseModifier(args []string) (*Modifier, error) {
 	m := NewModifier()
 
@@ -34,11 +36,13 @@ func ParseModifier(args []string) (*Modifier, error) {
 		} else if strings.HasPrefix(arg, "-") && !strings.Contains(arg, ":") {
 			// Remove tag
 			m.RemoveTags = append(m.RemoveTags, strings.TrimPrefix(arg, "-"))
-		} else if strings.Contains(arg, ":") {
-			// Attribute modification
-			parts := strings.SplitN(arg, ":", 2)
-			key := parts[0]
-			value := parts[1]
+		} else if idx := strings.Index(arg, ":"); idx > 0 {
+			key := arg[:idx]
+			value := arg[idx+1:]
+
+			if !ValidAttributeKeys[key] {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("unknown modifier: %q (known: due, priority, project, recur, status, wait, scheduled, until)", key)
+			}
 
 			if value == "" {
 				// Clear attribute (priority: with no value)
@@ -83,7 +87,7 @@ func (m *Modifier) Apply(task *Task) error {
 	resolvedDates["modified"] = task.Modified
 
 	// Apply attributes in the order they were specified (important for relative references)
-	dateKeys := map[string]bool{"due": true, "scheduled": true, "wait": true, "until": true}
+	dateKeys := DateKeys
 
 	for _, key := range m.AttributeOrder {
 		valuePtr := m.SetAttributes[key]
@@ -151,7 +155,7 @@ func (m *Modifier) ApplyToNew(task *Task) error {
 	}
 
 	// Apply attributes in the order they were specified (important for relative references)
-	dateKeys := map[string]bool{"due": true, "scheduled": true, "wait": true, "until": true}
+	dateKeys := DateKeys
 
 	for _, key := range m.AttributeOrder {
 		valuePtr := m.SetAttributes[key]