Task Settings
Manage statuses, labels, buckets, templates, cycles, and task ID keys for a workspace.
Task settings apply to the whole workspace. Open Settings (Cmd/Ctrl + ,) and find the Tasks group, which has pages for Statuses, Labels, Buckets, Templates, Cycles, and Task IDs.
Projects can use a smaller set of statuses, labels, and buckets than the workspace offers. Set that from Edit project. See Projects.
Statuses
Every status belongs to a category, which sets its icon and whether its tasks count as open, completed, or cancelled:
| Category | Built-in status | Counts as |
|---|---|---|
| Backlog | Backlog | Open |
| Unstarted | Todo | Open |
| Started | In progress | Open |
| Review | In review | Open |
| Completed | Done | Closed (completed) |
| Cancelled | Cancelled | Closed (cancelled) |
The built-in statuses can't be changed. Click + (New status) in a category to add your own, such as QA under Review or Blocked under Started. Custom statuses can be renamed, recoloured, and moved up or down.
Deleting a custom status moves its tasks to the category's built-in status, or to the nearest status their project uses. Octarine tells you how many tasks will move before you confirm.
Labels
Labels tag tasks across projects. New workspaces start with Bug, Feature, and Improvement. Add, rename, recolour, or delete labels under Workspace labels. Renaming or deleting a label updates every task that has it.
You can also create a label on the fly: type a new name in any task's label picker and choose Create label.
Buckets
Buckets are lanes you sort tasks into by hand, like Now, Next, and Later. A task can be in one bucket at a time. Group a list or board by bucket to work from them. Add, rename, recolour, reorder, or delete buckets here. Deleting a bucket takes its tasks out of it.
Templates
Templates start new tasks with a title, description, project, status, priority, labels, bucket, and subtasks already filled in. Click New template to create one, or Edit to change one.
- The title is a prefix new tasks start with, such as
Bug:. - The description is Markdown, so it can hold a checklist or a set of headings to fill in.
- The project can be a specific project or Current project, which uses whichever project you're creating the task in.
To turn an existing task into a template, right-click it and choose Save as template.
Use a template from the Template picker in the new-task dialog, or set one as a project's default template. If a template refers to a status, bucket, or project that has since been deleted, that part is skipped.
Cycles
Turn cycles on and set their length and start day. See Cycles.
Task IDs
Each project numbers its tasks under its own key, which you change from Edit project. This page lists every project's key and lets you set the key for Tasks without a project, which is TASK by default.
Quick Answers
Can I add my own task statuses?
Yes. In Settings → Tasks → Statuses, click New status under the category it belongs to. The category decides whether its tasks count as open, completed, or cancelled.
Where do I manage task labels?
In Settings → Tasks → Labels. You can also create a label from any task's label picker.
Can I make a template from an existing task?
Yes. Right-click the task and choose Save as template.