Task Properties Settings¶

This tab configures all task properties. Each property is displayed as a card containing its configuration options.

Task Properties Settings

Looking for property type documentation?

See the Property Types Reference for detailed documentation on the expected data types (text, list, date, etc.) for each frontmatter property.

Property Card Structure¶

Each property card contains:

Property key: The frontmatter field name used to store this property
Default: The default value applied to new tasks (where applicable)
NLP trigger: Toggle and character configuration for natural language parsing (where applicable)
Property-specific settings: Additional configuration options specific to that property

Core Properties¶

Title¶

The task title property. Configuration options:

Property key: Frontmatter field name (default: title)
Store title in filename: When enabled, the task title is stored in the filename instead of frontmatter. The filename updates when the title changes.
Filename format: When "Store title in filename" is disabled, choose how filenames are generated:
- Title-based
- Zettelkasten-style
- Timestamp-based
- Custom template
Custom template: Define a custom filename pattern using variables (shown when "custom" format is selected)

Status¶

Task completion state. Configuration options:

Property key: Frontmatter field name (default: status)
Default: Default status for new tasks
NLP trigger: Character that triggers status parsing (default: *)
Status Values: Expandable section containing individual status cards

Each status value has:

Value: Internal identifier stored in frontmatter (e.g., "in-progress")
Label: Display name shown in the interface (e.g., "In Progress")
Color: Visual indicator color
Icon: Optional icon identifier
Completed: Whether this status represents a finished task
Auto-archive: Automatically archive tasks after a delay (1-1440 minutes)

Status cards support drag-and-drop reordering.

Boolean Status Values¶

TaskNotes supports using boolean values (true and false) as status values, which integrates with Obsidian's native checkbox property format:

When you set a task's status to "true" or "false" (case-insensitive), TaskNotes automatically converts it to a boolean in frontmatter
When reading tasks with boolean status values from frontmatter, they are converted back to the strings "true" or "false"
This allows you to use Obsidian's native checkbox property toggles in the Properties panel while maintaining compatibility with TaskNotes

Example:

---
status: true    # Boolean checkbox in Obsidian
---

Priority¶

Task priority level. Configuration options:

Property key: Frontmatter field name (default: priority)
Default: Default priority for new tasks (can be set to "No default")
NLP trigger: Character that triggers priority parsing (default: !, disabled by default)
Priority Values: Expandable section containing individual priority cards

Each priority value has:

Value: Internal identifier stored in frontmatter (e.g., "high")
Label: Display name shown in the interface (e.g., "High Priority")
Color: Visual indicator color

Priority cards support drag-and-drop reordering.

Note for Bases plugin users: Obsidian's Bases plugin sorts priorities alphabetically by their Value. To control sort order, name values to sort alphabetically in the desired order: - Example: 1-urgent, 2-high, 3-medium, 4-normal, 5-low - Or: a-urgent, b-high, c-medium, d-normal, e-low

Date Properties¶

Due Date¶

When the task must be completed. Configuration options:

Property key: Frontmatter field name (default: due)
Default: Default due date for new tasks (None, Today, Tomorrow, Next Week)

Scheduled Date¶

When to work on the task. Configuration options:

Property key: Frontmatter field name (default: scheduled)
Default: Default scheduled date for new tasks (None, Today, Tomorrow, Next Week)

Organization Properties¶

Contexts¶

Where or how the task can be done. Configuration options:

Property key: Frontmatter field name (default: contexts)
Default: Comma-separated list of default contexts (e.g., @home, @work)
NLP trigger: Character that triggers context parsing (default: @)

Projects¶

Projects the task belongs to. Configuration options:

Property key: Frontmatter field name (default: projects)
Default projects: Select project notes to automatically link to new tasks
Use parent note as project: Automatically link the parent note as a project during instant task conversion
NLP trigger: Character that triggers project parsing (default: +)
Autosuggest Filters: Expandable section to filter which notes appear in project suggestions
Customize Display: Expandable section to configure how project suggestions appear

Autosuggest Filters¶

Control which notes appear when selecting projects:

Required tags: Comma-separated list of tags (shows notes with ANY of these tags)
Include folders: Comma-separated list of folder paths (shows notes in ANY of these folders)
Required property key: Frontmatter property that must exist
Required property value: Expected value for the property (optional)

A "Filters On" badge appears when any filters are configured.

Customize Display¶

Configure project suggestion appearance:

Enable fuzzy matching: Allow typos and partial matches in project search
Row 1, 2, 3: Configure up to 3 lines of information for each project suggestion

Tags¶

Obsidian tags for categorization. Configuration options:

Default: Comma-separated list of default tags (without #)
NLP trigger: Character that triggers tag parsing (default: #)

Note: Tags use native Obsidian tags and do not have a separate property key setting.

Task Details¶

Time Estimate¶

Estimated time to complete the task. Configuration options:

Property key: Frontmatter field name (default: timeEstimate)
Default: Default time estimate in minutes (0 = no default)

Recurrence¶

Pattern for repeating tasks. Configuration options:

Property key: Frontmatter field name (default: recurrence)
Default: Default recurrence pattern (None, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly)

Reminders¶

Notifications before task deadlines. Configuration options:

Property key: Frontmatter field name (default: reminders)
Default Reminders: Expandable section containing default reminder cards

Each default reminder can be:

Relative reminders (triggered relative to due or scheduled date):

Anchor date (due date or scheduled date)
Offset amount and unit (minutes, hours, days)
Direction (before or after)
Description

Absolute reminders (triggered at specific times):

Date
Time
Description

Metadata Properties¶

These properties are system-managed and typically only require property key configuration:

Date Created: When the task was created
Date Modified: When the task was last modified
Completed Date: When the task was completed
Archive Tag: Tag used to mark archived tasks
Time Entries: Time tracking entries for the task
Complete Instances: Completion history for recurring tasks
Blocked By: Tasks that must be completed first

Feature Properties¶

These properties are used by specific TaskNotes features and are not stored in task frontmatter:

Pomodoros: Property key for Pomodoro session counts. When Pomodoro data storage is set to "Daily notes", this property is written to daily notes rather than task files.
ICS Event ID: Property key for calendar event identifiers. Added to notes created from ICS calendar events to link them back to the source event.
ICS Event Tag: Property key for calendar event tags. Added to notes created from ICS calendar events for identification.

Custom User Fields¶

Define custom frontmatter properties to appear as filter options across views. Configuration options for each field:

Display Name: How the field appears in the UI
Property Key: The frontmatter property name
Type: Data type (text, number, boolean, date, or list)
Default Value: Pre-fill value for new tasks (format varies by type)
NLP trigger: Toggle and character for natural language parsing
Autosuggest Filters: Filter which files appear when using [[ wikilink autocomplete

Default Values¶

Each field type has a different input format for default values:

Text: Enter the default text value
Number: Enter the default number
Boolean: Toggle switch to set default checked/unchecked state
Date: Select from presets (None, Today, Tomorrow, Next Week)
List: Enter comma-separated default values

Default values are applied when creating tasks via:

Task creation modal
Instant task conversion
"Create or open task" command
HTTP API (when using task creation defaults)

Autosuggestion Filters¶

Each custom field can configure filters to control which files appear in wikilink suggestions:

Required tags: Comma-separated list of tags (shows files with ANY of these tags)
Include folders: Comma-separated list of folder paths (shows files in ANY of these folders)
Required property key: Frontmatter property that must exist
Required property value: Expected value for the property (optional)

A "Filters On" badge appears when filters are configured.

See User Fields Feature Documentation for detailed examples.