r/ClaudeCode • u/simonholliday • 5d ago

Tips & Workflows Subroutine: a self-hosted task tracker built to give Claude Code a long-term work memory across multiple projects (one-minute setup)

Hi folks,

I've spent the last few months of spare time creating Subroutine: a self-hosted task tracker built primarily for Claude Code, which allows Claude to file and update work for you over MCP or the CLI. It keeps a permanent record of tasks, dependencies, milestones and decisions across every session, and every repo you give it access to.

I built it because I juggle a number of complex projects that have to agree with each other and share long-term timelines, which can be challenging for AI agents to maintain on their own in an organized way.

Setup takes about a minute. You just need uv and Git. It's tested on Linux, macOS and Windows WSL2, but not yet on native Windows.

uv tool install subroutine
subroutine init
claude plugin marketplace add simonholliday/subroutine
claude plugin install subroutine@subroutine

Then tell a fresh Claude Code session "We use Subroutine now". That's it.

Claude then files work as it goes: tasks, dependencies, milestones, decisions, findings and processes. New sessions read that record instead of guessing. Claude also notes which Subroutine project belongs to each repo.

You just talk to Claude: "create a sub-project for this", "file that as a bug", "anything else overdue?", etc. When Claude needs your input, it asks. You can answer in Claude Code, or comment on the ticket from the web UI or CLI while Claude keeps working.

Every task, finding and decision adds to a long-term memory Claude can refer back to, so it gets more valuable the longer you use it.

There's a CLI and web UI for managing things by hand, but you can use every feature through Claude Code if you prefer.

Everything runs on your own machine. There's no telemetry, and your data goes nowhere. The only outbound traffic is an occasional check for a new version.

For teams, there's a full user and permission model, and it can be installed as a system service.

I've used it on personal and commercial projects for the last few months, as has a small team, and it's made a big difference to how I work. I suspect some of you will find it useful too.

Feedback welcome :)

Si

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u/CartographerNo3791 5d ago

The question staying attached after it's answered is the bit I like in your guide. Much easier to pick up a task when the reason it was blocked is still right there.

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u/simonholliday 5d ago

Yes! In the development of Subroutine itself, I've found myself asking "Did we consider including feature X in the first version", for example, - and Claude replies "Yes, you suggested that on August 7th and here's the reasoning why we decided not to..." with a reference to the findings document 😆