Obsidian Tasks Plugin: Complete How-To Guide

No, you don't need the Obsidian Tasks plugin installed to use TaskForge. TaskForge connects directly to your Obsidian vault and reads and writes the same plain-Markdown task format the plugin uses, including the emoji metadata for due dates, priorities, and recurrence. That means you can run TaskForge as a complete standalone task manager, or keep using the Obsidian Tasks plugin on your desktop and let TaskForge handle the same tasks on mobile and in widgets. Because both work from the identical Markdown in your vault, there's no second copy of your data and nothing to keep in sync between them, a task you complete in one shows as complete in the other the next time your vault syncs. Most people who already use the plugin simply point TaskForge at the same vault and keep their existing setup.

TaskForge only ever changes the task lines you act on, when you complete, edit, create, or reschedule a task, and it writes those changes using the standard Obsidian Tasks Markdown format. Everything else in your note (headings, paragraphs, links, frontmatter, other list items) is left exactly as it was. There's no proprietary database and no hidden metadata file: your tasks live as plain text inside the same notes you already keep, so the result is fully readable and editable back in Obsidian. Because the edits are in the standard format, the Obsidian Tasks plugin recognizes them immediately, and your version history (Git, Obsidian Sync, or any backup) keeps working normally. If you ever stop using TaskForge, your tasks simply remain as ordinary Markdown checkboxes in your vault.

Not with in-app vault switching yet, though it's planned. TaskForge reads one vault directory at a time, so there's no built-in switcher for hopping between separate vaults. The workaround most people use works on phone and desktop alike: keep your vaults inside one shared parent folder, then set that parent folder as the TaskForge vault directory. Make a custom list per vault, give each list a File Path filter that matches that vault's subfolder so it only shows those tasks, and set the list's default location so new tasks save into the right vault. One setup then covers several vaults with their tasks kept apart. On iPhone and iPad you choose that parent folder through the system file picker, so it can sit anywhere in iCloud Drive, however deep it's nested. Real multi-vault support, where each vault keeps its own tasks, lists, filters, and preferences, is on the roadmap for a later release.

TaskForge doesn't run its own task cloud, it reads and writes directly to the Markdown files in your Obsidian vault, so it syncs across devices using whatever solution you already trust for that vault: iCloud Drive, Obsidian Sync, Syncthing, Dropbox, or a Git-based workflow. Whatever changes one device writes to the vault, the others pick up the next time your sync runs, exactly like your notes do. This keeps your task data in one place, your vault, with no separate account to manage and no second source of truth that could drift out of sync. On top of the vault files, TaskForge also syncs its own app settings, such as your custom lists and preferences, via iCloud, so your setup follows you between your own Apple devices without having to be rebuilt on each one.

The Obsidian mobile app is built for reading and editing notes, and while you can tick a checkbox in it, it has no dedicated task interface. TaskForge is purpose-built for task management on top of the same vault: it adds smart notifications and due-date reminders that fire even when Obsidian is closed, interactive home screen and Lock Screen widgets, Kanban boards, calendar views, and advanced filtering and Smart Lists. It also brings quick capture so you can add a task in seconds without opening your vault. The two are complementary rather than competing, many people keep Obsidian mobile for writing and reference and use TaskForge for everything task-related, both pointed at the same files. If your main need on the phone is acting on tasks rather than editing prose, TaskForge is the faster, more focused tool.

Yes, when you create a task in TaskForge you can choose exactly which note it lands in, so a task can live in the project note, daily note, or area file where it belongs rather than in one giant list. You can also set a default note for a specific list, so anything you add to, say, your Work or Errands list is automatically filed in the right place without you having to pick each time. This keeps your vault organized the way you already think about it, by project or area of responsibility, instead of dumping every task into a single inbox file. Combined with custom lists and contexts, it lets TaskForge match an existing Obsidian structure closely, so the tasks you create on mobile end up in the same notes you'd have chosen on the desktop.