Workflows

Task Genius includes a powerful workflow system to help you manage multi-stage tasks and processes directly within Obsidian, tracking their progression through different phases.

Usage

1. Associate Task with Workflow: Mark a root task with a workflow tag, like #workflow/YourWorkflowID. This task represents the start of the process.

   - [ ] Start Project Alpha #workflow/project_workflow

2. Initial Stage & Stage Markers:

   • When you interact with the root task (e.g., via context menu), the plugin might automatically create the first stage task.
   • Subsequent stages and substages are typically marked using [stage::StageID] or [stage::ParentStageID.SubStageID].

   - [x] Start Project Alpha #workflow/project_workflow 🛫 2024-03-20 10:00:00
     - [x] Planning Phase [stage::planning] (⏱️ 02:15:30)
     - [ ] Development [stage::in_progress] 🛫 2024-03-20 12:15:30
       - [x] Coding [stage::in_progress.development] (⏱️ 01:30:00)
       - [x] Code Review [stage::in_progress.review] (⏱️ 00:30:00)
       - [ ] Testing [stage::in_progress.testing] 🛫 2024-03-20 15:15:30

3. Transitioning Stages:

   • Context Menu: Right-click on a task associated with a workflow. Choose options like "Move to [Next Stage Name]", select from available stages defined in canProceedTo or "Complete Stage".
   • Task Completion: Completing a task (- [x]) associated with a non-terminal stage can trigger automatic transitions.
   • Manual Editing: You can manually change the [stage::...] marker, although using the context menu or task completion is recommended for consistency and triggering automation.

4. Automation: Based on your configuration (see "Configuration Options" above), actions like adding timestamps, calculating spent time, removing markers, and creating the next task will happen automatically during stage transitions or completions.

Settings

Activate and customize workflow behavior in the plugin settings:

1. Go to Settings -> Task Genius -> Workflow.
2. Toggle Enable workflow on.

Configuration options

Fine-tune how workflows operate:

• Auto-add timestamp: Automatically append a timestamp (e.g., 🛫 2024-01-01 10:00:00) to a task when it enters a workflow stage or is created within one.
  • Timestamp format: Define the date/time format using Moment.js tokens (default: YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss).
  • Remove timestamp when moving to next stage: Delete the timestamp from the task when it transitions to the next workflow stage.
• Calculate spent time: Track the time a task spends in a stage. When the task moves, append the duration (e.g., (⏱️ 01:30:00)).
  • Spent time format: Define the format for the duration (default: HH:mm:ss).
  • Calculate full spent time: Track the total time from the start of the workflow to the completion of the final stage. Adds a total duration marker (e.g., (Total: 05:45:10)) to the final task.
• Auto remove last stage marker: When a task marked with the final stage of its workflow is completed (- [x]), automatically remove the stage marker text (e.g., [stage::stage_id]).

Workflow definitions

Workflows are defined as templates specifying a sequence of stages. Manage them in Settings -> Task Genius -> Workflow:

• Click Add New Workflow to define a new template.
• Click the pencil icon () to edit an existing one.
• Click the trash icon () to delete a definition.

Defining Stages

When creating or editing a workflow:

• Name & Description: Identify the workflow.
• Stages: Add, remove, and reorder stages.
  • ID: A unique identifier for the stage (e.g., planning, dev, review) used in the task line, for example [stage::planning].
  • Name: The display name for the stage (e.g., "Planning", "Development", "Review"). This is used as the stage display name (not in task line).
  • Type:
    • Linear: Moves strictly to the stage defined in its next property.
    • Cycle: Can loop back or move to multiple stages defined in canProceedTo. May contain subStages for nested steps.
    • Terminal: Represents a final state (e.g., "Completed", "Cancelled"). Tasks entering a terminal stage typically conclude their workflow path.
  • Next (for Linear): The ID of the single stage that follows this one, for example [stage::in_progress].
  • SubStages (for Cycle): Define nested steps within a cycle stage. Each substage has its own id, name, and optional next (pointing to the next substage ID within the cycle), for example [stage::in_progress.development] and [stage::in_progress.review].
  • CanProceedTo (for Cycle/Linear): A list of stage IDs that a task can transition to from this stage (used in the context menu). This allows for branching or returning to earlier stages or going to next main stage (when in Cycle type stage).