Obsidian Plugin - Open Task Indicator

Obsidian plugin (https://obsidian.md/) that displays a real-time count of open action items (unchecked checkboxes) in the status bar.

Features

• Real-time Task Counter - Displays total task count in the status bar at the bottom of Obsidian
• Severity Breakdown - Shows how many files have high, medium, and low severity task counts
• Always Visible - Status bar indicator is always visible while keeping your navigation sidebar untouched
• Configurable Thresholds - Customize what counts as high, medium, or low severity
• Configurable Ignore Patterns - Exclude specific files and folders from scanning
• Auto-refresh - Automatically update indicators at configurable intervals
• Manual Refresh - Command to refresh indicators on demand
• Debug Logging - Optional console logging for troubleshooting

Installation

From Community Plugins (Recommended)

Once this plugin is approved for the Obsidian Community Plugins registry:

1. Open Obsidian Settings
2. Go to Community plugins → Browse
3. Search for "Open Task Indicator"
4. Click Install
5. Enable the plugin in Community plugins → Installed plugins

Manual Installation from GitHub

If you want to install from the GitHub repository:

1. Enable Developer Mode in Obsidian:

   • Go to Settings → About
   • Scroll down and toggle "Enable developer mode" ON

2. Clone or Download the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/DanPiazza-Netwrix/obsidian-open-task-indicator-plugin.git
   

3. Copy Plugin Files:

   • Copy the entire plugin folder to your vault's .obsidian/plugins/ directory
   • The path should be: .obsidian/plugins/open-task-indicator/

4. Install Dependencies:

   cd .obsidian/plugins/open-task-indicator
   npm install
   

5. Build the Plugin:

   npm run build
   

6. Enable in Obsidian:

   • Go to Settings → Community plugins
   • Find "Open Task Indicator" and toggle it ON

Usage

Status Bar Display

The plugin displays task information in the status bar at the bottom of Obsidian:

When no tasks exist:

✅ No open tasks

When tasks exist (emoji style):

📋 60 tasks in 8 files | 🔴 2 | 🟠 2 | 🟡 4

When tasks exist (simple style):

📋 60 tasks (8 files)

Severity Levels

The status bar color changes based on the highest severity level found:

• 🔴 Red (High): 10+ tasks in a file (configurable)
• 🟠 Orange (Medium): 5-9 tasks in a file (configurable)
• 🟡 Yellow (Low): 1-4 tasks in a file (configurable)

Task Format

The plugin scans for unchecked checkboxes in the following format:

- [ ] This is an unchecked task
- [x] This is a completed task (ignored)

Settings

Access settings via Settings → Community plugins → Open Task Indicator

Indicator Style

Choose between emoji or simple display style in the status bar.

Severity Thresholds

Configure the task count thresholds for each severity level:

• High Severity: Default 10 tasks
• Medium Severity: Default 5 tasks
• Low Severity: Default 1 task

Ignore Patterns

Specify files and folders to exclude from scanning. One pattern per line.

Default: .obsidian

Auto Refresh Interval

Set the interval (in milliseconds) for automatic indicator updates. Set to 0 to disable.

Default: 5000ms (5 seconds)

Debug Logging

Enable console logging for troubleshooting.

Commands

• Refresh task indicators: Manually refresh all indicators immediately

How It Works

1. Scanning: The plugin scans all markdown files in your vault
2. Counting: Counts unchecked tasks (- [ ]) in each file
3. Filtering: Ignores files matching configured ignore patterns
4. Calculating: Determines severity levels based on task counts
5. Displaying: Shows summary in the status bar with color coding
6. Updating: Updates in real-time as files are modified

Performance

The plugin is optimized for performance:

• Caching: Task counts are cached to avoid redundant scanning
• Debouncing: File change events are debounced to prevent excessive updates
• Incremental Updates: Only modified files are re-scanned
• Lazy Loading: Full vault scan happens on startup, then incremental updates

Troubleshooting

Plugin Not Appearing

1. Verify developer mode is enabled in Obsidian settings
2. Check that files are in .obsidian/plugins/open-task-indicator/
3. Reload Obsidian (Ctrl+R or Cmd+R)
4. Check browser console for errors (Ctrl+Shift+I)

Status Bar Not Showing

1. Verify the plugin is enabled in Settings → Community plugins
2. Check that the status bar is visible (View → Show status bar)
3. Try manual refresh: Command palette → "Refresh task indicators"
4. Enable debug logging to see what's being scanned

Incorrect Task Counts

1. Verify files have unchecked tasks in format: - [ ]
2. Check ignore patterns don't exclude your files
3. Try manual refresh: Command palette → "Refresh task indicators"
4. Enable debug logging to see scan results

Performance Issues

1. Reduce auto-refresh interval or disable it (set to 0)
2. Add more ignore patterns to exclude large folders
3. Check console for errors

Development

Build for Development

npm run dev

Build for Production

npm run build

Project Structure

.obsidian/plugins/obsidian-open-task-indicator-plugin/
├── src/
│   ├── main.ts              # Plugin entry point
│   ├── TaskScanner.ts       # Task scanning logic
│   ├── StatusBarRenderer.ts # Status bar UI
│   ├── TaskModal.ts         # Modal dialog for task list
│   ├── Settings.ts          # Settings UI and defaults
│   ├── SettingsValidator.ts # Settings validation logic
│   └── types.ts             # TypeScript interfaces
├── main.js                  # Compiled plugin output
├── manifest.json            # Plugin metadata
├── package.json             # Dependencies
├── tsconfig.json            # TypeScript configuration
├── esbuild.config.mjs       # Build configuration
├── CLAUDE.md                # Development notes and architecture
├── CHANGELOG.md             # Version history
├── LICENSE                  # License file
├── .gitignore               # Git ignore rules
├── data.json                # Data file
└── README.md                # User documentation

Development

This plugin was built with Claude Code and includes a CLAUDE.md file with detailed development notes, architecture documentation, and implementation details for contributors. The CLAUDE.md file is essential to understanding the plugin's design decisions and development process.

Building from Source

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build for development (with watch mode)
npm run dev

# Build for production
npm run build

The compiled output will be in main.js.

License

MIT

Changelog

Version 1.0.0

• Initial release
• Real-time task counter in status bar
• Configurable severity thresholds
• Customizable ignore patterns
• Auto-refresh functionality
• Settings UI
• Debug logging support