tak: Store database in ~/.tak/ and auto-create on first use

- Change database location from current directory to ~/.tak/tak.db
- Auto-create database and schema on first use (no need for `tak init`)
- Update documentation to reflect new behavior
- `tak init` command still works but is optional

Co-authored-by: neongreen <1523306+neongreen@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: Copilot

tak/IMPLEMENTATION.md

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ Successfully implemented v0 of tak - a system-wide event-sourced task tracker as
 - **ULID identifiers**: Lexicographically sortable unique IDs for tasks and events
 - **Lamport timestamps**: Logical clock for event ordering
 - **WAL mode**: SQLite configured for better concurrency and durability
+- **Automatic setup**: Database created in `~/.tak/` on first use
 
 ### Event Types
 1. **task.created**: Creates a new task with title and creator
@@ -28,8 +29,8 @@ Role hierarchy (highest to lowest authority):
 When concurrent claims exist (same Lamport timestamp), the claim with highest authority becomes effective, and lower-authority claims are marked as tentative.
 
 ### CLI Commands
-- `tak init` - Initialize a new database
-- `tak db path` - Show database path
+- `tak init` - Initialize a new database (optional, auto-created on first use)
+- `tak db path` - Show database path (defaults to `~/.tak/tak.db`)
 - `tak new "title"` - Create a new task
 - `tak status set <id> <state>` - Set task status (supports --axis and --role flags)
 - `tak note <id> "text"` - Add a note to a task
@@ -92,12 +93,13 @@ PASS
 
 Example workflow:
 ```bash
-$ tak init
-Database initialized at /tmp/tak-demo/tak.db
-
+# No initialization needed - database is created automatically
 $ tak new "Implement authentication"
 Created task tak_01K86GH6XWR3RYYY008V84SE8B: Implement authentication
 
+$ tak db path
+/home/user/.tak/tak.db
+
 $ tak status set tak_01K86GH6XWR3RYYY008V84SE8B in_progress
 Set status for task tak_01K86GH6XWR3RYYY008V84SE8B: generic=in_progress
 

tak/README.md

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ tak is a command-line tool that tracks tasks system-wide using an append-only ev
 - **Authority lattice**: Conflicts are resolved based on role authority (human > qa > rel > agent > bot)
 - **Multi-valued registers**: Conflicting claims are preserved as tentative/effective
 - **SQLite backend**: Durable, inspectable, and portable
+- **Automatic setup**: Database is created automatically in `~/.tak/` on first use
 
 ## Installation
 
@@ -27,21 +28,17 @@ mise run //tak:run
 
 ## Usage
 
-### Initialize a database
+### Database Location
 
-```bash
-tak init
-```
-
-This creates a `tak.db` file in the current directory.
+tak stores its database in `~/.tak/tak.db` by default. The database and directory are created automatically on first use.
 
 ### Create a task
 
 ```bash
 tak new "wire up rc deploy toggle"
 ```
 
-This creates a new task with a unique ID like `tak_01J3XM4NZ2R72`.
+This creates a new task with a unique ID like `tak_01J3XM4NZ2R72`. No initialization is required.
 
 ### Set task status
 
@@ -87,6 +84,14 @@ tak ls --axis generic:in_progress
 tak db path
 ```
 
+### Initialize database (optional)
+
+The database is created automatically when you first use tak. However, you can explicitly initialize it:
+
+```bash
+tak init
+```
+
 ## Concepts
 
 ### Events
@@ -122,7 +127,8 @@ Tasks can have multiple status axes. Currently, only the "generic" axis is used,
 
 This is v0 of tak - a minimal claims tracker. The current implementation includes:
 
-- Event store with SQLite backend
+- Event store with SQLite backend in `~/.tak/`
+- Automatic database initialization
 - Basic task lifecycle (create, status, notes)
 - Authority-based claim resolution
 - CLI for all core operations
@@ -148,6 +154,6 @@ go fmt ./...
 
 Run via mise:
 ```bash
-mise run //tak:run init
 mise run //tak:run new "test task"
+mise run //tak:run ls
 ```

tak/db.go

@@ -21,6 +21,12 @@ type DB struct {
 
 // OpenDB opens or creates a tak database at the given path
 func OpenDB(path string) (*DB, error) {
+	// Ensure the directory exists
+	dir := filepath.Dir(path)
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0755); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create directory %s: %w", dir, err)
+	}
+
 	db, err := sql.Open("sqlite3", path)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to open database: %w", err)
@@ -178,14 +184,15 @@ func (d *DB) Close() error {
 	return d.db.Close()
 }
 
-// GetDBPath returns the database path for the current directory
+// GetDBPath returns the database path in ~/.tak/ directory
 func GetDBPath() (string, error) {
-	cwd, err := os.Getwd()
+	home, err := os.UserHomeDir()
 	if err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to get current directory: %w", err)
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to get home directory: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	return filepath.Join(cwd, dbFileName), nil
+	takDir := filepath.Join(home, ".tak")
+	return filepath.Join(takDir, dbFileName), nil
 }
 
 // DBExists checks if a database exists at the given path

tak/main.go

@@ -350,11 +350,23 @@ func openExistingDB() (*DB, error) {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	if !DBExists(path) {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("database not found at %s, run 'tak init' first", path)
+	// Check if database exists, if not, create it
+	dbExists := DBExists(path)
+
+	db, err := OpenDB(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// If database didn't exist, initialize the schema
+	if !dbExists {
+		if err := db.InitDB(); err != nil {
+			db.Close()
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to initialize database schema: %w", err)
+		}
 	}
 
-	return OpenDB(path)
+	return db, nil
 }
 
 func getCurrentUser() (string, error) {