Tasks

Tasks

A task represents a unit of work that can be assigned, progressed, and tracked. It supports rich fields, priority levels, relationships, and subtasks.

All Tasks view

The All Tasks view provides an at-a-glance overview of every active task across the board. It builds split views for each board section (To Do, In Progress, Done, etc.) from a single source of truth.

To access this view, navigate to the board and select All Tasks from the view toolbar.

How All Tasks works

All Tasks uses a single fetch pass that loads rows once and builds board splits from those rows. As a result:

• Each board sees its own split of the task list.
• Quiet boards do not lose splits in favor of busy boards.
• The view is stable and deterministic across sessions.

Drawing from multiple streams

Since All Tasks is board-wide, it aggregates tasks from all active columns and sections, making it useful for a quick health check or high-level tracking when you need to see everything that matters—not just what’s pinned or currently in one section.

Note: Unlike My Tasks, All Tasks does not automatically filter out onboarding, demo, template, or staging content, so those tasks may appear in the list. For visibility filtering, see Board & Subtask Visibility.

Exclude tasks you don’t need

To hide distracting or temporary tasks:

• Use View filters to show or hide assignments, priorities, or tags that don’t match your current focus.
• Create and pin a custom view with the exact criteria you want to see.
• Review tasks by tag or priority and archive or move them away when no longer relevant.

Creating a task

From a board or inbox, click New task (or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+N / Cmd+N). This opens the task creator with the following top-level sections:

• Title: The name or headline of the work.
• Description: Optional text explaining what to do.
• Assignees: One or more members to get notified and held accountable.
• Sections & Columns: Drag the task to a section or use the section picker dropdown.
• Due date: Pick a date or use predictive phrases like “tomorrow,” “next week,” or relative periods.
• Priority: Choose Low, Medium, or High.
• Estimated time: Optionally specify hours or a low-high range if needed.

Use Write with AI (Ctrl+K / Cmd+K, or the command palette) in the description area to turn a brief task idea into a fleshed-out task.

Automatic title generation on save

When you create a new task and leave the title empty:

• Save the task by clicking Save, pressing Ctrl+Enter, or using the Command palette.
• The system quickly generates a title based on your description and updates the task with “Generating title…” state.
• The generated title appears and is automatically saved; the field stays editable so you can refine it further.

Typical behavior:

• If your description starts with an imperative verb (e.g., “Design homepage mockup with hero section”), a title like “Design homepage mockup” is suggested.
• For notes-style descriptions without a clear verb, the system provides a concise, suitable title.
• The rough defaults and style controls are intentionally sensitive to length: shorter descriptions receive shorter titles, longer ones get fuller noun phrases.

This hidden generation runs silently on every empty-title save, keeping your task fully formed right away.

Bottom-of-column composer

You can also add tasks directly in any column via the bottom-of-column quick-entry composer. In Trello-style batch quick-entry:

• Type a task title and press Enter.
• The task is created, and the composer stays open for another title so you can add multiple tasks in row.
• Press Escape or click outside to close the composer. Top add + full-screen task creator remain unchanged.

Mobile new-task modal

On mobile, the new-task modal opens full screen to give you maximum vertical space. To exit the modal:

• Tap the X in the header to close it.
• Swipe right to dismiss it on supported devices.
• Use the back button on your phone to close the modal.

The close control and back gesture prevent users from being stuck inside the modal (HTPR-5518). New-task drafts no longer carry over when opening a different task or switching boards; the composer state is reset on each open to prevent stale content from appearing (HTPR-5469).

AI Task Writer on mobile

From a board, note the AI Task Writer bottom composer in columns and cards.

Mobile waveform and layout:

• The waveform sits full-width at the bottom of the composer; the action row stays anchored and swiping on narrow screens keeps the controls reachable.
• On screens at 390px or narrower, the Back pill is removed to avoid overlapping the waveform; this eliminates the border-padding issue on small viewports where the pill would overlap the waveform controls.
• Waveform buttons (mic, pause, play) are present and fully visible so you can dictate and review your draft without scrolling.

Dictation and save:

• Tap Dictate to start mobile dictation via the microphone; in the composer you can say your task description and pauses.
• Saving a dictated draft is automatic when you confirm on the action row; no extra manual save roundtrip is required.
• The workflow cloaks distraction: check list formatting, attach links, and adjust priority before releasing a clean draft.

Create via composer:

• For quick task ideas while swiping columns on mobile, use the AI Task Writer composer directly; type, dictate, and save to instantly create the task from the same surface.

Actions:

• The action row now features prominent Send (submit) and Resend actions; both are sized at 44px with equal prominence.
• Sending a task pauses any in-flight request and disables the Resend button until the action completes, preventing rapid double-submission.
• Resend can be used to revise the task and submit again without requiring a fresh keyboard/voice snapshot.

