Sheiko Task Lifecycle

An Obsidian plugin that works alongside TaskNotes to add task-lifecycle tracking and a daily auto-roll for unfinished tasks.

Status: early release (v0.2.1), desktop only. Plugin ID sheiko-task-lifecycle. Tested against TaskNotes 4.13.4. Listed in the Obsidian Community directory.

Click the ribbon icon (history clock) on a TaskNotes task to open the lifecycle window. Screenshots are from the developer's test vault: sample task names are test data and may not match the task's current status, and some settings differ from the defaults below.

Before you start: what Sheiko changes in your vault

Sheiko edits your notes, so it starts switched off and stays cautious:

• It does nothing unless TaskNotes is installed and enabled. No tracking, no auto-roll, no prompts. If you enable TaskNotes later, reload Obsidian.
• It writes nothing until you allow the current vault (Settings → Sheiko Task Lifecycle → Safety → Allow writes in this vault). Until then it's read-only.
• Auto-roll is off by default. Turn on Dry run first to see what it would change, then switch auto-roll on. Dry-run output goes to the developer console (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+I) at the Verbose log level.
• Each batch run is capped at 25 edited notes by default (Max edits per run). The rest are picked up on the next run.

Once allowed, it writes to task notes (frontmatter: completedDate, closedBy, timeToCloseMinutes, timeWorkingMinutes, timeOvernightMinutes, timeWeekendMinutes, closureSource, scheduled, rollCount, status; sections: ## Context, ## Status History, ## Lifecycle Summary) and, when auto-roll runs, to that day's daily note (## 🔁 Rolled Over, creating the note if it doesn't exist). To find TaskNotes tasks it looks through the vault's Markdown files (Obsidian's directory lists this as "vault enumeration"), but it only edits task notes, the daily note and, if you use slots, its own report notes (see below). It never sends data anywhere: no network use, no telemetry.

New in 0.2.0: notes typed in the sign-off window are added to that task's ## Context. If you use break or deep-work slots, Sheiko also writes one report note per day in a report folder (default Sheiko Reports/), named by date, e.g. Sheiko Reports/2026-10-06.md. Each slot adds a block, and earlier blocks are never changed. No slots, no report notes.

Getting started

1. Install and enable TaskNotes, then this plugin.
2. In this plugin's settings, switch on Allow writes in this vault.
3. Optional: enter Your identity. It's written as closedBy on closes Sheiko records. Left blank, closedBy isn't written.
4. Optional, for the sign-off flow: add a review status (e.g. in-review) in TaskNotes' settings, then pick it as Review status here. Until a review status is picked, the checkbox move and both sign-off prompts stay off.
5. Optional: set your working hours, try Dry run, then switch on auto-roll.

What it does

1. Task lifecycle (Phase 1)

• Context log. An append-only ## Context section in each task note, with entries formatted - **{timestamp} — {who}:** {text} (— {who} is left out when no identity is set).
• Status history. An append-only ## Status History section with ISO-timestamped transitions. Clicking the same status again isn't logged.
• Closure fields. completedDate (full ISO), closedBy (only if an identity is set) and timeToCloseMinutes are written only for a close Sheiko saw happen live. Sheiko never overwrites a close written by hand or by another tool. Closes it recorded are marked closureSource: sheiko, and a reopen clears only those.
• Time per status, in three buckets. Time is split into working hours, overnight and weekend, written as timeWorkingMinutes, timeOvernightMinutes and timeWeekendMinutes. The three always add up to timeToCloseMinutes.
• Lifecycle Summary. A ## Lifecycle Summary section (closure plus time per status), refreshed in place. It's written automatically on a live close, or on demand.
• Startup catch-up. Status changes made while Obsidian was closed are logged as "detected at startup", never given an invented time. Time spent in a status that was skipped over is shown as a gap, not estimated. Closes Sheiko didn't see happen are listed and flagged, never filled in.

2. Auto-stage and sign-off (Phase 2)

• Auto-stage (forward only). Starting a TaskNotes timer moves the task to the working status. Ticking the last unticked checkbox moves it to the review status. Moves happen only when something changes, never just because of existing state, and never backwards or out of a completed status.

