Task Notes

An Obsidian plugin for emoji-based task management directly through file names. Tasks are tracked by the emoji prefix in the filename, with an interactive bottom bar and file-explorer checkboxes for quick edits.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Usage
• Configuration
• License

Features

• Interactive Checkboxes — Clickable checkboxes in note titles and the file explorer that sync with the task emoji
• Task Creation Modal — Dialog with date/time pickers and custom field inputs; press Enter to confirm, Esc to cancel
• Fixed Task Bar — Bottom editor bar for quick property editing with an Apply button
• Smart Capitalisation — Action words are auto-capitalised for regular tasks (Buy - 3 - groceries) and lowercased for events (By 2026-06-13, send - 1 invoice)
• Clean Scheduled Names — Partial date/time inputs produce clean filenames (no stray at or trailing -)
• Customisable Format Templates — Define task naming with placeholders: {action}, {amount}, {outcome}, {date}, {time}, {range}
• Four Task Types — ◻️ Unchecked, 📅 Scheduled, ✅ Completed, ❌ Cancelled
• Context Menu Integration — Right-click any file to convert it to a task
• Template Application — Applies a Markdown template on conversion; appended below existing content if the file already has content
• Checklist Guard — Prevents marking a task complete while unchecked - [ ] items remain in the note body
• Auto-Reopen — Switches a completed task back to ◻️ when new unchecked items are added
• Auto File Renaming — Tasks rename automatically when status or properties change
• Responsive UI — Compact bottom bar that adapts to tablet and mobile screen sizes

Installation

Method 1: Community Plugins (recommended)

1. In Obsidian, go to Settings → Community plugins → Browse
2. Search for Task Notes
3. Click Install, then Enable

Method 2: Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/bhollerauer/task-notes-obsidian-plugin.git
cd task-notes-obsidian-plugin
npm install
npm run build

Or with Docker:

./docker-build.sh

Copy the output to your vault:

mkdir -p /path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins/task-notes
cp main.js manifest.json styles.css /path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins/task-notes/

Enable under Settings → Community plugins → Task Notes.

Usage

Creating Tasks

Context menu (recommended):

1. Right-click any Markdown file in the file explorer
2. Choose Convert to unchecked task ◻️, Convert to scheduled task 📅, etc.
3. Fill in the form and press Enter or click Create

Bottom task bar:

1. Open an existing task file (any file whose name starts with a task emoji)
2. Edit the fields in the bottom bar
3. Click Apply

Checkbox right-click:
Right-click the checkbox in the file explorer or note footer to change the task type or use a custom emoji.

Managing Status

Click the checkbox to toggle between ◻️ and ✅. Use the right-click context menu for all status options:

From	To (click)	To (menu)
◻️ Unchecked	✅ Completed	📅 Scheduled, ❌ Cancelled
📅 Scheduled	✅ Completed	◻️ Unchecked, ❌ Cancelled
✅ Completed	◻️ Unchecked	📅 Scheduled, ❌ Cancelled
❌ Cancelled	◻️ Unchecked	✅ Completed, 📅 Scheduled

Note: Marking a task ✅ is blocked while any - [ ] checklist items remain unchecked in the note body.

Example Filenames

◻️ Buy - 3 - grocery items.md
📅 By 2026-01-17, meeting - 2 hours - team sync.md
📅 By 2026-01-17 at 14.30h, send - 1 invoice - to Acme.md
📅 By 2026-01-17 (at 14.30h - 2026-01-18), prepare - 1 deck - for investors.md
✅ Finish - 1 - project report.md
❌ Cancel - 1 - old task.md

Configuration

Format Templates

Edit under Settings → Task Notes → Task name formats.

Task type	Default format
◻️ Unchecked	{action} - {amount} - {outcome}
📅 Scheduled	By {date} (at {time} - {range}), {action} - {amount} - {outcome}
✅ Completed	{action} - {amount} - {outcome}
❌ Cancelled	{action} - {amount} - {outcome}

Placeholders

Placeholder	Description	Example
{action}	What to do	Buy, send, Finish
{amount}	Quantity / duration	3, 2 hours, 1 invoice
{outcome}	Object / result	groceries, report
{date}	Start date (YYYY-MM-DD) — scheduled only	2026-06-13
{time}	Time (HH.MMh) — scheduled only, optional	14.30h
{range}	End date (YYYY-MM-DD) — scheduled only, optional	2026-06-14

The plugin strips orphaned at text and trailing dashes when {time} or {range} are left empty in the scheduled format, so filenames are always clean.

Capitalisation

• Regular tasks — the first letter of {action} is automatically capitalised (buy → Buy).
• Scheduled events — the first letter of {action} is automatically lowercased (Send → send), since the sentence already starts with By {date}.

Template Application

Set a Markdown template file per task type under Settings → Task Notes → Template configuration.

• If the target file is empty, the template replaces its content.
• If the target file already has content, the template is appended below a blank line.

Template variables available inside template files:

Variable	Value
{{title}}	Filename without task emoji
{{date}}	Current date (YYYY-MM-DD)
{{time}}	Current time (HH:MM:SS)
{{datetime}}	ISO 8601 datetime
{{timestamp}}	Unix timestamp

License

MIT