Editor placements and viewport behavior

• Desktop command palette: When you invoke the command palette from the slash commands (including from a short new-task description), placement adapts to the available vertical space. The menu now prefers the larger of the space above or below the caret, ensuring the full menu fits inside the viewport. This prevents the menu from clipping open at the top of the screen when a short description fills the upper area of the browser window.

• Board focus after saving a view ([HTPR-5201]): When you save a board view, the keyboard focus stays on your current card instead of jumping to the last card in the active column. This matches the behavior observed when other modals (command palette, board manager, column manager, search) close: the board restores focus to the card you were on, keeping your focus consistent across interactions.

Editing a task

Open a task to view and edit all its fields. Unsupported columns or fields may be hidden based on your team’s board configuration.

Related fields

• Assignees: Current human assignees with ability to add or remove. Added assignees trigger notifications.
• Workers: Agent nodes and nodes can have their own assignee field, tracked separately from human assignees. Workers appear in the Relationships section under the Workers relation type.
• Sections: Drag tasks between sections to change their column. This can trigger auto-assign rules if configured.
• Table view: In Table view, you can also drag any row onto another section’s card and the task moves into that section. The row is the drag handle, the section card is the drop target, and the change surfaces immediately in both views. (Note: this only works when no column sort is active; on /my-tasks, rows are grouped by board, so dragging doesn’t target a section.)
• Due date: Click a date to pick another date or remove it. The date affects due date pickers and filter views.
• Priority: Change priority to reflect updated urgency.
• Estimated time: Type hours or a low-high range for time-tracking integration.

Keyboard shortcuts

• Ctrl+K / Cmd+K: Open the command palette with AI-assisted task editing and Quick Actions.
• Ctrl+N / Cmd+N: Create a new task from anywhere on a board.
• Ctrl+O / Cmd+O: Open the link picker when in a task detail view or comment.
• Ctrl+J / Cmd+J: Create a new task while opening the AI Task Writer for instant text generation.

Agent lease interactions

When you make manual changes to a task—moving, assigning, unassigning, archiving, or deleting—Hypertask cancels any active agent lease on that task and persists the change. Human modifications take priority over agent tasks, but agent-versus-agent collision protection remains in place. This ensures your task updates are never blocked by an agent while you’re working.

Task detail view

Open a task to see:

• Header with title, status section, assignees, workers, priority, and due date.
• Description area with optional attachments.
• Sections: Comments, Relations, Subtasks, Times, and Pages.
• Top bar with quick actions like Move, Duplicate, Archive, or Delete.

Comments

The comment thread shows all comments on the task. By default, when you open a task with comments, the newest comment remains expanded so you can see the latest conversation.

Mobile dictation interaction:

• On mobile screens, posting a comment no longer spurs unintended dictation that can overlap with nearby action buttons.
• Send and Resend are treated as semantic click-driven actions; their target remains fixed before the click event, preventing the browser’s click emission from retargeting to unintended controls.

Undo prompt visibility:

• Undo prompts now dismiss automatically after 5 seconds on desktop and mobile. The built-in undo remains available until Ctrl / Cmd+Z is pressed, which keeps the undo available for an additional 15 seconds.

Actions

Common actions include:

• Move: Relocate the task to a different section, board, or project.
• Duplicate: Create a copy with the same fields. When duplicating a task, the new task includes the full description and can be copied to another board in one step (see board-level Duplicate in the Boards & Sections docs).
• Archive: Hide the task from current views while keeping it in the archive.
• Delete: Permanently remove the task.

Relations between tasks

Create relationships between tasks to surface context without leaving tasks:

• Block: Mark a task as blocking another task.
• Blocked by: Identify what indirectly holds a task back.
• Duplicate: Link to other tasks that represent the same work item.
• Workers: Associate an agent or intelligent agent with the task for scheduling and coordination.

Adding a related task

From a task detail view, open the Relations section to add a related task. When you create a new relation from the picker:

• Recently worked tasks: If you’ve recently worked on other tasks, they appear in the picker to help you reuse prior context.
• Access control: Mentions and relations are access-controlled — you can only create relationships to tasks you have access to.

See a task’s relations in the Relations section of the task detail view.

Blocked by a person

Mark a ticket as waiting on one specific person (like a blocked-by relation, but for a person instead of a ticket):

• Set: Press Shift+B on an open ticket, or run Ctrl+K — “Blocked by person…”, then pick the person. One blocker per ticket.
• See it: The ticket sidebar shows a Waiting on row under Assignees with the person and how long they have been the blocker (red past 24 hours).
• Inbox: Tickets waiting on you appear in a Blocked by you inbox split (second, right after Important) and are flagged with a red BLOCKED badge inside Important, pinned to the top, oldest first.
• Board card: A blocked task’s kanban card shows a solid red chip with the blocker’s avatar + name first in the tag row, plus a 3px red left accent (red focus border when selected). The tag row layout always lists the blocker chip first, followed by other tags.
• Clear: The flag clears automatically the moment the blocked-on person comments on the ticket. Clear manually with the — in the sidebar row or by picking “Nobody” in the picker.
• Filter: The board filter picker has a Blocked by person filter — pick one or more people, or Anyone to show every blocked task. Combine it with a saved view to keep a permanent “everything blocked” board.

