Add --sort and --reverse flags to list commands by jeremy · Pull Request #299 · basecamp/basecamp-cli

jeremy · 2026-03-15T19:38:45Z

Summary

Add client-side --sort <field> and --reverse flags to 7 list commands: todos, cards, messages, todolists, projects, people, and schedule entries
Shared sort helpers in sort.go with per-type functions, field validation, and default sort directions (title/position ascending, created/updated descending, due ascending with empties last)
Position sorting scoped to single-parent contexts only (single todolist or column); omitted from aggregate paths
Todos aggregate path requires --all when --sort is passed (results are sampled per-list without it)
People sorts raw []basecamp.Person before slimming; uses name field (not title, which is job title)
Existing hardcoded sorts preserved when --sort is not set, with one intentional change: people default sort is now case-insensitive (strings.ToLower) to match --sort name semantics and projects default sort

Test plan

42 unit tests in sort_test.go covering every sort function, field validation, due-date edge cases, reverse behavior across all types, and position scoping
bin/ci passes (formatting, vetting, linting, unit tests, e2e tests, surface snapshot, skill drift, bare groups)
Manual: basecamp todos list --list <id> --sort due shows soonest-first with empties at bottom
Manual: basecamp projects list --sort created --reverse shows oldest projects first
Manual: basecamp todos list --sort title (without --list or --all) returns usage error

cubic-dev-ai

4 issues found across 10 files

Prompt for AI agents (unresolved issues)


Check if these issues are valid — if so, understand the root cause of each and fix them. If appropriate, use sub-agents to investigate and fix each issue separately.


<file name="internal/commands/cards.go">

<violation number="1" location="internal/commands/cards.go:160">
P2: Validate the sort field before making API calls. Currently `validateSortField` runs after all data has been fetched, so `--sort bogus` wastes API round-trips (especially in the aggregate path which fetches N columns). Move an early validation against the full superset of allowed fields to the top of the function, alongside the other flag-combination checks.</violation>
</file>

<file name="internal/commands/projects.go">

<violation number="1" location="internal/commands/projects.go:120">
P2: `--reverse` without `--sort` is silently ignored. The default alphabetical sort in the `else if` branch doesn't consult the `reverse` flag, so `basecamp projects list --reverse` has no effect. Either warn that `--reverse` requires `--sort`, or apply `reverse` to the default sort too.</violation>
</file>

<file name="internal/commands/people.go">

<violation number="1" location="internal/commands/people.go:250">
P2: `--reverse` is silently ignored when `--sort` is not specified. The default name sort in the `else` branch doesn't consult the `reverse` flag, so `basecamp people list --reverse` produces the same output as `basecamp people list`.</violation>
</file>

<file name="internal/commands/messages.go">

<violation number="1" location="internal/commands/messages.go:148">
P2: Sort field validation runs after the API call. Move `validateSortField` to the top of `runMessagesList` (alongside the other flag-combination checks) so an invalid `--sort` value fails fast instead of making a wasted network round-trip.</violation>
</file>

_{Reply with feedback, questions, or to request a fix. Tag @cubic-dev-ai to re-run a review.}

internal/commands/cards.go

internal/commands/projects.go

internal/commands/people.go

internal/commands/messages.go

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds client-side sorting support to multiple list subcommands in internal/commands, exposing consistent --sort <field> and --reverse flags and implementing shared sort helpers with validation.

Changes:

Introduces shared sort/validation helpers (sort.go) and unit tests (sort_test.go) for supported resource types and edge cases (notably due-date ordering).
Adds --sort/--reverse flags and applies client-side sorting to list outputs across todos, todolists, cards, messages, projects, people, and schedule entries.
Updates CLI surface snapshot to reflect the new flags.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 10 out of 10 changed files in this pull request and generated 12 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
internal/commands/todos.go	Adds `--sort/--reverse`, applies sorting for single-list and aggregate paths, and adds an aggregate guard requiring `--all` when sorting.
internal/commands/todolists.go	Adds `--sort/--reverse` and sorts todolist results client-side.
internal/commands/cards.go	Adds `--sort/--reverse` and sorts cards in single-column and aggregate column modes with field restrictions.
internal/commands/messages.go	Adds `--sort/--reverse` and sorts message results client-side.
internal/commands/projects.go	Adds `--sort/--reverse` while preserving the prior default alphabetical sort when `--sort` is not provided.
internal/commands/people.go	Adds `--sort/--reverse`, sorts raw SDK people before slimming output, preserves previous default sort when `--sort` is not provided.
internal/commands/schedule.go	Adds `--sort/--reverse` and sorts schedule entry results client-side.
internal/commands/sort.go	New shared sort helpers + sort-field validation and due-date comparison behavior.
internal/commands/sort_test.go	New unit tests for sort helpers, validation, reverse behavior, and due-date edge cases.
.surface	Records new flags in the CLI surface snapshot.

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internal/commands/schedule.go

internal/commands/people.go

internal/commands/cards.go

internal/commands/todolists.go

internal/commands/cards.go

internal/commands/todos.go

internal/commands/sort.go

internal/commands/projects.go

internal/commands/messages.go

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internal/commands/sort.go

jeremy · 2026-03-15T21:28:11Z

All four issues fixed in 6405ffe:

Sort field validated early (before API calls) in all commands
--reverse honored on default sorts for projects and people
Schedule sort uses Summary with Title fallback
People default sort now case-insensitive to match --sort name

cubic-dev-ai

1 issue found across 9 files (changes from recent commits).