• Sign-off window. It opens when a task enters review, and at each day's end time for anything still waiting. Each task gets a card with:

  • Who worked on it, read from a frontmatter field (default assignedTo). Names you list as AI agents show as AI agent, any other name as Human, and an empty field as Worker: not recorded. It's never guessed.
  • Summary and context: the first lines of the task's description, the latest Context entry, and the facts: time in progress, in review since, checklist progress, due or overdue, and how many times it was sent back. Cards start folded when more than 3 tasks are waiting.
  • A context box for a note while you decide. It's saved to the task's Context before Approve or Send back runs.

  Buttons: Approve and close, Send back, Open, Later. Closing a task is always a user click, never automatic.

• Coming back to "Later". The status bar shows ⭐ N awaiting sign-off. Click it to reopen the window with everything still in review. It's hidden when nothing is waiting, and you can switch it off.

3. Auto-roll and summary (Phase 3)

• At each day's end time (weekends included), unfinished tasks scheduled on or before that day have scheduled moved to the next day. A time of day, if present, is kept. due never changes, so slippage stays visible. rollCount goes up by one each time.
• Not rolled: completed, scheduled in the future, recurring (TaskNotes uses scheduled as the repeat anchor), and archived tasks. Tasks with no date are listed as "give these a date".
• Summary, in two places: a Context line on each rolled task, and a ## 🔁 Rolled Over section in that day's daily note (one block per run, never overwritten). In-review tasks are listed first (⭐), and past-due tasks are flagged ⚠️.
• If Obsidian was closed at the cutoff, one catch-up roll runs on next open, labelled as a catch-up.

4. Breaks and deep work

Start a slot from the 🎧 status-bar item or the command palette, or schedule slots per weekday in settings (e.g. 12:30-13:00 break, 14:00-15:30 deep work). Break and deep work behave the same way.

• While a slot runs, sign-off prompts are held. Opening the sign-off window yourself still works. Sheiko logs:
  • tasks moved to review;
  • closes and other status changes;
  • tasks whose timed due falls inside the slot;
  • Markdown files touched.
• When it ends, at its time or early from the status bar, a report block is added to that day's note in the report folder, and held prompts are shown.
• Time tracking is unchanged. Slots don't affect the working, overnight and weekend split.
• What "files touched" means: any Markdown file changed while Obsidian is open, by you or by another plugin. For example, TaskNotes re-saves its board order across a column when a card moves. Changes made while Obsidian was closed, such as by an agent editing files directly, aren't captured, and the report says so. If Obsidian was closed during part of a slot, that stretch is noted as a gap.

Commands

• Open task lifecycle (context, closure, time per status). Also opened from the ribbon icon.
• Write lifecycle summary to this task
• Show tasks waiting for sign-off
• Roll unfinished tasks now (scheduled today or earlier → tomorrow)
• List tasks closed while Obsidian was shut
• Start a break or deep-work slot
• End the current break or deep-work slot now

The ribbon icon and the lifecycle command need a TaskNotes task open. On any other note you get a notice instead:

Settings

Setting	Default	Notes
Identity	(blank)	Written as closedBy and in Context entries. Blank = no closedBy.
Working hours (per weekday)	09:00–17:00, every day	The end time is also the daily roll cutoff. The same window decides the working / overnight / weekend split.
Allowed vaults	(empty)	Nothing is written until the current vault is allowed.
Dry run	off	Logs intended writes instead of making them, including the daily note and slot reports
Max edits per run	25	Caps startup catch-up and auto-roll. Tasks held back are listed and picked up on the next run.
Working / review / done status	in-progress / (not set) / done	Picked from TaskNotes' own status list. While review is not set, the checkbox move and both sign-off prompts are off.
Auto-stage on timer start / all boxes ticked	on / on	Each can be switched off
Sign-off prompt on review / at cutoff	on / on	Each can be switched off
Auto-roll	off	Try dry run first
Show sign-off count in the status bar	on	Click it to reopen the sign-off window
Worker field	assignedTo	Frontmatter field naming who worked on a task
AI agent names	(empty)	Comma-separated, not case-sensitive. Any other name shows as human
Report folder	Sheiko Reports	One note per day for slot reports
Slots (per weekday)	(blank)	e.g. 12:30-13:00 break, 14:00-15:30 deep work. Blank = none. Bad entries are flagged, not guessed

Statuses and field names are read from TaskNotes' settings rather than hardcoded. TaskNotes' default statuses don't include a review status, so add one in TaskNotes first if you want the sign-off flow.

