added pr prep automation via Just.

.justfile

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+# .justfile for project management
+
+pr_prep_patch:
+    git fetch origin
+    git checkout main
+    git pull origin main
+    git checkout -
+    git merge main
+    uv run ruff format
+    uv run ruff check --fix
+    uv lock -U
+    uv version --bump patch
+    uv build
+    git add .
+    git commit -m 'automated commit from just pr_prep_patch'
+
+pr_prep_minor:
+    git fetch origin
+    git checkout main
+    git pull origin main
+    git checkout -
+    git merge main
+    uv run ruff format
+    uv run ruff check --fix
+    uv lock -U
+    uv version --bump minor
+    uv build
+    git add .
+    git commit -m 'automated commit from just pr_prep_minor'
+
+
+pr_prep_major:
+    git fetch origin
+    git checkout main
+    git pull origin main
+    git checkout -
+    git merge main
+    uv run ruff format
+    uv run ruff check --fix
+    uv lock -U
+    uv version --bump major
+    uv build
+    git add .
+    git commit -m 'automated commit from just pr_prep_major'

.vscode/tasks.json

@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+{
+    "version": "2.0.0",
+    "tasks": [
+        {
+            "label": "PR Prep: Patch",
+            "type": "shell",
+            "command": "just",
+            "args": ["pr_prep_patch"],
+            "group": {
+                "kind": "build",
+                "isDefault": false
+            },
+            "presentation": {
+                "echo": true,
+                "reveal": "always",
+                "focus": true,
+                "panel": "shared",
+                "showReuseMessage": true,
+                "clear": false
+            },
+            "problemMatcher": [],
+            "detail": "Prepare PR with patch version bump",
+            "icon": {
+                "id": "git-pull-request",
+                "color": "terminal.ansiGreen"
+            }
+        },
+        {
+            "label": "PR Prep: Minor",
+            "type": "shell",
+            "command": "just",
+            "args": ["pr_prep_minor"],
+            "group": {
+                "kind": "build",
+                "isDefault": false
+            },
+            "presentation": {
+                "echo": true,
+                "reveal": "always",
+                "focus": true,
+                "panel": "shared",
+                "showReuseMessage": true,
+                "clear": false
+            },
+            "problemMatcher": [],
+            "detail": "Prepare PR with minor version bump",
+            "icon": {
+                "id": "git-pull-request",
+                "color": "terminal.ansiBlue"
+            }
+        },
+        {
+            "label": "PR Prep: Major",
+            "type": "shell",
+            "command": "just",
+            "args": ["pr_prep_major"],
+            "group": {
+                "kind": "build",
+                "isDefault": false
+            },
+            "presentation": {
+                "echo": true,
+                "reveal": "always",
+                "focus": true,
+                "panel": "shared",
+                "showReuseMessage": true,
+                "clear": false
+            },
+            "problemMatcher": [],
+            "detail": "Prepare PR with major version bump",
+            "icon": {
+                "id": "git-pull-request",
+                "color": "terminal.ansiRed"
+            }
+        },
+        {
+            "label": "Code Quality: Format & Lint",
+            "type": "shell",
+            "command": "uv",
+            "args": ["run", "ruff", "format"],
+            "group": {
+                "kind": "build",
+                "isDefault": true
+            },
+            "presentation": {
+                "echo": true,
+                "reveal": "always",
+                "focus": true,
+                "panel": "shared",
+                "showReuseMessage": true,
+                "clear": false
+            },
+            "problemMatcher": [],
+            "detail": "Format code with ruff",
+            "icon": {
+                "id": "code",
+                "color": "terminal.ansiYellow"
+            },
+            "dependsOrder": "sequence",
+            "dependsOn": ["Code Quality: Lint Fix"]
+        },
+        {
+            "label": "Code Quality: Lint Fix",
+            "type": "shell",
+            "command": "uv",
+            "args": ["run", "ruff", "check", "--fix"],
+            "group": "build",
+            "presentation": {
+                "echo": true,
+                "reveal": "always",
+                "focus": true,
+                "panel": "shared",
+                "showReuseMessage": true,
+                "clear": false
+            },
+            "problemMatcher": [],
+            "detail": "Fix linting issues with ruff",
+            "icon": {
+                "id": "tools",
+                "color": "terminal.ansiYellow"
+            }
+        },
+        {
+            "label": "Dependencies: Update Lock",
+            "type": "shell",
+            "command": "uv",
+            "args": ["lock", "-U"],
+            "group": "build",
+            "presentation": {
+                "echo": true,
+                "reveal": "always",
+                "focus": true,
+                "panel": "shared",
+                "showReuseMessage": true,
+                "clear": false
+            },
+            "problemMatcher": [],
+            "detail": "Update dependency lock file",
+            "icon": {
+                "id": "package",
+                "color": "terminal.ansiCyan"
+            }
+        }
+    ]
+}

