GTD Board

GTD Board (Obsidian Plugin)

A customizable GTD-based Kanban board for Obsidian.

How it works

• Scans a configurable folder including subfolders for tasks.
• Two task sources:
  • File tasks (primary): each task is its own Markdown file inside the "task subfolder". Frontmatter holds lane, due date, reminder, and tags; the file body is the Markdown description.
  • Inline checkboxes: - [ ] Text #gtd/next 📅 2026-09-20 in regular notes inside the watched folder. The lane is recognized via a tag (e.g. #gtd/next), the due date via 📅 YYYY-MM-DD (optionally with ⏰HH:mm).
• Swimlanes are color-coded and freely renamable/reorderable. The default follows the GTD system (Inbox, Next Actions, Waiting For, Someday/Maybe, Done), but is fully customizable (settings). Each lane can be collapsed into a narrow vertical strip via an arrow icon; the collapsed state is saved.
• "Done" is purely checkbox-driven: a task automatically appears in the lane marked "isDone" as soon as its checkbox is checked (inline checkbox - [x] or done: true in frontmatter) - independent of its regular lane tag. The Done lane deliberately carries no tag of its own.
• Drag & drop moves tasks between lanes and writes the change straight back into the underlying file: for file tasks into the frontmatter (lane: / done:), for inline tasks by toggling the checkbox or swapping the lane tag directly in the line. When moved to "Done", the original lane tag is kept so the task returns to its home lane when un-checked.
• New tasks can be created via the "+" button on each lane (always as a file task).
• Editing a task (title, Markdown description, due date, reminder, tags) opens a dialog with a "Preview"/"Edit" toggle for the description (Markdown source and rendered preview shown one after another rather than side by side). Editing the content of an inline task automatically creates a task file and removes the original checkbox line.
• Reminders: due date plus an optional custom reminder time (otherwise a default offset before the due date). The plugin periodically checks for due reminders and shows a desktop notification (browser notification) as well as an Obsidian notice with snooze buttons ("1 hr", "Tomorrow 9:00") - clicking one pushes the reminder to the chosen time and it fires again automatically afterward.
• Search/filter: the toolbar above the board has a search field that filters cards by title or tag. Lane counters still show the unfiltered total.
• Per-lane WIP limit: settings let you set an optional limit on simultaneous tasks per lane. When exceeded, the counter in the lane header is highlighted in bold red.
• Due-date color coding: cards with a due date are colored by urgency - today/overdue red, this week yellow, later neutral. Completed tasks are no longer color-highlighted.
• Sortable lanes: a dropdown in the toolbar lets you sort cards within all lanes by custom order, priority, due date, or title (default: priority); the choice is remembered.
• "Planned" overview lane: an optional, virtual lane (enabled in settings) that automatically shows all open tasks with a due date - regardless of their actual lane, always sorted ascending by due date. Each card additionally carries a badge showing its home lane. No tag of its own, not a drop target.
• Priority: tasks can be rated High/Medium/Low (inline via 🔺/🔽, otherwise no marker; file tasks via frontmatter priority:). Cards show a colored left border plus icon; the default sort order follows priority.
• Quick capture: the "Quick capture: create new task" command (can be bound to a hotkey) instantly creates a new task in the default lane from anywhere in the vault, without opening the board - classic GTD capture.
• Subtasks/checklists: Markdown checkboxes (- [ ]/- [x]) in a file task's description are shown on the card as progress ("3/5") including a bar.
• Context tags: @Office, @Phone, etc. as a second filter dimension independent of the lane - closer to "real" GTD than plain status lanes. Maintained like tags in the description dialog or recognized inline via @word; a dedicated dropdown in the toolbar filters by them.
• Automatic archiving: completed file tasks can be automatically moved to an archive folder after a configurable number of days (default: disabled), so "Done" doesn't grow forever. Tasks with no known completion time are never moved automatically.
• ICS export: all open due dates can be written into the vault as an .ics file (automatically on every refresh, or manually via a command/button in settings). A real calendar app can subscribe to/import this file and take over reliable notifications, even when Obsidian isn't running.
• Recurring tasks: a task can be marked as daily/weekly/monthly/yearly recurring (dialog dropdown "Recurrence"; inline via 🔁 weekly etc.). When moved to "Done" or checked off directly in the note, it automatically jumps to its next due date and stays open instead of being completed - classic "every Monday" behavior, has no effect without a due date.
• Agenda view: "Kanban"/"Agenda" toggle in the toolbar. The agenda view shows all open tasks across lanes as a flat list, always sorted ascending by due date (tasks without a due date at the end); each card carries a badge with its actual lane.
• Bulk actions: the "Multi-select" button shows a checkbox on every card; selected tasks can be moved together to a target lane or (with a confirmation prompt) deleted together.
• Done checkbox on the card: every card has a checkbox on the left of its title that marks the task done (or undoes that) directly, without opening the edit dialog - moves it into/out of the "Done" lane automatically, including recurrence logic.
• Week view: a third view (alongside Kanban/Agenda) with a real calendar grid - Monday through Sunday as columns, open tasks with a due date sit under their calendar day. Navigation to the previous/next week plus a "Today" button. For anything beyond that (rescheduling, combining several calendars), the ICS export remains the better route.
• Delegation: a task can be marked as "delegated to XY" (dialog field "Delegated to"; inline via 👤 Name, a single word with no spaces). Shown discreetly on the card like context/tags, and preserved when moved between lanes.
• Project: a free, second organizing dimension alongside lane and context - a task belongs to exactly one project (dialog field "Project"; inline via +ProjectName, todo.txt syntax). A dedicated dropdown in the toolbar filters by it; the project appears discreetly on the card's tag row. Reflects GTD's project list without cluttering the lane/status view.
• Staleness marker ("Waiting For" & "Someday/Maybe"): a card that has sat longer than configured (Settings → "Refresh", default 5 or 60 days) without content changes or review in "Waiting For" or a lane marked "Someday/Maybe" gets a yellow border plus a hint tag. Purely visual - prevents delegations from stalling silently or the someday/maybe list from becoming a graveyard, without changing anything automatically. Which lanes count as "Someday" is toggled per lane in settings.
• Weekly review: toolbar button (clipboard-check icon) or the "Start weekly review" command walks you through all open tasks, lane by lane, within a lane the longest-untouched first - a classic GTD Weekly Review. Three actions per task: "Looks good" (confirms the task unchanged and resets its staleness timer), "Edit" (opens the normal dialog), or "Done" (moves straight to the Done lane).
• Natural-language quick capture: quick capture understands the same compact syntax as inline checkboxes while typing - 📅 date, @context, +project, 👤 delegate, 🔺/🔽 priority, 🔁 recurrence, and #lane/tag for direct lane assignment - and shows a live preview of what was recognized. So e.g. "Review quote @Office +SAP-Transformation 📅 tomorrow 🔺" can be captured completely in one go, without touching up the task afterward on the board.
• Multi-language: the interface (buttons, menus, settings, notifications) is available in German and English and automatically follows Obsidian's own language setting - no extra configuration needed. The inline syntax in your notes themselves (tags, today/tomorrow/day after tomorrow, recurrence words) stays independent of the interface language so existing notes don't break. Further languages can be added via src/i18n/.

