An Obsidian Task Dashboard That Fits in Your Pocket
Your tasks are scattered across daily notes, project pages, and a dozen checkbox lines you half remember writing. A dashboard pulls them into one view: what's due today, what's coming, what slipped. The catch with Obsidian's usual answer is that the dashboard lives inside a note on your desktop. TaskForge gives you the same overview on your phone, with widgets and reminders.
Get Free - iOS & Mac 
Get Free - Android The scattered-checkbox problem
A task in Obsidian is one line in a file. That is the appeal: no database, no lock-in, just markdown you can read in any editor. It is also the problem. Write "- [ ] email the landlord" in Monday's daily note, add "- [ ] file the expense report" to a project page, drop a third checkbox in a meeting note, and three days later you have no single place that shows all three. The task you most need to see is the one buried in a note you have not opened since.
A dashboard fixes that by collecting tasks from across the vault and sorting them by what matters: due date, priority, project, status. You stop hunting through notes and start reading one list. The question is where that list runs, and whether it follows you off the desk.
How people build Obsidian dashboards today
There are three common ways to assemble an overview inside Obsidian, and each has a real ceiling. None of them are wrong. They just stop at the edge of your laptop.
-
Dataview TASK queries
Dataview is the usual answer. You write a query block in a note (TASK FROM #project/atlas WHERE !completed SORT due ASC) and it renders a live list of matching tasks, updating as you check things off. It is the most flexible option, and on desktop it is genuinely good. The query block is a note though, so to read your dashboard you open that note in Obsidian. On mobile the list renders, but you cannot get it onto a home screen, and Obsidian will not notify you when a due date arrives.
-
Obsidian Tasks plugin query blocks
The Tasks plugin has its own query syntax (not done, due before next week, sort by priority) that produces a similar in-note list, with checkboxes you can tick. Same shape, same ceiling: it is a block inside a note, viewed in Obsidian, with no widget and no reminder.
-
Obsidian Bases
Bases is the no-code, spreadsheet-style database view that ships with Obsidian and works on mobile. It is good for browsing notes that carry properties. But Bases reads file metadata, not file contents, so plain checkbox tasks (the - [ ] lines in your notes) do not show up in a Base at all. As of mid-2026, task support is still an open feature request. You can work around it by turning every task into its own note with YAML fields, which is a different workflow than inline checkboxes.
What all three share
Every one of these dashboards lives inside Obsidian, and most of the useful ones live inside a specific note you have to open. That is fine at a desk. It falls apart the moment the phone is on the kitchen counter and you want to glance at what's due without unlocking, opening Obsidian, navigating to the dashboard note, and waiting for the query to render. Obsidian on mobile cannot put a task list on your home screen and cannot fire a reminder when something is overdue. The dashboard exists; it just does not reach you.
TaskForge: the dashboard, on the device you actually carry
TaskForge reads the same vault, the same markdown checkbox lines, and turns them into views you open in one tap. It ships with default lists that cover the common dashboard needs without any setup: Inbox for tasks with no date, Today for what's due now, Upcoming for what's ahead, and Completed Today so you can see the day's progress. Point it at a vault that already has tasks and these populate immediately.
When the defaults are not enough, you build your own. A custom list is a saved filter: pick tags, contexts, projects, statuses, and date ranges, combine them with AND/OR logic, then choose how to sort and group. Save it and it becomes a permanent tab. "Open work tasks due this week, grouped by project, sorted by priority" is one list you make once and open forever. There is no query language to learn, and the same list can flip to a kanban board when you want columns instead of rows.
Progress is built in. Parent tasks show a subtask badge (2/5) so you can read how far a project has come at a glance, and the Completed Today list is your daily done-log. The app badge on the home screen icon can mirror the count from any list you choose, so the number of overdue tasks sits on your dock without opening anything.
A custom list is a saved filter, not a query you rewrite
Work tasks · due this week · grouped by project · sorted by priority
Where a mobile dashboard earns its keep
The point of moving the dashboard off the desk is the things a note cannot do:
-
Home and lock screen widgets
Put any list on your home screen. The Today widget shows what's due without opening the app, and you can check a task off straight from the widget. The x lands in your markdown file before you put the phone down.