Requirements

• Obsidian 1.4.4+, desktop only
• TaskNotes installed and enabled (tested on 4.13.4)
• Obsidian's Daily Notes settings (folder and date format) are used for the Rolled Over summary

Compatibility

• TaskNotes Workflows: its optional scheduled-date rollover workflow and Sheiko's auto-roll both move scheduled forward. Use one or the other, not both, or tasks will move twice.

Known limits

• A task first seen by Sheiko has no earlier history. It's tracked from then on, with nothing backfilled.
• If a close written by an agent or by hand is reopened and then closed again live, the original closedBy / timeToCloseMinutes are kept, so they can be stale.
• Sheiko waits 600 ms after a change so TaskNotes can finish its own writes. That delay is a timing assumption.
• Tested only against TaskNotes 4.13.4. A change to TaskNotes' frontmatter or settings shape could break Sheiko.
• If a task's only recorded status change is the close itself, the Lifecycle Summary's Time per status table has no rows.
• The worker badge is only as accurate as the worker field. A name not in AI agent names, including a typo, shows as Human.
• "Came due during the slot" counts only due values with a time. Date-only dues are left out.
• If a scheduled slot's start time comes while a slot you started yourself is still running, the scheduled one starts when yours ends, for the rest of its window.
• "Markdown files touched" counts every .md file changed while a slot runs, including in code folders kept inside the vault. For example, an npm install in a project folder in the vault can add hundreds of files from node_modules/ to the report.

Support

See CONTRIBUTING.md for how to report bugs and open pull requests. Best effort. Report issues on GitHub. No response-time guarantee. Tested on TaskNotes 4.13.4.

Development

• Node.js 20+
• npm i to install dependencies
• npm run dev to build in watch mode (src/main.ts → main.js)
• npm run build to type-check and run a production build
• npm run lint for ESLint with the Obsidian plugin rules
• npm test to type-check and run the tests

Loading it in a dev vault: symlink the repo into the vault as <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/sheiko-task-lifecycle → <repo> (the folder name must match the plugin ID), then enable "Sheiko Task Lifecycle" under Community plugins. To install manually instead, copy main.js, manifest.json and styles.css into <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/sheiko-task-lifecycle/.

Naming note: class names, CSS classes, notices ("Sheiko: …") and the closureSource: sheiko value written to task notes deliberately keep the short name "Sheiko". Changing closureSource would stop a reopen from clearing closure fields on tasks Sheiko had already closed.

Source layout (src/): main.ts (plugin entry, commands, cutoff timer), tracker.ts (status-change detection, closure, startup catch-up), lifecycle.ts (history, time buckets, summary), roll.ts / roller.ts (auto-roll rules and engine), review.ts (sign-off card summaries and worker labels), slots.ts / slot-logic.ts (break and deep-work slots and reports), tasknotes.ts (reading TaskNotes' config), settings.ts, ui/ (lifecycle, sign-off and slot windows).

Tests (test/): 48 tests run the real tracker, auto-roll and slot code against an in-memory vault and a stand-in for the obsidian module (test/obsidian-mock.ts). They cover the code that edits notes: closure fields, reopen, startup catch-up, dry run, the edit limit, what does and doesn't roll, sign-off summaries, and slot holds and reports. The repo's build workflow (.github/workflows/lint.yml) also runs them.

Licence

MIT © 2026 Sheikh M Sahil

Credits

Built from the Obsidian sample plugin template. API docs: https://docs.obsidian.md