Subtasks

Break down a task into smaller units. Subtasks appear in the task detail under the Subtasks section. Mark them complete to show progress toward the parent task.

Default subtask visibility

When a board or view is created, or when you create a parent task without selecting a subtask style:

• Flattened list: Subtasks appear as a flat list in the parent task detail row.
• Card elements: Subtasks appear as mini cards aligned in a grid beneath the parent task.

These are the default settings across the board UI, MCP-created views, and new database records. Existing saved choices remain unchanged.

Task property rail

The task detail sidebar includes a rail of properties (title, priority, assignees, labels, etc.). The rail now occupies the full remaining dynamic viewport height, so it uses all available space rather than a fixed maximum and leaves no unused viewport space.

Task properties no longer scroll with the task thread, keeping them pinned to the sidebar for easy access while browsing comments and history A JSDoc-style constraint for this change: when a thread content exceeds the available screen, the property rail should remain adjacent and accessible without vertical scrolling—instead of scrolling with the main content.

Time tracking

Track work hours on tasks via the Times section:

• B opens the time entry modal from the task, or use the command palette (“Log time”).
• Manual per-day rows let you log time for any calendar day without a timer.
• Export time logs as CSV for payroll or reporting.

See the Time Tracking guide for full details.

Status and sections

Tasks can belong to one section on a board. Changing a task’s section moves it to the new column. Some sections have special behaviors:

• Auto-filing: Certain pipeline tasks are auto-filed from CI or monitoring systems as new tickets. These appear fresh on the board as soon as they’re created.

Note: Temporary typecast changes for webhook status handling (e.g., internal Stripe SDK version bumps) do not surface as user-visible settings or toggles; they are infrastructure-level fixes and apply silently under the hood.

Attachments

Upload files to tasks to enrich them with context:

• From web UI: Drag and drop files or use the attachment picker in the task description.
• From CLI: Use <code>hypertask comment add &lt;ticket&gt; --attach &lt;file&gt;</code> to attach.
• From MCP: Use the <code>hypertask_attachments_add</code> tool with file upload support.

The system accepts a wide range of file types including APK, ZIP, gzip, tar, CSV, JSON, and generic octet-stream files. Uploads are validated using a combination of file extension checking and magic-byte signatures where applicable. Non-image, non-text files are processed and stored for download via a shared URL.

Follower notifications

When you mention someone on a task, they’re automatically added as a follower so they receive updates (see Collaboration). If you use the follower field directly on a task page, Hypertask sends them a notification to inform them they’ve been added as a follower. Previously, the request used the wrong key and failed silently. Deliveries now succeed reliably.

Notes and pages

Attach rich notes and full-screen notepads directly to tasks:

• Notes: Inline-style notes inside the description area.
• Pages: Full-screen notepads attached to tasks, RAG-fed, versioned, and workable by agents and humans.

See the Pages feature docs for details.

AI status updates

AI status updates appear on task cards when an AI agent updates task metadata in a visible way. This includes fields like priority, assignees, labels, due dates, and related tasks. You can see these changes via the task detail panel, the board cards, and notification contexts without opening every detail.

• The agent runs Write with AI with the --mode write-with-ai flag, posting updates as real comments.
• You see the updates on the task card, in the task detail panel, and inside notification contexts.
• This enables agents to keep tasks current (e.g., promote high-priority work, clear blockers) while keeping manual edits to structural work visible and auditable.

Leverage it from the command palette: Ctrl+K — search for a task and use Agent write-with-AI to trigger the update.

Billing and seats

Hypertask uses a per-seat billing model based on the number of members with team memberships and project access. Seats are reserved for active members, and the system ensures seats are correctly allocated and reconciled.

Seat loss prevention: The system now uses per-team leases with duplicate-membership protection during joins and access grants, and daily reconciliation runs to correct discrepancies. This prevents users from losing seats due to concurrent invites or race conditions.

Exports and integration

Administrators can configure repository integrations that auto-create tasks or sync status changes.

Keyboard shortcuts summary

Shortcuts are global by default, but some vary by context:

• Ctrl+N / Cmd+N: Create a new task.
• Ctrl+O / Cmd+O: Open the link or auto-save picker.
• Ctrl+B / Cmd+B: Open the board palette (account switcher).
• Ctrl+K / Cmd+K: Command palette with AI-assisted actions.
• Ctrl+J / Cmd+J: Open AI Task Writer while creating a new task.
• Shift+B or the command palette: Set/block someone as current blocker for the ticket.