README.md

@@ -80,6 +80,91 @@ If you prefer not to use the entry point, you can run directly:
 uv run src/main.py
 ```
 
+## Development Workflow
+
+Merlin includes automated development workflows using [Just](https://just.systems/) - a command runner that simplifies common tasks.
+
+### Installing Just
+
+**Option 1: Quick Install (Recommended)**
+```bash
+curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://just.systems/install.sh | bash -s -- --to ~/.local/bin
+```
+
+**Option 2: Package Manager**
+```bash
+# On macOS with Homebrew
+brew install just
+
+# On Ubuntu/Debian
+wget -qO - 'https://proget.makedeb.org/debian-feeds/prebuilt-mpr.pub' | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/prebuilt-mpr-archive-keyring.gpg 1> /dev/null
+echo "deb [arch=all,amd64,arm64,armhf signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/prebuilt-mpr-archive-keyring.gpg] https://proget.makedeb.org prebuilt-mpr $(lsb_release -cs)" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/prebuilt-mpr.list
+sudo apt update
+sudo apt install just
+
+# On Windows with Chocolatey  
+choco install just
+
+# On Windows with Scoop
+scoop install just
+```
+
+### Available Commands
+
+Run `just --list` to see all available commands:
+
+- **`just pr_prep_patch`** - Prepare PR with patch version bump (bug fixes, small changes)
+- **`just pr_prep_minor`** - Prepare PR with minor version bump (new features, backward compatible)
+- **`just pr_prep_major`** - Prepare PR with major version bump (breaking changes)
+
+### What Each Command Does
+
+Each PR preparation command performs a complete automated workflow:
+
+1. **Git Sync**: Fetch, checkout main, pull latest, merge to current branch
+2. **Code Quality**: Format code with `ruff format` and fix issues with `ruff check --fix`
+3. **Dependencies**: Update lock file with `uv lock -U`
+4. **Versioning**: Bump version (patch/minor/major) and build project
+5. **Commit**: Stage all changes and commit with automated message
+
+### Usage Examples
+
+**Terminal Usage:**
+```bash
+# For bug fixes and documentation updates
+just pr_prep_patch
+
+# For new features that don't break existing functionality
+just pr_prep_minor
+
+# For breaking changes or major rewrites
+just pr_prep_major
+```
+
+**VS Code Integration:**
+
+The project includes VS Code tasks for easy access to Just commands:
+
+1. **Command Palette** (`Ctrl+Shift+P` or `Cmd+Shift+P`):
+   - Type "Tasks: Run Task"
+   - Select from available tasks:
+     - `PR Prep: Patch` (🟢 Green icon)
+     - `PR Prep: Minor` (🔵 Blue icon) 
+     - `PR Prep: Major` (🔴 Red icon)
+     - `Code Quality: Format & Lint`
+     - `Dependencies: Update Lock`
+
+2. **Quick Access** (`Ctrl+Shift+P`):
+   - Type "Tasks: Run Build Task" for default formatting task
+
+3. **Terminal Menu**: Go to **Terminal** → **Run Task...**
+
+**Task Features:**
+- 🎯 **Auto-focus**: Tasks automatically switch to terminal when running
+- 🎨 **Color-coded**: Green for patch, blue for minor, red for major changes
+- 📝 **Descriptive**: Each task shows what it does in the picker
+- 🔗 **Integrated**: Seamless workflow between VS Code and terminal
+
 ### Configuration
 
 Merlin uses a two-tier configuration system to separate application settings from personal user settings.

pyproject.toml

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
 [project]
 name = "Merlin"
-version = "1.2.2"
+version = "1.2.3"
 description = "Merlin - Your AI Assistant with multi-agent architecture"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.14"
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "urllib3>=2.0.0",
     "retry-requests>=2.0.0",
     "python-dotenv>=1.1.1",
+    "python-dateutil>=2.9.0.post0",
 ]
 
 [project.scripts]