Glossary of Operon terms

Short definitions for the words used across these docs. When a term has its own page, follow the link for the full explanation.

Tasks

  • Inline task: a Markdown checkbox line that carries Operon metadata, living inside a normal note. See Inline tasks.
  • File task: a Markdown note that is itself a task, with its fields in frontmatter and the body as a working document. See File tasks.
  • operonId: the durable identity given to every Operon task, so the same task stays recognizable across every surface. See Task identity and operonId.
  • Parent task / subtask: a task can contain other tasks, forming a tree. See Parent and sub-tasks.
  • Occurrence: a single instance generated by a recurring task. See Recurring tasks.

Fields and customization

  • Canonical field: an Operon field with one fixed meaning (status, priority, scheduled date, due date, parent task, and so on), reused across every surface.
  • Key mapping: the link between a canonical field and the property name written in your Markdown, both inline {{key:: value}} and file-task frontmatter. See Key mappings.
  • Custom key: a canonical key you define yourself when the built-in mappings are not enough. See Custom keys.
  • Pipeline: a workflow a task moves through, made of ordered statuses. See Pipelines and statuses.
  • Status: the current stage of a task within its pipeline.
  • Priority: how important a task is, used for sorting and filtering. See Task priorities.

Views and surfaces

  • Filter: a saved query over task fields that defines which tasks are shown.

  • Filter View: the surface that displays a filter's results. See Filter View.

  • Dynamic file task filter: an automatic filter shown inside a file task note, locked to that file's operonId, that lists its subtasks. See Dynamic file task filter.

  • Task Finder: fast search to jump to a single task by its text. See Task Finder.

  • Calendar: tasks placed on dates and times. See Calendar overview.

  • Kanban: tasks shown as cards in property-based columns and optional rows called swimlanes. See Kanban overview.

  • Kanban preset: a saved board setup with its filter, column and swimlane properties, value selections, sorting, appearance, and dimensions. See Kanban presets.

  • Canvas Task Card: an interactive representation of an Inline Task or File Task on an Obsidian Canvas, linked to its source by operonId. It is a view of the task, not a third task type. See Canvas Task Cards.

  • Excalidraw Task Card: an interactive view of an Inline Task or File Task inside an Excalidraw drawing. It follows the source task while the drawing stores its placement. See Excalidraw Task Cards.

  • Canvas and Excalidraw Task Pool: a floating list for finding existing tasks and adding their cards to either surface. Modes are Overdue, Unscheduled, All, Finished, and Pinned. It is independent of the Calendar Task Pool. See Canvas and Excalidraw Task Pool.

  • Canvas and Excalidraw Property Value Pool: a floating panel for finding and favoriting reusable property values to apply to task cards. Unlike Task Pool, it supplies values rather than tasks. See Canvas and Excalidraw Property Value Pool.

  • Operon group: a Canvas group whose title contains one property rule, applied to a task when its card is dropped into the group. It is not a task type or a parent–child relationship. See Operon Groups in Canvas.

  • Group Mismatches: the Canvas destination for existing cards that no longer match a single-value group when no suitable normal destination is available. It can contain value-specific subgroups; list groups do not trigger this automatic routing. See Operon Groups in Canvas.

  • Embedded Task Card: a live card for one existing task inside a note, created with an operon block containing view: card and taskId. Removing the embed leaves the task intact. See Embedded Task Cards.

  • Table: tasks shown as rows and columns, like a spreadsheet, for comparing, sorting, grouping, and summarizing many fields at once. See Table overview.

  • Gantt: a timeline opened beside an Operon Table, with each task row aligned to its dates, duration, and dependencies. It is a mode of the Table, not a separate Operon view. See Gantt view.

  • Task Tree: a read-only Table column that expands a task's parent and subtask hierarchy as contextual rows without changing the preset's filtered result. See Table columns.

  • Table preset: a saved table setup, its filter, columns, grouping, sorting, summaries, Task Tree expansion, and Gantt layout, that you switch between. See Table presets.

  • Table file: a Table preset stored as its own .table file in your vault, which you can open, rename, move, and back up like any note. See Table files.

  • Favorite preset: a preset marked with a star for quick access. Table, Calendar, and Kanban favorites appear as shortcuts in the view's toolbar; saved filters can be favorited too. See Table presets.

  • Column summary: a value rolled up at the foot of a table column, such as a count, a sum, or the earliest date, shown per group and for the whole table. See Table summaries.

  • Pinned Task Dock: a surface that keeps chosen tasks always in view, as a floating dock or a side panel. See Pinned Task Dock.

  • Status Dock: the compact desktop surface for the timer, shared FlowTime breaks, overdue and today task lists, recent saved sessions, current and upcoming calendar tasks, and duplicate-ID warnings. Unlike the Pinned Task Dock, it follows tracking and scheduling state rather than a manually pinned list. See Status Dock.

  • Contextual menu: the right-click and hover menu of task actions, with a configurable, context-aware action list. See Contextual menu actions.

Time

  • Rolling days: the default date range for Time Grid and Time Tracker Grid presets, using a visible day count and the selected date's position rather than fixed week boundaries. See Calendar presets and time grid.
  • Calendar week: a date range for the normal Time Grid and Time Tracker Grid on desktop and tablet, bounded by the configured Week start and navigated in seven-day steps. Hiding weekends removes Saturday and Sunday from that same week. The compact mobile layout keeps its own ranges. See Calendar presets and time grid.
  • Reminder: a notification Operon raises about an open task at a chosen moment, separate from the task's due date. See Reminders.
  • ReminderDatetimes: the field holding reminders set at a fixed moment, which never move when the task's dates change.
  • ReminderRules: the field holding reminders defined as an offset from one of the task's own dates, so they move when that date moves. See Reminder rules.
  • Task Occurrence Date: the recorded date of an existing recurring task, stored in repeatOccurrenceDate. It describes that task, not a forecast of its successor. See Recurring tasks.
  • Repeat reference date: the recurrence picker's saved reference, which uses the same stored field as Task Occurrence Date for valid dates. It remains a separate filter and sort option. See Recurrence picker.
  • Reminder reference date: the task date a reminder rule counts back from, one of dateDue, dateScheduled, dateStarted, datetimeStart, or datetimeEnd. This is separate from the recurrence reference.
  • Offset: how long before its reference date a reminder rule fires, written as 1d, 2h, 30m, or a combination.
  • Time tracking: recording effort against a task, so duration becomes part of its history. See Time tracking.
  • TrackTime: the count-up mode of time tracking, a stopwatch running on a task.
  • FlowTime: the countdown mode of time tracking, a timed focus session with breaks and an overtime notice. See FlowTime focus sessions.

Plugin

  • Operon: the task and project management system these docs describe. The Obsidian plugin id is operon.
  • Task Creator: the guided dialog that builds a task for you. See Task Creator.
  • Task Editor: the panel that opens a task to view and change its fields. See Task Editor.