-
A calmer agenda for the backlog
The calendar's agenda view folds today's carried-forward backlog into two summary cards, one for overdue and one for pending (scheduled or started in the past, still open). The count is the real total, and tapping a card opens the full triage list. Today's own work stays inline, so the day plan does not drown under last week's slippage.
-
A daily summary that arrives on its own
Set a time and TaskForge sends a daily summary notification with the day's tasks. You read your dashboard from the lock screen instead of going to find it.
-
The same files, every device
Edit a list on the Mac, open the same list on the iPhone. There is no separate sync to configure: TaskForge reads the vault you already sync with iCloud, Obsidian Sync, or any file sync, so the dashboard is consistent everywhere the vault is.
Who this fits, and who should pass
Worth it if:
- Your tasks are scattered across daily notes and project pages and you want one place that shows Today, Upcoming, and what's overdue.
- You keep building Dataview dashboards but never see them on your phone, where you actually decide what to do next.
- You want progress at a glance (subtask badges, a done-today list, an app-icon count) without writing a query for it.
- You work across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Android on the same vault.
Skip it if:
- You only ever work at a desktop and a Dataview block in a note already does everything you need. TaskForge adds mobile widgets and reminders; if you never leave the keyboard, that value is smaller.
- You want a fully custom report with computed columns and arbitrary logic. Dataview's query language goes places a saved-filter list does not, and it stays free. TaskForge trades that ceiling for one-tap views and a phone that reaches you.
- You do not use Obsidian and have no vault to point at. A standalone to-do app with its own cloud is a simpler starting point.
Pricing
TaskForge is free to download on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Android, and the free tier covers the default lists so you can read Today, Upcoming, and Inbox without paying. Unlimited custom lists, widgets, and notifications are Premium: $39.99 once, or $1.99 a month. Every install starts with a one-week Premium trial, so you can build a few custom dashboards and put one on your home screen before deciding.
Questions people ask
How do I make a task dashboard in Obsidian?
On desktop, the common way is a Dataview or Obsidian Tasks query block in a note that pulls in matching tasks from across your vault. That works well at a keyboard but stays inside the note. For a dashboard you can read on your phone, with widgets and reminders, TaskForge reads the same vault and gives you default lists (Today, Upcoming, Inbox) plus unlimited custom lists built from filter pickers instead of a query language.
Can I see all my Obsidian tasks in one place?
Yes. The scattered-checkbox problem is exactly what a dashboard solves. In TaskForge, the Today and Upcoming lists collect dated tasks from every note in your vault, and a custom list can gather any set you define by tag, project, status, or date. You stop opening individual notes to find tasks and read one list instead.
Does Obsidian Bases work for tasks?
Not for inline checkbox tasks. Bases reads file metadata and properties, not the contents of your notes, so the - [ ] lines you write in markdown do not appear in a Base. As of mid-2026 that is still an open feature request. You can work around it by giving each task its own note with YAML fields, but that is a different workflow than inline tasks. TaskForge reads the checkbox lines directly.
Can I see my Obsidian task dashboard on my phone?
A Dataview or Tasks query renders inside Obsidian on mobile, but you cannot put it on your home screen and Obsidian will not notify you when something is due. TaskForge puts any list on a home or lock screen widget, sends a daily summary notification, and lets you check tasks off from the widget, all from the same vault files.
How do I track progress on Obsidian tasks?
TaskForge shows a subtask progress badge on parent tasks, like 2/5, so you can read how far a project has come without opening it. A Completed Today list acts as a daily done-log, and the app icon badge can mirror the open-task count from any list you pick. None of it requires writing a query.
Do I need to learn a query language to build a dashboard?
No. A custom list in TaskForge is a saved filter you assemble from pickers: choose tags, projects, statuses, and date ranges, combine them with AND/OR, then set how to sort and group. Save it once and it becomes a tab you open in a tap. Dataview's query language is more flexible if you want it, and the two can coexist on the same vault.
Stop hunting for tasks across your notes.
TaskForge collects them into one dashboard you can read on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Android. Free to download, and your tasks stay as plain markdown in your vault.