# Obsidian Task Center > Read and write tasks in an Obsidian vault through the Task Center plugin's CLI. Use when the user wants to list, schedule, complete, abandon, nest, or add tasks — or when they want estimate-accuracy / review / agent-brief stats. Obsidian must be running with the `task-center` plugin enabled; all verbs are namespaced `obsidian task-center:`. - Skill: `correctroadh/obsidian-task-center` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 5 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add correctroadh/obsidian-task-center` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/correctroadh/obsidian-task-center/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - Author: correctroadh (https://skillmd.com/u/correctroadh) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/correctroadh/obsidian-task-center --- # Obsidian Task Center — CLI skill This skill is the AI interface to the obsidian-task-center plugin. The plugin registers its verbs to Obsidian's native CLI (1.12.2+), so calls go `obsidian task-center: key=value …`. For a full command index, run: ```bash obsidian task-center ``` Data stays inline markdown. Syntax: ``` - [ ] Title #2象限 📅 2026-05-15 ⏳ 2026-04-24 ➕ 2026-04-23 [estimate:: 90m] [actual:: 75m] ``` | Field | Encoding | Meaning | |---|---|---| | `⏳ YYYY-MM-DD` | scheduled | which day the user plans to do it | | `📅 YYYY-MM-DD` | deadline | external hard deadline | | `➕ YYYY-MM-DD` | created | when the task was added | | `✅ YYYY-MM-DD` | completed | done stamp (written when `[x]`) | | `❌ YYYY-MM-DD` | cancelled | dropped stamp (written when `[-]`) | | `[estimate:: Nm]` | estimate | minutes planned | | `[actual:: Nm]` | actual | minutes actually spent | | `#1象限..#4象限` | quadrant | Covey quadrants (1=urgent+important, 2=not-urgent+important, 3=urgent, 4=neither) | ## When to use this skill - "list today's tasks" / "what do I have scheduled" → `task-center:list` - "show task details" / "pull the raw line" → `task-center:show` - "schedule X" / "move X to tomorrow" → `task-center:schedule` - "mark X done" / "I finished X" → `task-center:done` - "drop X" / "abandon X" / "remove X" → `task-center:abandon` - "nest X under Y" / "make X a subtask of Y" → `task-center:nest` - "log time on X" / "I spent 45m on X" → `task-center:actual` - "add a task" / "remind me to …" → `task-center:add` - "how accurate were my estimates" / "weekly review" → `task-center:stats` - "what should I do next" / "brief me on today" → `task-center:brief` - "end-of-day review" / "what happened this week" → `task-center:review` - "list/manage/edit query tabs" / "show saved query DSL" / "run a preset view" → `task-center:query-list` / `task-center:query-show` / `task-center:query-run` - "create/update/rename/copy/hide/delete/default a query tab" → `task-center:query-create` / `task-center:query-update` / `task-center:query-rename` / `task-center:query-copy` / `task-center:query-hide` / `task-center:query-delete` / `task-center:query-set-default` **Do not** use `Read`/`Write` directly on task files to mutate tasks — use the CLI so `vault.process` locking + parser conventions are respected. Reading files is fine when you want broader context (the task body, surrounding notes). ## Before calling any verb Verify the plugin is loaded: ```bash obsidian plugins:enabled | grep task-center ``` If missing, ask the user to enable it. If Obsidian isn't running, the CLI will auto-launch (first call incurs latency). If `obsidian task-center` works but a specific verb is missing, the vault is running an older plugin build. Ask the user to update/reload Task Center before using that verb. ## Verbs ### `task-center:list [filters]` Read-only. Returns tasks matching all filters. Every row starts with `:L` as the id — safe to pipe. ``` obsidian task-center:list scheduled=today obsidian task-center:list scheduled=unscheduled tag='#2象限' obsidian task-center:list done=2026-04-01..2026-04-30 obsidian task-center:list overdue obsidian task-center:list status=todo search=示例 ``` `scheduled=` / `done=` vocabulary: - `today` / `tomorrow` / `yesterday` - `week` (this week) / `next-week` - `month` / `next-month` - `unscheduled` (only meaningful with `scheduled=`) - ISO `YYYY-MM-DD` - range `YYYY-MM-DD..YYYY-MM-DD` Other flags: `overdue`, `has-deadline`, `status=todo|done|dropped`, `tag=` (supports `#*象限`), `parent=`, `search=`, `limit=N`, `format=text|json` (JSON gives a structured array with every field — prefer it when you plan to parse). ### `task-center:show ref=` Full single-task detail — scheduled/deadline/estimate/actual/created/completed/cancelled/parent/children/raw. ### `task-center:stats [days=N] [group=]` Rolling-window estimate accuracy + tag minutes breakdown. Default `days=7`. `group=象限` aggregates matching tags into a section (useful for Covey quadrants). Output includes: - `sum actual / sum estimate` ratio (calibration signal) - `per-task mean / σ` for ratio variance - `within band 11/18 (61%)` share inside `[0.8, 1.25]` - per-tag minutes with ASCII bar chart Use this to **correct planning-fallacy** when suggesting estimates. If the 7-day `ratio` is 1.3, new estimates should be scaled up by that factor vs. the user's gut feel. ### `task-center:brief [today=YYYY-MM-DD] [limit=N] [format=text|json]` Agent brief for near-term planning. Shows overdue / today / unscheduled candidate counts, sample tasks, and executable next-action commands such as `done`, `abandon`, `schedule_today`, `schedule_tomorrow`, and `actual +15m`. Use this when the user asks what to do next or wants a compact status overview before planning. ### `task-center:review [today=YYYY-MM-DD] [days=N] [limit=N] [format=text|json]` End-of-day / weekly retrospective summary. Reports today and rolling-week windows: done, abandoned, delayed-open tasks, estimate-vs-actual totals, grouping summaries, and sample task ids. Use this for shutdown reviews, weekly reviews, and "what actually happened?" questions. Prefer text output for user-facing summaries; use `format=json` only when you need to parse it. ### Query Tab / preset views A Query Tab is a saved QueryPreset — a `view.layout` tree (same storage/schema/validation as the GUI Query editor). Target tabs by stable `id`, never display name. Read / run (common, read-only): ``` obsidian task-center:query-list [hidden=true] [format=json] obsidian task-center:query-show id=preset-week obsidian task-center:query-run id=preset-today [view=list|week|month] [anchor=YYYY-MM-DD] [format=json] ``` - `query-run` renders the preset's saved view; `view=` is a temporary override (not saved back); `anchor=` is the week/month cursor (defaults to today). - Rows keep stable ids (`Tasks/Inbox.md:L42`) — pipe into `show` / `schedule` / `done` / `abandon`. Create / edit a view (the DSL is a layout tree; **filtering lives only in each area's `when`**): ``` obsidian task-center:query-create dsl='…' # new tab, always a fresh id (query-save is an alias) obsidian task-center:query-update id=… dsl='…' # edit existing; keeps id/builtin; invalid DSL leaves it untouched obsidian task-center:query-rename id=… name="…" obsidian task-center:query-copy id=… [name="…"] obsidian task-center:query-hide id=… hidden=true|false obsidian task-center:query-delete id=… obsidian task-center:query-set-default id=…|null ``` > ⚠️ Before writing DSL: filtering belongs **only** to each area's `when`. A top-level `filters` is **silently ignored**; the old flat shape (top-level `search`/`tag`/`time`/`status`) is **rejected** with `invalid_query`; `tags` is a `string[]`/comma string (**AND**) or `{values, mode:"and"|"or"}` (**OR** = any of the tags). **The DSL's SSOT is `docs/dsl/zh.md` (English `docs/dsl/en.md`) in the obsidian-task-center repo.** Before building/editing a view: - Full grammar (node types, Filters/`when`, onDrop, orderBy, real factory DSL) → read `docs/dsl/zh.md` or `en.md`; a condensed skill-local mirror is `reference/queries.md`. - Ready-made layouts: four quadrants → `examples/four-quadrant.md`; week + unscheduled tray + drop zone → `examples/week-with-tray.md`; simple / multi-segment list → `examples/simple-list.md`. - Unsure of the current shape? `query-show id=preset-today` (col of 3 lists) or `id=preset-week` (week + tray + drop), and mirror what it returns instead of guessing. Rules: builtin tabs can be hidden/copied/renamed/updated/set-default but never permanently deleted; deleting a custom tab removes only that view, never tasks; a hidden tab cannot be default; invalid DSL → `invalid_query` (settings unchanged); unknown id → `query_not_found`. ### Write verbs (idempotent, safe to retry) All write verbs return `ok ` with a `before / after` diff, or `unchanged` if already in the