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Avon User Guide

Avon is a Shakespearean task manager that keeps todos, deadlines, and events in one place. Speak commands in the text field, press Enter or Send, and Avon will answer in the conversation window.

Quick start

1. Install Java 25.
2. Download avon.jar from the latest release.
3. Place the JAR in an empty folder so its task data is easy to find.
4. Open a terminal in that folder and run java -jar avon.jar.

Avon creates data/avon.txt beside the JAR when the task list first changes. Keep that file if you want your tasks to remain available the next time Avon starts.

Commands

Words in uppercase represent values that you supply. Dates and optional times use the yyyy-MM-dd [HHmm] format, where [HHmm] is an optional 24-hour time. For example, 2026-01-02 0800 means 2 January 2026 at 8am.

Add a todo

Use todo DESCRIPTION for a task without a date.

todo read Hamlet

Add a deadline

Use deadline DESCRIPTION /by yyyy-MM-dd [HHmm] for work due by a specific date or time.

deadline submit iP /by 2026-09-18 2359

Add an event

Use event DESCRIPTION /from yyyy-MM-dd [HHmm] /to yyyy-MM-dd [HHmm] for an activity with a start and end. The end must be later than the start.

event project meeting /from 2026-09-18 1400 /to 2026-09-18 1600

View tasks

Use list to show every task and its current number.

list

Task markers have the following meanings:

• [T] — todo
• [D] — deadline
• [E] — event
• [ ] — not completed
• [X] — completed

Find tasks

Use find KEYWORD to show tasks whose descriptions contain the case-sensitive keyword.

find project

Mark or unmark a task

Use the number shown by list or find.

mark 2
unmark 2

Delete a task

Use delete TASK_NUMBER to permanently remove one task.

delete 2

Get help

Use help to see command formats inside Avon.

help

Exit Avon

Use bye to close the application.

bye

Command summary

Action	Format
Add a todo	todo DESCRIPTION
Add a deadline	deadline DESCRIPTION /by yyyy-MM-dd [HHmm]
Add an event	event DESCRIPTION /from yyyy-MM-dd [HHmm] /to yyyy-MM-dd [HHmm]
View tasks	list
Find tasks	find KEYWORD
Mark a task	mark TASK_NUMBER
Unmark a task	unmark TASK_NUMBER
Delete a task	delete TASK_NUMBER
Get help	help
Exit Avon	bye

Error recovery

Avon highlights invalid GUI responses in red and explains both the problem and the expected command format. Common corrections include:

• supply a non-empty description;
• include each required /by, /from, or /to separator exactly once;
• use real dates and valid 24-hour times;
• choose a task number currently shown by list;
• avoid adding a task with the same type, description, and date or time as an existing task.

If data/avon.txt is missing, Avon starts with an empty task list and creates it when needed. If the file is unreadable or corrupted, Avon reports the problem without overwriting the existing data.

Data and privacy

All task data stays in the local data/avon.txt file. Avon does not require an account or send task data over the network.