This page is the complete reference for how an inline Operon task is written in Markdown, what every field means, and what type each field has. You rarely need to type this by hand, since the Task Creator and Task Editor build it for you, but this page lets you read any task line, understand a field you did not set, and edit safely.

The shape

An inline task is a Markdown checkbox, then the readable text, then any number of {{key:: value}} fields:

- [ ] Draft release notes {{operonId:: {{operonId}}}} {{status:: Project.InProgress}} {{priority:: A}} {{dateScheduled:: 2026-05-20}} {{dateDue:: 2026-05-31}}

• The checkbox shows completion state: - [ ] open and - [x] done. Operon also tracks a cancelled state.
• The text is plain Markdown. Normal #tags and [[wikilinks]] stay as themselves.
• Each field is one {{key:: value}} container. Order is flexible, but Operon writes them in a consistent canonical order.

The minimum valid inline task is just the first two parts plus identity: a checkbox, some readable text, and an operonId. Every other field is optional, so the shortest real task is simply:

- [ ] Buy milk {{operonId:: {{operonId}}}}

Operon reads its own fields only inside the {{key:: value}} container. That container is specific to Operon: it is not Dataview's [key:: value] inline field, and it is not an emoji-based task syntax. When Operon imports or converts a task written in another format, it translates the data into this {{key:: value}} form so the rest of Operon can read it.

Here {{operonId}} is a template variable, not part of the field syntax itself. What replaces it with a fresh, unique id is Operon, acting through one of its flows: the Task Creator, templates, conversions, the insertion commands, and the normalization that runs while you live-edit a note. So pasting the line into a note as a real line does resolve it; you never type an id by hand. Text shown inside a code block is never resolved, which is exactly why every copyable example on this page can display the variable safely. See operonId template variables.

The field names below are the canonical names, and they are exactly what Operon writes in an inline task's {{key:: value}}. Operon normalizes only the fields it manages to these canonical names; any custom key of your own is preserved exactly as you wrote it. In a file task, the same managed fields can appear under renamed frontmatter property names through Key mappings, and you can add fields of your own with Custom keys. The meaning stays the same everywhere the field appears.

Property types

Every field has a property type that tells Operon how to store, validate, and display its value, and which editor or picker to show. There are six types, plus Obsidian's automatic detection:

Type	Holds	Example
Text	free text	Project.InProgress, flag
Number	a numeric value	3600
Date	a calendar day, YYYY-MM-DD	2026-05-20
Date & time	a day and time, YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS	2026-05-20T09:00:00
List	one or more values	[[Me]], [[Home]]
Checkbox	a true/false value (mainly for custom fields)	true
Automatic	Obsidian guesses the type	(auto)

The type matters in two places:

• In a file task, fields live in frontmatter, where Obsidian shows a property type for each property. You can see and change it by right-clicking a property and choosing Property type. Operon's Key mappings already assign the correct type to every canonical field, so you normally never set it to Automatic by hand.
• In an inline task, the same type governs how the {{key:: value}} is parsed and validated, and which picker the Task Editor shows for it.

When you create a custom key, you pick its type from this same list.

Fields you set

These are the fields you choose and edit, directly or through the Task Creator and Task Editor.

