---
title: Working with Tasks
description: Use the task list and board, change display options, open tasks, manage subtasks, select several tasks at once, and archive finished work.
---

## List And Board

Every project tab, saved filter, cycle, and the **No project** page shows tasks as a **List** or a **Board**. Switch with the List and Board buttons beside the search bar.

- **List** groups tasks, indents subtasks under their parent, and supports keyboard navigation and multi-select.
- **Board** shows a column per status or bucket. Drag a card to another column to change its status or bucket. Each column has a **+** to create a task in it.

### Display options

Click **Display** to change how the current list or board is arranged. Each tab remembers its own settings.

| Setting | Options |
| --- | --- |
| **Grouping** (list) | **Status** (default), **Priority**, **Bucket**, **Project** (on filters that span projects), or **No grouping** |
| **Columns** (board) | **Status** or **Bucket** |
| **Ordering** | **Manual** (default), **Priority**, **Due date**, **Created**, or **Updated** |
| **Direction** | Depends on the ordering, such as **Highest first** for priority or **Soonest first** for due date |

With **Manual** ordering, drag tasks to reorder them. With any other ordering, dragging on the board still changes status or bucket, but doesn't reorder.

### Reading a row

A row shows the task's priority, status, ID, title, subtask progress (for example, **2 of 5 subtasks done**), labels, bucket, cycle, due date, and created date. An icon marks tasks that have a description. In narrow panes, the ID, subtask count, and labels are hidden to save space.

Closed tasks sink to the bottom of their group. When a group has open tasks, its closed ones fold into a single row such as **3 closed**. Click it to unfold them in place. Groups can also be collapsed from their header.

Subtasks sit under their parent with a tree line. If a subtask lands in a different group from its parent, a dimmed copy of the parent heads it so you can still see where it belongs.

## Keyboard Shortcuts

In a task list:

| Key | Action |
| --- | --- |
| `J` / `K` or arrow keys | Move down or up |
| `Enter` or `O` | Open the task |
| `C` | New task |
| `/` | Search |
| `S` | Change status |
| `P` | Set priority |
| `L` | Edit labels |
| `M` | Move to project |
| `B` | Move to bucket |
| `Y` | Move to cycle |
| `X` | Select or deselect the task |
| `Shift + J` / `Shift + K` | Extend the selection |
| `Cmd/Ctrl + A` | Select every task |
| `Esc` | Clear the selection, then leave the list |

On a task's page, the same pickers work, plus `D` for the due date, `C` to comment, `E` to edit the title, `J` / `K` for the next and previous task, and `Esc` to go back to the list.

## The Task Page

Open a task to see it full-size in the Tasks tab. The header has:

- **Back to** the list you came from (`Esc`).
- A breadcrumb of the project, the parent task if any, and the task's ID.
- **Previous task** and **Next task** buttons.
- A **…** menu with **Make subtask of…** or **Make a regular task**, **Copy as wikilink**, **Copy link**, **Copy ID**, and **Archive task**.

Below the title you'll find the description, which saves as you type (press `Cmd/Ctrl + S` or `Cmd/Ctrl + Enter` to save immediately), then **Subtasks**, then **Activity**.

The task's properties (status, priority, labels, project, bucket, cycle, due date, parent, and resources) show in the [right sidebar](/note-management/meta-sidebar#tasks-projects-and-cycles) under **Task Info**. In narrow panes, or with the right sidebar closed, a **Properties** button and a compact strip under the title give you the same controls.

The properties panel's **Details** section lists when the task was created, updated, completed, or cancelled.

Due dates offer **Today**, **Tomorrow**, **Next week**, and **Clear**, plus a date picker.

### Activity and comments

The **Activity** timeline records when a task was created, each status change, project moves, and archive and restore. Type in **Leave a comment…** and click **Comment** (or press `Cmd/Ctrl + Enter`) to add a note to the timeline. Comments are Markdown. Task links, task IDs such as `WEB-24`, and `[[Note]]` links in comments are clickable.

