Support

Welcome to the Tasks for Obsidian support center. Here you'll find answers to common questions and troubleshooting guidance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Installation & Setup

Q: What are the system requirements?

A: Tasks for Obsidian requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later, and an Obsidian vault with at least one .md file. Obsidian itself doesn't have to be running — the app reads the vault directly from disk.

Q: How do I grant the necessary permissions?

A: On first launch, the app will request permission to access your Obsidian configuration folder and vault folders. Grant these permissions when prompted. If your vaults are in non-standard locations, you may need to grant additional permissions through System Settings.

Q: The app isn't detecting my vaults

A: Try these steps:

Ensure Obsidian is installed and has been opened at least once
Grant access to the Obsidian configuration folder (~/Library/Application Support/obsidian)
If your vaults live in custom locations, grant access to those folders specifically
You can also add a vault manually from the onboarding screen or Settings → Vault

Tasks Plugin Compatibility

Q: Does the app require the Tasks community plugin?

A: No. The app reads standard Markdown checkboxes (- [ ], - [x]) directly. If you also use the Tasks plugin and its emoji metadata (📅 due, ⏳ scheduled, 🛫 start, ✅ done, 🔁 recurrence, 🔺⏫🔼🔽⏬ priority), the app understands all of it and round-trips it back intact.

Q: What about custom checkbox statuses?

A: Custom statuses like [/] (in progress), [-] (cancelled), and [>] (forwarded) are recognized and shown with appropriate styling.

Q: I use a "tasks tag" filter in Obsidian. Can the app respect it?

A: Yes. Open Settings → General → Detection and set "Global filter tag". Only checkbox lines containing that tag will be treated as tasks, mirroring the Tasks plugin's globalFilter behavior.

Pro Features

Q: What's free and what's Pro?

A: The free tier is fully functional for one vault:

Read and edit all task metadata
Round-trip writes back to your `.md` files atomically
Today / Inbox / Completed smart lists, plus per-file lists
Drag-to-reorder, undo/redo, themes, detail pane

Pro adds convenience features:

Global hotkey + menu-bar quick-add panel
Unlimited vaults (free tier locks to one)
Inline composer shortcuts (!high, 📅 fri, etc.)
Local notifications + Dock badge for due tasks
User-customizable global hotkey

Q: How much does Pro cost?

A: Pro is available as a $1.99/month subscription, $9.99/year subscription, or $19.99 one-time lifetime unlock. Pricing varies by region — see your local App Store for the exact amount.

Q: How do I restore my purchase?

A: Open Settings → Pro and tap "Restore purchases". The app will sync with the App Store and re-apply any active subscription or lifetime unlock tied to your Apple ID.

Q: Can I cancel my subscription?

A: Yes, anytime. Go to System Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions, or tap "Manage subscription" inside the app. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

Usage & Features

Q: Can I use multiple vaults?

A: Yes, with Pro. Switch vaults from Settings → Vault. The app remembers per-vault settings (daily-note location, filter tag, etc.) separately.

Q: How does quick-add work?

A: Press ⌃⌥⌘T (configurable) from any app to summon a floating composer. Type a task, press Enter, and the line is appended to today's daily note in the active vault. The app respects your Obsidian Daily Notes plugin config including templates with {{date}} and {{time}} substitutions.

Q: Why is my task showing under "Inbox" and not under its file?

A: Inbox is the smart list of tasks with no due, scheduled, or start date — the "needs triage" pile. Per-file lists in the sidebar show every task in that file regardless of dates.

Q: Does it support recurring tasks?

A: Yes. The app reads the Tasks plugin's 🔁 recurrence syntax. Completing a recurring task creates the next occurrence automatically.

Troubleshooting

Q: My edit didn't save

A: If an edit doesn't appear:

Check that you have write access to the vault folder
Verify the vault isn't stored in a read-only location
If using iCloud Drive, ensure the vault is fully synced
The app uses atomic writes with mtime conflict detection — if Obsidian saved the same file at the same time, the app re-applies your edit. If you see an error toast, the edit was rejected; try again.

Q: Notifications aren't firing

A: Notifications require Pro and authorization:

Confirm you have Pro active in Settings → Pro
Open System Settings → Notifications → Tasks for Obsidian and enable Allow Notifications
Tasks must have a 📅 due date — the notification fires at 9 AM on the due day

Q: The app crashes or freezes

A: Try these troubleshooting steps:

Restart the app
Check if you're running the latest version
Ensure you have sufficient disk space
If the indexer hangs, very large vaults (50,000+ files) may take a moment on first launch

Keyboard Shortcuts

Global Shortcuts

Quick add: ⌃⌥⌘T (configurable, Pro)

Window Shortcuts

⌘N: New task (focus composer)
⌘F: Find in list
⌘P: Switch list
⌘Z / ⌘⇧Z: Undo / redo
⌘[ / ⌘]: Navigate back / forward through list history
⌘,: Open Settings

Composer Shortcuts (Pro)

!high, !medium, !low — set priority
📅 today, 📅 tomorrow, 📅 fri — set due date
📅 yyyy-MM-dd — set explicit due date

Getting Help

Contact Support

If you can't find the answer to your question here, please don't hesitate to contact us:

Email: [email protected]
Response Time: We typically respond within 24-48 hours

Report a Bug

When reporting bugs, please include:

macOS version
Tasks for Obsidian version
Steps to reproduce the issue
Expected vs. actual behavior
Any error messages (screenshots helpful)

Feature Requests

We love hearing your ideas for improving Tasks for Obsidian! Please email us with your suggestions, including:

What feature you'd like to see
How it would help your workflow
Any specific implementation ideas

Resources

Documentation

Pro Tip

Pair the global quick-add hotkey with a daily-note template that auto-creates a "Tasks" heading. Captures land under that heading instead of at the bottom of the file, keeping your daily notes structured.