Prompt for AI agents (unresolved issues)


Check if these issues are valid — if so, understand the root cause of each and fix them. If appropriate, use sub-agents to investigate and fix each issue separately.


<file name="internal/commands/todos.go">

<violation number="1" location="internal/commands/todos.go:454">
P2: The `position` rejection should come before the `--all` requirement check. Currently, `--sort position` without `--all` returns the misleading error "use --all when listing across todolists" instead of the correct "position requires --list". Swapping these two guards fixes the message.</violation>
</file>

_{Reply with feedback, questions, or to request a fix. Tag @cubic-dev-ai to re-run a review.}

internal/commands/todos.go

validateSortField checks field against an allowed set and returns a usage error listing valid values. Per-type sort functions (sortTodos, sortCards, sortMessages, sortTodolists, sortProjects, sortPeople, sortScheduleEntries) apply default directions: title/position/name ascending, created/updated descending, due ascending with empties last. --reverse flips via slices.Reverse. 30 unit tests cover every sort function, field validation, due-date edge cases, reverse behavior, and position scoping rules.

Wire sort helpers into todos, cards, messages, todolists, projects, people, and schedule entries list commands. When --sort is set it overrides any hardcoded default (projects alphabetical, people name). When not set, existing behavior is preserved exactly. Position is scoped to single-parent contexts: allowed with --list (todos) or --column (cards), omitted when aggregating. The todos aggregate path requires --all when --sort is passed because default paging silently samples per-todolist. People sorts the raw []basecamp.Person before slimming to the display type. The only allowed field is "name" (not "title", which is the job title field on Person).

- Validate sort field early (alongside other flag checks) before any API calls, so --sort bogus fails fast without wasting network round-trips - Honor --reverse on default sorts for projects and people, so `basecamp projects list --reverse` works without --sort - Sort schedule entries by Summary with Title fallback, matching the display behavior in schedule show - Make default people sort case-insensitive (ToLower) to match --sort name semantics - Reject --sort position early in aggregate paths with specific error messages ("requires --column" / "requires --list")

Swap the guard order so `--sort position` without `--list` gets the correct error ("requires --list") rather than the misleading "--sort requires --all" message.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds client-side sorting controls to multiple list commands across the Basecamp CLI, enabling consistent ordering via --sort <field> and --reverse while preserving existing default behaviors when sorting is not requested.

Changes:

Introduces --sort/--reverse flags and early sort-field validation for todos, todolists, cards, messages, projects, people, and schedule entries.
Adds shared sorting utilities (validateSortField, per-type sort* helpers, due-date comparison) in internal/commands/sort.go.
Adds unit tests for sort helpers and updates .surface to reflect the new flags.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 10 out of 10 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
internal/commands/todos.go	Adds sort/reverse flags, validates sort fields, applies client-side sorting, and enforces `--all` when sorting across todolists.
internal/commands/todolists.go	Adds sort/reverse flags, validation, and applies client-side sorting to todolist results.
internal/commands/cards.go	Adds sort/reverse flags, validates sort fields early, enforces no `position` sorting in aggregate mode, and applies client-side sorting.
internal/commands/messages.go	Adds sort/reverse flags, validation, and applies client-side sorting to message lists.
internal/commands/projects.go	Adds sort/reverse flags, validation, and hooks project sorting helpers while preserving the existing default alphabetization behavior.
internal/commands/people.go	Adds sort/reverse flags, validation, and sorts raw SDK people before slimming output.
internal/commands/schedule.go	Adds sort/reverse flags, validation, and applies client-side sorting to schedule entry lists.
internal/commands/sort.go	New shared sorting/validation helpers and per-entity sorting implementations.
internal/commands/sort_test.go	New unit tests covering validation, due-date comparator behavior, and sort helpers.
.surface	Captures the new CLI flags in the surface snapshot.

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internal/commands/people.go

internal/commands/sort_test.go

…schedule Covers --reverse behavior and updated/created sort directions for types that were only tested on title/position.

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings March 15, 2026 19:38

jeremy requested a review from a team as a code owner March 15, 2026 19:38

github-actions bot added commands CLI command implementations tests Tests (unit and e2e) enhancement New feature or request labels Mar 15, 2026

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of jeremy March 15, 2026 19:39 View session

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jeremy added 4 commits March 15, 2026 14:33

Reject --sort position before --all check in aggregate todos

e6c9df2

Swap the guard order so `--sort position` without `--list` gets the correct error ("requires --list") rather than the misleading "--sort requires --all" message.

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings March 15, 2026 21:34

jeremy force-pushed the bc-9661448087 branch from 6405ffe to e6c9df2 Compare March 15, 2026 21:34

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Add reverse and field coverage tests for cards, messages, todolists, …

ff31870

…schedule Covers --reverse behavior and updated/created sort directions for types that were only tested on title/position.

jeremy merged commit c38b6b4 into main Mar 16, 2026
26 checks passed

jeremy deleted the bc-9661448087 branch March 16, 2026 00:45

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jeremy commented Mar 15, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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jeremy commented Mar 15, 2026 •

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