## Subtasks

Add subtasks from the **Subtasks** section of a task's page with **Add subtask**. Press `Enter` to add another, or `Esc` to stop. Tick a subtask's checkbox to complete it.

- Subtasks go one level deep: a subtask can't have its own subtasks.
- A subtask always belongs to its parent's project. Its project field shows **Inherited from parent**. To move it, move the parent.
- New subtasks start in their parent's [cycle](/tasks/cycles), and subtasks follow their parent when it joins one.

Right-click a subtask on its parent's page to open it, change its status, priority, or cycle, or choose **Make a parent task**, which turns it back into a regular task. A toast confirms the change and offers **Go to task**.

To file an existing task under another, use **Make subtask of…** from the task's **…** menu or the row's context menu. The task's own project is listed first.

### Closing a task with open subtasks

When you complete or cancel a task that still has open subtasks, Octarine asks **Complete subtasks too?** Choose **Mark all Done** to close them together, or **Go back** to leave everything as it was. This applies wherever you close the task: the list, the board, the bulk bar, the Command Bar, or the properties panel.

## Working With Several Tasks

In the list, select tasks with the hover checkbox, `X`, `Cmd/Ctrl`-click, `Shift`-click, `Shift + J` / `Shift + K`, or `Cmd/Ctrl + A`. A bar appears at the bottom showing **N selected** with:

- **Status** (`S`), **Priority** (`P`), **Labels** (`L`), **Project** (`M`), **Bucket** (`B`), and **Cycle** (`Y`)
- **Archive** or **Restore**
- A clear button (`Esc`)

**Project** appears only when the selection includes a task that isn't a subtask, **Bucket** only when the workspace has buckets, and **Cycle** only when cycles are on. To complete several tasks, use **Status**.

After a bulk change, a toast such as **Updated 4 tasks** offers **Undo**. If some tasks changed elsewhere in the meantime, Octarine tells you how many couldn't be updated.

Right-clicking a selection gives the same actions in a menu, plus **Copy as wikilinks**, **Copy links**, **Copy IDs**, and **Archive N tasks**. Multi-select works in the list layout only.

## The Task Context Menu

Right-click any task for:

- **Open** and **Open in new tab**
- **Status**, **Priority**, **Bucket**, **Labels**, **Project**, and **Cycle** submenus, with the same shortcut letters as the list
- **Make subtask of** or **Make a regular task**
- **Mark as done** or **Reopen**
- **Copy as wikilink**, **Copy link**, and **Copy ID**. See [Linking and Deep Links](/tasks/linking-and-deep-links).
- **Save as template**, which creates a [template](/tasks/task-settings#templates) from the task. The toast's **Edit** button opens it in settings.
- **Archive task** or **Restore task**

## Archiving

Archive tasks you want out of the way but don't want to delete. Archived tasks are hidden from lists and search unless you search with [`is:archived`](/tasks/search-and-filters). An archived task's page shows **This task is archived.** with a **Restore** button.

## Tabs And Navigation

Tasks open in tabs like notes do. A task tab's title shows its ID and title, such as **WEB-24 · Fix sync conflict**. When you reopen Octarine, a task tab comes back on the task, with **Back** leading to the list it was opened from. Following a link to a task that's already open in another tab switches to that tab instead of opening a duplicate.

Tasks, projects, filters, and cycles also appear in [Recently Viewed](/core-concepts/command-bar-and-shortcuts#recently-viewed).

#### Quick Answers

### Can I see tasks as a Kanban board?

Yes. Switch to **Board** beside the search bar. Columns can be statuses or buckets, and dragging a card changes its status or bucket.

### How do I change many tasks at once?

Select them in the list with `X`, `Shift`-click, or `Cmd/Ctrl + A`, then use the bar at the bottom to change status, priority, labels, project, bucket, or cycle, or to archive them. Bulk changes can be undone from the toast.

### Can subtasks have their own subtasks?

No. Subtasks go one level deep, and they always share their parent's project.

### Where did my completed tasks go?

They sink to the bottom of each group and fold into an **N closed** row when the group still has open tasks. Click the row to show them.