Task Management

Glyph’s task management system extracts checkboxes from your markdown notes and organizes them into three views: Inbox, Today, and Upcoming. Tasks stay embedded in your notes while appearing in these aggregated views.

Overview

Tasks are standard markdown checkboxes:

- [ ] Review quarterly goals
- [x] Submit expense report
- [ ] Call vendor about renewal

Glyph automatically indexes these and makes them queryable across your entire space.

Task Views

Inbox

The inbox shows unscheduled tasks grouped by their source note:

Groups by note

Tasks are organized under their parent note with the note title and path.

Click to navigate

Click the note header to jump to that note in your editor.

Triage from here

Schedule tasks for today or upcoming dates directly from the inbox.

Use inbox for:

Newly captured tasks without dates
Weekly reviews to schedule work
Seeing all open tasks in context

Today

The today view displays a flat list of tasks scheduled or due today:

Tasks with scheduled: YYYY-MM-DD matching today
Tasks with due: YYYY-MM-DD matching today
Sorted by priority and note update time
No grouping—pure action list

Use today for:

Daily planning sessions
Focused execution view
Clearing today’s commitments

Upcoming

The upcoming view shows future tasks sorted by their next relevant date:

Scheduled tasks appear by scheduled date
If no scheduled date, sorted by due date
Helps you plan ahead and prevent surprises
Flat list sorted chronologically

Use upcoming for:

Weekly planning
Spotting date conflicts
Balancing workload across days

Inbox

Unscheduled tasks grouped by note for triage

Today

Work scheduled or due today in a focused list

Upcoming

Future tasks sorted by their next date

Task Syntax

Tasks use standard markdown checkboxes with optional inline metadata:

Basic Checkbox

- [ ] This is a task
- [x] This task is complete

Task Status

Use alternate checkbox characters for custom statuses:

- [ ] Todo
- [x] Done
- [-] Cancelled
- [>] Forwarded
- [<] Scheduled

Glyph tracks the status character but primarily uses checked/unchecked state.

Inline Dates

Add dates with special syntax anywhere in the task text:

- [ ] Review proposal 📅 2024-03-15
- [ ] Call client ⏳ 2024-03-10 📅 2024-03-12

📅 YYYY-MM-DD or due: YYYY-MM-DD sets the due date
⏳ YYYY-MM-DD or scheduled: YYYY-MM-DD sets the scheduled date

Both emoji and text formats work. Use what fits your workflow.

Priority

Add priority indicators:

- [ ] High priority task ⬆️
- [ ] Low priority task ⬇️
- [ ] Normal priority task

Priority affects sort order within the same date bucket.

Sections

Tasks inherit the section (heading) they appear under:

## Q1 Objectives

- [ ] Launch new feature
- [ ] Hire engineer

## Q2 Objectives  

- [ ] Expand to EMEA

The task object includes the section name for context.

Using the Task Pane

Opening the Pane

Access tasks from:

Sidebar navigation button
Command palette (search “Tasks”)
Keyboard shortcut (configurable)

Switching Views

Three pills at the top switch between inbox, today, and upcoming:

Click a pill to activate that view
Active view is highlighted
Badge shows task count for current view

Task Actions

Check/Uncheck
Schedule
Open Note

Click the checkbox to toggle completion state. Changes save immediately to the source note.

Real-time Sync

Tasks update automatically:

Checking a task updates the markdown file
Editing a task in the note updates the pane
Adding new tasks shows them immediately
Deleting tasks removes them from the pane

Task Row Layout

Each task row displays:

Checkbox: Click to toggle completion
Task text: The markdown content (without date metadata)
Date badge: Shows scheduled or due date if set
Note path: (Today/Upcoming only) Shows source note
Section: Parent heading context if available

Task Row Example

┌─ [ ] Review quarterly goals          📅 Mar 15
│  projects/2024/strategy.md · Q1 Planning
└─

First line: checkbox + task text + date
Second line: note path + section

Scheduling Tasks

From the Task Pane

Click the date icon

Each task row has a calendar icon on the right.

Choose a date

Use the date picker to select a scheduled or due date.

Saves to markdown

Glyph updates the task’s markdown line with the new date metadata.

In the Editor

Add dates directly while writing:

- [ ] Call vendor scheduled: 2024-03-20
- [ ] Submit report due: 2024-03-18

The task pane updates immediately when you save.

Scheduled vs Due

Scheduled date: When you plan to work on it
Due date: External deadline
Tasks can have both, one, or neither

Bucketing logic:

Today: Scheduled = today OR due = today
Upcoming: Scheduled > today OR (no scheduled AND due > today)
Inbox: No scheduled AND no due

Task Grouping

Inbox Grouping

Inbox tasks group by their source note:

📄 projects/client-work.md
   - [ ] Send proposal
   - [ ] Schedule kickoff

📄 personal/home.md
   - [ ] Fix leaky faucet
   - [ ] Call electrician

Click the note header to open that note.

Flat Views

Today and Upcoming use flat lists sorted by:

Date (scheduled or due)
Priority (high → normal → low)
Note updated time (most recent first)

No grouping allows laser focus on chronological order.