Installation (manual, for testing)

1. Copy the gtd-board folder into <Vault>/.obsidian/plugins/ (or place main.js, manifest.json, styles.css there in a new subfolder).
2. In Obsidian: Settings → Community plugins → enable "GTD Board".
3. Check the plugin's settings: folder, task subfolder, lanes.
4. Open the board via the ribbon icon or the "Open GTD Board" command.

Development

npm install
npm run dev      # esbuild watch
npm run build    # typecheck + production build (main.js)
npm test         # unit tests (parser, date logic, reminders)

Publishing to the Community Plugins directory

Obsidian now handles plugin submission through a web form rather than a pull request against obsidian-releases:

1. Push the source code to a public GitHub repository (the repo name should match the plugin ID gtd-board). LICENSE (MIT) is already included.
2. Make sure the plugin ID in manifest.json doesn't collide with an already-listed community plugin.
3. Push a Git tag matching the version number in manifest.json exactly (no v prefix), e.g. git tag 0.1.0 && git push origin 0.1.0. The included GitHub Actions workflow (.github/workflows/release.yml) then builds the plugin, runs typecheck/tests, attests build provenance for main.js/styles.css, and attaches main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css as release assets automatically.
4. Add the new version to versions.json on every release (mapping plugin version → minimum Obsidian version).
5. Go to community.obsidian.md, sign in with your Obsidian account, link your GitHub account, and use "Add your plugin" to point it at this repository. The platform reads manifest.json from the default branch and pulls the release assets from the GitHub Release whose tag matches the manifest version. An automated check (linting, API-version checks, security patterns) runs first; once that passes, a manual review by the Obsidian team follows before the plugin appears in the in-app Community Plugins browser.
6. After approval, a new tag/release is enough for every further version - users then get updates automatically through the Community Plugins manager.

Alternative for quick, informal distribution without the review wait: make the plugin installable from the GitHub repo via BRAT (Beta Reviewer's Auto Tester), bypassing the official submission process.

Known limitations

• In-app reminders (desktop notification/notice) only work while Obsidian is running; there's no app-independent background service. The ICS export covers this gap by letting a real calendar app notify you of due dates independently of Obsidian.
• Inline tasks don't support their own description, their own reminder time, or context tags in the edit dialog beyond the inline syntax; content edits automatically convert the task into a file.