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Obsidian Tasks SQL Powered

Getting Started

Tasks tracks your checklist items from your vault. The simplest way to create a new task is to create a new checklist item. The markdown syntax for checklist items is a list item that starts with spaced brackets: - [ ] take out the trash. Now Tasks tracks that you need to take out the trash!

Live Examples

If you download this documentation as a vault from the releases you can see all the queries execute live. If you are viewing this from the website you will not see any output for the queries.

Tasks SQL Powered

To list all open tasks in a markdown file, simply add a Queries - SQL as a tasks code block like so:

 WHERE status->indicator != "x"

Now you have a list of all open tasks! This is enough to get started with tasks.

This new language requires a bit more explanation, this is covered in the Queries - SQL Section.

Tasks Original

To list all open tasks in a markdown file, simply add a Queries - Basic as a tasks code block like so:

 not done

Now you have a list of all open tasks! This is enough to get started with tasks. You can optionally start using one or more of the other features that Tasks offers. Like, for example, priorities or dates

A more convenient way to create a task is by using the Tasks: Create or edit command from the command palette. You can also bind a hotkey to the command. The command will parse what’s on the current line in your editor and pre-populate a modal. In the modal, you can change the task’s description, its due date, and a recurrence rule to have a repeating task. See below for more details on due dates and recurrence. You cannot toggle a task (un)done in the modal. For that, do one of the following.

There are two ways to mark a task done:

  1. In preview mode, click the checkbox at the beginning of the task to toggle the status between “todo” and “done”.
  2. In edit mode, use the command Tasks: Toggle Done.
    • The command will only be available if the cursor is on a line with a checklist item.
    • You can map the command to a hotkey in order to quickly toggle statuses in the editor view (I recommend to replace the original “Toggle checklist status” with it).
    • If the checklist item is not a task (e.g. due to a global filter), the command will toggle it like a regular checklist item.

A “done” task will have the date it was done appended to the end of its line. For example: ✅ 2021-04-09 means the task was done on the 9th of April, 2021.

⚠ Warning

Whenever Tasks behaves in an unexpected way, please try restarting Obsidian.

⚠ Warning

Tasks only supports single-line checklist items.

The task list rendered through this plugin and the checklist items from which the task list is built render only the first line of the item. Text after the first line in a multi-line checklist item is ignored (but is unaffected in the stored .md file).

This works:

-   [ ] This is a task
    -   This is a sub-item
    -   Another sub-item
    -   [ ] And a sub task
        -   Even more details

The following does not work:

-   [ ] This task starts on this line
        and then its description continues on the next line

⚠ Warning

Tasks can only render inline footnotes. Regular footnotes are not supported.

-   [ ] This is a task^[with a working inline footnote]
-   [ ] This footnote _will not work_[^notworking]

⚠ Warning

Tasks’ support for block quotes inside tasks is limited. It renders correctly, but since Tasks only supports a single line, the meta-data of the task will be inside the block quote.

⚠ Warning

Tasks won’t render spaces around list items if you have a list with empty lines.

-   [ ] First task before the empty line

-   [ ] Another task. The empty line above will _not_ result in the tasks being more spaced out.

⚠ Warning

You can only put block links (^link-name) after metadata such as dates. Anything else will break the parsing of dates, priorities and recurrence rules.

-   [ ] Task with priority placed before tag _priority will not be recognized_ 🔼 #tag
-   [ ] Task with date placed before tag _date will not be recognized_ 📅 2021-04-09 #tag
-   [ ] Task with block link _works_ 📅 2021-04-09 ^e5bebf
-   [ ] Task with tag before priority _works_ #tag 🔼

⚠ Warning

Tasks only supports checklist items in markdown files with the file extension .md.

For more information please see the rest of this vault / site.

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