Task Management via Files?

I’m testing Obsidian as my task manager. One thought I had was managing tasks via files rather than single lines.

It seems as though both the Tasks and Dataview plugins default to a task being a single line that opens with - [ ] and metadata is piled onto the end of the line.

My thought is to have each task as a markdown file with front matter for my task data structure (e.g., due date, start date, project, status, etc.). This would allow me to then “store” information related to the task within the markdown file (e.g., links, descriptions, etc.). This was something I’d do with Omnifocus and other task managers.

It seems like I might be able to recreate this using Dataview plus the Buttons plugin, maybe a few others. In theory I think I could use Dataview to pull in the files + metadata, then each row could have buttons for updating the front matter like complete, flag for today, defer, etc., but it might require a ton of extensive scripting to build those views.

Before I invest the time in doing this - are there any plugins that work this way out of the box? I can’t seem to find much beyond Dataview or Tasks.

I know a dedicated task manager like Omnifocus is better suited with less work, but I’m stuck in a situation where I need to make this work in Obsidian.

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I’ve seen task set-ups like this that use the kanban plugin. Each kanban card is a task and can be an individual note. You can add due dates, etc.

If you’re thinking about Dataview, though, you could have tasks be files with the appropriate metadata in YAML or wherever. Dataview would let you do that, pretty easy.

I use the Tasks plugin. It’s pretty ace. I add tasks in context to where they come up in a note.

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Have a look at the tq plugin which did something like that.

It is however archived om Github, so not sure if it will be updated any longer.

The developer Tony Grosinger has other active plugins like Advanced Tables, so perhaps there is still a chance to get support if you have questions.

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I use files for tasklists per project / activity. I transclude them together into root lists
Daily I go through the total list of transcluded sublists and mark those tasks I want to pick up that day / soon with t:: inline.
Using dataview plugin I show those t:: tasks in my daily log, log them when done and remove them from the original list. So I don’t use checkboxes etc. Primarily because I want to be able to use the same files without Obsidian, and avoid plugins that prescribe some specific way of creating content.

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This post seems relevant: How do you handle tasks in Obsidian? - #64 by davecan

It sounds like you are looking for extensive editing abilities in your lists: not just showing what tasks are due, but manipulating the metadata. I’ve not seen examples of anyone going that far towards recreating Omnifocus in Obsidian.

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I’m looking for a way to do this as well - it seems to be the default method in apps like Notion, where each task is a page by itself, assigned to an attribute represented by a checkbox determining its completion, and various other metadata attributable to it.

I’m certain Dataview is part of the answer to this, and also a big reason why I’ve refrained from using the Tasks plugin, which I’m sure a lot of people have used.

I’m curious if you have exemplary instances, perhaps shared by others, which you can share with us for further exploration of these ideas.

This Nicole van dev Hoeven video:

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With each task a markdown file, is it possible to create a parent/child relationship between the tasks?

The Projects plugin helps with this exact thing

Hi, I have each of my tasks as markdown file, but I just use dataview, templater and metadata I didn’t thought about using the plugin buttons, and I don’t know either if theres a plugin that can do somethimg like you describe.