Tasks

Tasks Skill

This skill works with checkbox tasks managed by the Tasks plugin. Unlike TaskNotes (one file per task), Tasks are individual - [ ] checkbox lines inside regular notes, annotated with inline emoji fields.

How this plugin's API works — read this first. The Tasks plugin's public API (apiV1, exposed in scope as api when the exec_obsidian_tasks_plugin tool is enabled) is small and deliberately does NOT read, write, or query your vault. It has exactly three helpers that take/return Markdown strings:

• api.createTaskLineModal(): Promise<string> — opens the Tasks creation UI and resolves with the task's Markdown line (empty string if cancelled). Interactive; does not write anywhere.
• api.editTaskLineModal(taskLine: string): Promise<string> — opens the UI pre-filled with taskLine, resolves with the edited line (empty if cancelled). Does not write.
• api.executeToggleTaskDoneCommand(line: string, path: string): string — toggles done on a task line (handling the ✅ done date and recurrence roll-over correctly) and RETURNS the updated line(s). Synchronous; does not persist.

Because the API neither queries nor persists, the working flow is:

• Query/display → write a ```tasks query fence (rendered by the plugin). See below.
• Create / edit / complete → use the API helper to get a correctly-formatted line, then write it into a note yourself with manage_notes.

Task Line Format

A task is a Markdown checkbox with optional inline fields (emoji-tagged):

- [ ] Write the report 📅 2025-01-20 ⏳ 2025-01-15 🛫 2025-01-14 🔺 #project/work
- [x] Buy groceries ✅ 2025-01-12

Status markers

Inline field emojis

Priorities: 🔺 highest, ⏫ high, 🔼 medium, 🔽 low, none = normal.

Querying Tasks

The Tasks API has no query method — querying is only available through the plugin's query language, rendered in ```tasks code blocks. To SHOW the user a task view, output a query block in your reply and the chat interface renders it:

not done
due before tomorrow
sort by priority
limit 20

Common filters: not done, done, due before <date>, due after <date>, scheduled before <date>, starts before <date>, path includes <folder>, tags include #project, priority is high. Combine with newlines (implicit AND). Sort with sort by due|priority|scheduled. Cap with limit N.

To ANALYZE tasks (compute over them rather than display), find the relevant notes with search_notes, read them with read_content, and parse the - [ ] lines yourself.

Creating a Task

Tasks are lines inside existing notes — decide (or ask) which note and where. Build the line, then insert it with manage_notes (type: "update"):

- [ ] Draft the proposal 📅 2025-01-20 🔼 #project/acme

If the exec_obsidian_tasks_plugin tool is enabled and the user wants to fill fields interactively, call api.createTaskLineModal() to get a correctly-formatted line, then write the returned string into the note with manage_notes. The modal returns the line — it does not save it.

Rules:

• Always YYYY-MM-DD for dates.
• Only include fields the user specified; omit the rest (do not leave empty placeholders — Tasks parses positionally by emoji, not by empty slots).
• Preserve the note's existing content; append under the right heading/list.

Completing a Task

Read the exact task line first with read_content. If the exec_obsidian_tasks_plugin tool is enabled, prefer api.executeToggleTaskDoneCommand(line, path) — it sets the ✅ done date and rolls over recurring tasks correctly — then write the returned line(s) back with a manage_notes exact-match edit:

{
  "type": "update",
  "path": "Notes/Work.md",
  "edits": [
    { "oldText": "- [ ] Draft the proposal 📅 2025-01-20", "newText": "<the string returned by executeToggleTaskDoneCommand>" }
  ]
}

Without the exec tool, toggle manually: change - [ ] → - [x] and append ✅ <today> via the same manage_notes edit.

Recurring Tasks

Recurrence uses natural-language syntax after 🔁: every day, every week, every month on the 1st, every weekday, every 2 weeks. When a recurring task is completed, the next occurrence is generated automatically — do NOT hand-roll the next line. Toggle via executeToggleTaskDoneCommand (which returns both the completed line and the new occurrence), or instruct the user to check it off in the UI.

Tips & Constraints

• Read the exact task line before editing — manage_notes does literal text replacement, so oldText must match including emojis and spacing.
• The API helpers return strings and never touch disk; persistence is always your manage_notes write.
• createTaskLineModal / editTaskLineModal open interactive UI — only use them when the user is present to fill the dialog; for headless creation, build the line from the emoji table above.
• Tasks vs TaskNotes: if the user's tasks are checkbox lines inside notes, this is the right skill; if each task is its own file with YAML frontmatter, use the tasknotes skill instead. When unsure, search for - [ ] lines vs. files with a status frontmatter field.
• Do not invent inline fields the user didn't ask for.