Obsidian Tasks

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name: obsidian-tasks description: Set up and manage an Obsidian task board with Kanban + Dataview. Creates a Tasks/Board.md pipeline (Backlog/Todo/In Progress/Review/Done), per-task notes with YAML frontmatter (status/priority/category/due), and dashboards via Dataview queries. Use for task tracking, moving cards between columns, keeping board + frontmatter in sync, and linking tasks to supporting notes/research.

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obsidian-tasks

Task management in Obsidian vaults using Kanban boards, Dataview dashboards, and structured task notes.

Setup

Run the setup script to initialize a task board in an Obsidian vault:

python3 scripts/setup.py  [--folder ] [--columns ]

vault-path: Path to the Obsidian vault root

--folder: Subfolder to create (default: Tasks)

--columns: Kanban columns (default: Backlog,Todo,In Progress,Review,Done)

This creates:

/Board.md - Kanban board (requires Kanban community plugin)

/Dashboard.md - Dataview dashboard (requires Dataview community plugin)

Tell the user to install Kanban and Dataview community plugins if not already installed.

Task Note Format

Each task is a separate markdown file with YAML frontmatter:

---
status: todo
priority: P1
category: revenue
created: 2026-02-03
due: 2026-02-07
Task Title
Description and notes here.
References
[[linked-document|Display Name]]
Status
[x] Step completed
[ ] Step pending

Frontmatter Fields

| Field | Values | Required | |-------|--------|----------| | status | backlog, todo, in-progress, review, done | yes | | priority | P1, P2, P3 | yes | | category | free text (revenue, content, research, setup, project) | yes | | created | YYYY-MM-DD | yes | | due | YYYY-MM-DD | no | | parked_until | YYYY-MM-DD | no |

Priority Labels on Board

Use emoji prefixes on the Kanban board for visual priority:

🔴 P1 (urgent)

🟡 P2 (normal)

🟢 P3 (backlog/parked)

Managing Tasks

Create a Task

1. Create a markdown file in the tasks folder with frontmatter 2. Add a card to Board.md in the appropriate column:

- [ ] [[Task Name]] 🔴 P1 @{2026-02-07}

Move a Task

1. Update status in the task note's frontmatter 2. Move the card line in Board.md to the target column

Complete a Task

1. Set status: done in frontmatter 2. Move to Done column and mark checkbox:

- [x] [[Task Name]] ✅ 2026-02-03

Always update both Board.md AND the task note frontmatter to keep them in sync.

Linking Documents

Use Obsidian [[wikilinks]] to connect tasks to supporting documents:

## References
[[2026-02-03-research-report|Research Report]]
[[meeting-notes-jan|Meeting Notes]]

Store referenced documents in a sibling folder (e.g., Research/ next to Tasks/).

Dashboard Queries

The setup script creates a Dataview dashboard. Core queries:

Tasks by priority:

TABLE status, category, due
FROM ""
WHERE priority = "P1" AND status != "done"
SORT due ASC

Overdue tasks:

TABLE priority, category
FROM ""
WHERE due AND due < date(today) AND status != "done"
SORT due ASC

Recently completed:

TABLE category
FROM ""
WHERE status = "done"
SORT file.mtime DESC
LIMIT 10

Run the setup script to initialize a task board in an Obsidian vault:

python3 scripts/setup.py  [--folder ] [--columns ]

vault-path: Path to the Obsidian vault root

--folder: Subfolder to create (default: Tasks)

--columns: Kanban columns (default: Backlog,Todo,In Progress,Review,Done)

This creates:

/Board.md - Kanban board (requires Kanban community plugin)

/Dashboard.md - Dataview dashboard (requires Dataview community plugin)

Tell the user to install Kanban and Dataview community plugins if not already installed.