target state. ``` obsidian task-center:schedule ref=Tasks/Inbox.md:L42 date=2026-04-25 obsidian task-center:schedule ref=Tasks/Inbox.md:L42 date=null # clear ⏳ obsidian task-center:deadline ref=… date=2026-05-15 obsidian task-center:deadline ref=… date=null obsidian task-center:estimate ref=… minutes=90m # set [estimate::] obsidian task-center:estimate ref=… minutes=null # clear obsidian task-center:actual ref=… minutes=45m # set [actual::] obsidian task-center:actual ref=… minutes=+15m # additive obsidian task-center:done ref=… [at=YYYY-MM-DD] # [x] + ✅ obsidian task-center:undone ref=… # reverse a done obsidian task-center:abandon ref=… # [-] + ❌, cascades to todo children obsidian task-center:drop ref=… # deprecated alias for abandon obsidian task-center:tag ref=… tag='#基建' # add obsidian task-center:tag ref=… tag='#基建' remove # remove obsidian task-center:nest ref=… under=… # make ref a subtask of under obsidian task-center:add text="处理示例任务" tag='#3象限' scheduled=2026-04-26 [to=] [deadline=…] [estimate=30m] [parent=] ``` `task-center:add` target priority: explicit `to=` → parent's file (if `parent=` given) → today's Daily Note. There is no inbox fallback: when neither `to=` nor `parent=` is supplied, the Daily Notes core plugin must be enabled and configured or the command fails with `daily_notes_unavailable`. Default stamps `➕ today` unless `stamp-created=false`. `abandon` / `drop` cascades to todo descendants only. Already completed / abandoned / cancelled descendants keep their historical stamps. To abandon just one line, pass a leaf task. ### Error shape Errors go to stderr as: ``` error ``` Common codes: `task_not_found`, `ambiguous_slug`, `invalid_date`, `daily_notes_unavailable`, `invalid_nest`, `nest_partial`, `invalid_query`, `query_not_found`. Recover by: - `task_not_found` → re-run `task-center:list` to get fresh ids - `ambiguous_slug` → the error message lists candidate ids; pick one - `invalid_date` → convert to `YYYY-MM-DD` - `daily_notes_unavailable` → enable/configure Daily Notes, or pass `to=` - `invalid_nest` / `nest_partial` → inspect the named source/target tasks before retrying - `invalid_query` → the message echoes the validation failure; fix the DSL per `docs/dsl/` (filtering must be per-area `when`) - `query_not_found` → re-run `task-center:query-list` for fresh tab ids ## Recommended workflows ### End-of-day wrap-up 1. `obsidian task-center:list done=today` → collect what got done. 2. `toggl entry list --since today` → cross-reference actual time per task. 3. For each completed task: `obsidian task-center:actual ref=… minutes=Nm` to record real time. 4. `obsidian task-center:review days=7` → read today's / week's completion, abandonment, delay, and estimate summary. 5. `obsidian task-center:stats days=7 group=象限` → read calibration. 6. `obsidian task-center:brief` or `obsidian task-center:list scheduled=unscheduled` + `obsidian task-center:list scheduled=tomorrow` → candidate pool. 7. Pick tomorrow's set (≤1 big, ≤2 small based on user's self-declared capacity), deadline-first, quadrant-2-first. 8. `obsidian task-center:schedule ref=… date=` per chosen task; use `add` for anything new. ### Quick capture User says "don't forget to X". Default to today's daily note: ``` obsidian task-center:add text="X" ``` Only set `scheduled=` / `deadline=` / `tag=` if the user specified them. ### Backfill completions User says "I finished Y yesterday": `obsidian task-center:done ref= at=`. ## Output contract - Every list row starts with `:L` — pipe-friendly. - Monetary / time values: minutes, no conversion. Format with `formatMinutes` convention (`90m`, `1h30m`). - Writes print `before / after` — use this to confirm the mutation was what you intended. - Stats output is ASCII-bar-charted; do not JSON-ify it before showing the user. - `brief` and `review` default to greppable text; use `format=json` only for downstream parsing. ## Do not - Do not edit task files directly with `Read` + `Write`; use the CLI so parser + locking invariants hold. - Do not try to install a wrapper shell script called `obsidian-task-center`; the plugin uses Obsidian's native CLI. - Do not call `obsidian task` / `obsidian tasks` (those are built-in, read-only) when you mean `task-center:…`. - Do not stamp `✅` / `❌` / `➕` manually with `Edit` — let the plugin do it via `done` / `abandon` / `add`.