InventTasks User Manual — Obsidian task manager and self-hosted sync

InventTasks is a local-first task manager for Obsidian. The Obsidian plugin combines Spaces, Folders, Lists, custom workflows, Kanban, Calendar, Table, Gantt, Timeline, Docs, notifications, calendar export, backups, and optional self-hosted sync without moving the source of truth out of your vault.

Every Item is a normal .md note. Its metadata lives in YAML frontmatter, while its description and other Markdown content live in the body. Workspace configuration, Lists, Docs, and saved views are Markdown too. You can inspect the files, edit an Item in Obsidian's editor, keep them in Git, and sync them with Obsidian Sync or another file-sync tool.

InventTasks is single-user by design: it is a personal task manager, not a team service. There are no assignees, team roles, @mentions, or simultaneous collaborative editing.

Product at a glance#

Local-first and offline: the plugin works without an account or sync server.
Portable Markdown: no proprietary task database is required to read your data.
Free version: every task-manager feature is available within the free capacity limits; there is no time-limited trial.
Optional self-hosting: your own Docker server can sync task workspaces and the rest of an Obsidian vault, serve the Web app, retain file history, make server backups, and expose a REST API.
One-time Pro license: a personal lifetime license removes the task-manager capacity limits for the covered major version. Current terms and pricing are on https://inventtasks.solidinvent.pl.

Obsidian Sync and InventTasks sync are different services. InventTasks works with Obsidian Sync, but does not include or resell it. The optional InventTasks server is a separate, self-hosted sync option. Whole-vault sync to your own InventTasks server is free; task-manager capacity is governed by the InventTasks free/Pro license.

Getting started — install InventTasks and set up a workspace Install the InventTasks plugin in Obsidian, open your first workspace, and learn how Spaces, Folders, Lists, and Items are stored as Markdown. Navigation and views — List, Board, Calendar, Table, Gantt, Timeline Move around InventTasks and switch the same tasks between List, Board (Kanban), Calendar, Table, Gantt, and Timeline views. Items, custom fields, filters, and saved views Create and edit tasks, use 24 custom field types with inheritance, encrypt secret fields, and build filters, saved views, and column calculations. Configuration levels, Docs, templates, and trash Configure statuses, priorities, item types, tags, and features at workspace, Space, Folder, or List level, and manage Docs, templates, and the trash. Import, export, and incremental backups Export tasks to CSV, Markdown, HTML, or JSON, re-import a backup archive, and set up incremental snapshots for fast local recovery. Notifications and calendar sync Set up the in-app inbox, system, ntfy push, and SMTP email reminders, then sync InventTasks with Google Calendar, Outlook, CalDAV, or an ICS feed. Settings, mobile, and troubleshooting Plugin settings, health diagnostics, keyboard shortcuts, desktop and mobile differences, practical workflows, and fixes for common problems. Free self-hosted Obsidian sync server and web app Run your own free InventTasks server in Docker for whole-vault Obsidian sync, a browser web app that needs no Obsidian, file history, backups, and a REST API. Free plan, lifetime license, and privacy What the free InventTasks plan includes, what the one-time lifetime Pro license adds, and exactly what data does and does not leave your devices.