Filtering Tasks

Configure task sources in Settings → Tasks:

Source Modes

All Notes
Specific Folders

Index tasks from every note in your space.

Example: Work/Personal Split

Create two Glyph spaces:

Work space: All task folders enabled
Personal space: Only personal folders enabled

Or use a single space with folder filtering to separate contexts.

Task Indexing

Glyph uses SQLite to index tasks:

Automatic: New tasks appear within seconds
Incremental: Only changed notes are re-indexed
Efficient: Handles thousands of tasks across hundreds of notes

Manual Rebuild

If tasks seem out of sync:

Open Settings → General
Click “Rebuild Index”
Wait for completion

This re-scans all notes and rebuilds the task database.

Task Properties

Each task object includes:

Property	Description
`task_id`	Unique identifier - note path + line number
`note_id`	Parent note identifier
`note_title`	Title of the source note
`note_path`	Relative path to the note
`line_start`	Line number in the markdown file
`raw_text`	Full markdown line
`checked`	Boolean completion state
`status`	Checkbox character: space, x, -, >, or <
`priority`	Integer: -1 low, 0 normal, 1 high
`due_date`	ISO date string or null
`scheduled_date`	ISO date string or null
`section`	Parent heading text or null
`note_updated`	Note’s last modified timestamp

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Click checkbox	Toggle completion
Click task text	Open source note
Click date icon	Edit dates
Click note header	Navigate to note
Refresh button	Reload tasks

Best Practices

Use inbox for capture - Write tasks in notes, triage from inbox
Schedule daily - Start each day by reviewing today view
Plan weekly - Use upcoming to balance your week
Keep tasks in context - Don’t extract tasks to separate files
Leverage sections - Use headings to add context to task groups
Set realistic dates - Only schedule what you can complete
Review regularly - Weekly inbox zero keeps tasks manageable

Common Workflows

Daily Planning

Review inbox

Open inbox view and schedule high-priority tasks for today.

Check today view

Confirm today’s list is achievable.

Work through list

Check off tasks as you complete them.

End of day review

Reschedule incomplete tasks to tomorrow or upcoming.

Weekly Review

Clear inbox

Schedule all inbox tasks or delete ones no longer relevant.

Review upcoming

Ensure next week’s tasks are realistic and prioritized.

Check overdue

Reschedule or complete tasks with past due dates.

Project Management

# Project: Website Redesign

## Planning
- [ ] Wireframe homepage scheduled: 2024-03-10
- [ ] Review with team due: 2024-03-12

## Design  
- [ ] Create mockups scheduled: 2024-03-15
- [ ] Get client feedback due: 2024-03-18

## Development
- [ ] Build prototype scheduled: 2024-03-20
- [ ] Deploy to staging due: 2024-03-25

Tasks appear in the task pane organized by date, while remaining in the project note.

Integration with Notes

Tasks stay in your notes where they belong:

Meeting notes: Action items from discussions
Project plans: Milestones and deliverables
Daily notes: Today’s tasks and intentions
Research: Next steps and follow-ups

The task pane is a view, not a separate system.

Limitations

Tasks must be in markdown files (not other formats)
Only checkboxes at the start of list items are recognized
Nested tasks (sub-items) are treated as independent tasks
No recurring task syntax (yet)
Maximum 2000 tasks per view (configurable)

Daily Notes - Template for daily task planning
Tags & Search - Find tasks by content
Database Views - Organize notes with tasks
Markdown Editor - Edit tasks inline in your notes

​Overview

​Task Views

​Inbox

​Today

​Upcoming

Inbox

Today

Upcoming

​Task Syntax

​Basic Checkbox

​Task Status

​Inline Dates

​Priority

​Sections

​Using the Task Pane

​Opening the Pane

​Switching Views

​Task Actions

​Real-time Sync

​Task Row Layout

​Task Row Example

​Scheduling Tasks

​From the Task Pane

​In the Editor

​Scheduled vs Due

​Task Grouping

​Inbox Grouping

​Flat Views

​Filtering Tasks

​Source Modes

​Example: Work/Personal Split

​Task Indexing

​Manual Rebuild

​Task Properties

​Keyboard Shortcuts

​Best Practices

​Common Workflows

​Daily Planning

​Weekly Review

​Project Management

​Integration with Notes

​Limitations

​Related Features

Overview

Task Views

Inbox

Today

Upcoming

Task Syntax

Basic Checkbox

Task Status

Inline Dates

Priority

Sections

Using the Task Pane

Opening the Pane

Switching Views

Task Actions

Real-time Sync

Task Row Layout

Task Row Example

Scheduling Tasks

From the Task Pane

In the Editor

Scheduled vs Due

Task Grouping

Inbox Grouping

Flat Views

Filtering Tasks

Source Modes

Example: Work/Personal Split

Task Indexing

Manual Rebuild

Task Properties

Keyboard Shortcuts

Best Practices

Common Workflows

Daily Planning

Weekly Review

Project Management

Integration with Notes

Limitations

Related Features