Field	Type	What it is	Example
status	Text	Workflow stage, in Pipeline.Status form.	Project.InProgress
priority	Text	Importance, one letter from S (highest) to F (lowest).	A
dateDue	Date	Deadline.	2026-05-31
dateScheduled	Date	When you plan to work on it.	2026-05-20
dateStarted	Date	Earliest date it can begin.	2026-05-18
dateCompleted	Date	When it was completed (set when you finish it).	2026-05-30
dateCancelled	Date	When it was cancelled (set when you cancel it).	2026-05-29
datetimeStart	Date & time	Start of a timed block on the Calendar.	2026-05-20T09:00:00
datetimeEnd	Date & time	End of that timed block.	2026-05-20T10:30:00
estimate	Number	Expected time to do it, in seconds.	3600
duration	Number	Time actually spent, in seconds (usually filled by the timer).	5400
repeat	Text	Recurrence rule, written as key=value pairs. See Recurring tasks.	mode=schedule|freq=week|interval=1
datetimeRepeatEnd	Date & time	When recurrence stops.	2026-12-31T00:00:00
parentTask	Text	The operonId of the parent task. See Parent and sub-tasks.	xyz9876
assignees	List	Who does the work.	[[Me]]
contexts	List	Environment or condition.	[[Home]]
taskIcon	Text	Icon name (Lucide).	flag
taskColor	Text	Hex color, without the #.	4987a7
note	Text	A short annotation.	waiting on review
location	Text	Coordinates as latitude, longitude. See Task chips.	52.52, 13.40
links	List	External web links.	https://example.com

Fields Operon manages for you

You will sometimes see fields on a task that you never set. That is normal. Operon maintains these in the background to keep tasks connected, counted, and accurate. You can read them, but you should not hand-edit them. If you see one of these, this is what it is:

Field	Type	What it is
operonId	Text	The task's durable identity (7-char). Operon generates it; do not edit or copy it. See Task identity and operonId.
datetimeCreated	Date & time	When this task instance was created.
datetimeModified	Date & time	When the task was last changed (updated automatically).
progress	Number	Completion percentage from 0 to 100. For a parent, it reflects how far its subtasks are done.
directSubtaskCount	Number	Number of direct subtasks.
directDoneSubtaskCount	Number	Direct subtasks that are done.
directOpenSubtaskCount	Number	Direct subtasks that are still open.
treeDescendantCount	Number	All subtasks beneath this one, at every level.
treeDoneDescendantCount	Number	Of those, how many are done.
treeOpenDescendantCount	Number	Of those, how many are open.
totalEstimate	Number	This task's estimate plus all of its subtasks', in seconds.
totalDuration	Number	This task's tracked time plus all of its subtasks', in seconds.
blocking	List	The operonIds of tasks this one is blocking (a dependency link).
blockedBy	List	The operonIds of tasks blocking this one.
trackers	List	Your completed time-tracking sessions, as time ranges. See Time tracking.
activeTracker	Date & time	The start time of a timer that is currently running.
repeatSeriesId	Text	Links a single occurrence to its recurring series.
repeatOccurrenceDate	Date	The recurrence slot date for a generated occurrence.
reminders	List	Reminder times or offsets for the task.
timezone	Text	The task's timezone, when one applies.
related	List	Related notes and references, managed through the editor.

The last several (repeatSeriesId, repeatOccurrenceDate, reminders, timezone, activeTracker, related) are internal bookkeeping. They are stored in your Markdown so the file stays self-contained, but they are not meant to be edited by hand and are normally hidden from the field-management UI.

Values at a glance

• Status uses Pipeline.Status, so both the pipeline and the stage are visible. See Pipelines and statuses.
• Priority is a single letter from S (highest) to F (lowest). See Task priorities.
• Dates use YYYY-MM-DD. Datetimes use YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS in local time.
• Time fields (estimate, duration, and the totals) are stored in seconds, but you normally set them through the Task Editor rather than typing seconds.
• List fields (assignees, contexts, links, blocking, blockedBy) hold one or more values separated by a semicolon and a space (; ). To keep a literal semicolon inside a single value, escape it as \;.
• Task links (parentTask, blocking, blockedBy) reference other tasks by their operonId, not by title or path.

Copy-paste ready examples

Each block below is ready to paste into a note. The {{operonId}} template variables become real, unique ids the moment Operon sees the pasted lines, and a shared suffix such as {{operonId1}} links a child to its parent. None of these ids needs to be typed or invented. See operonId template variables.

A minimal task, just words and an id:

- [ ] Buy milk {{operonId:: {{operonId}}}}

A typical task with a status, priority, and due date:

- [ ] Review launch checklist {{operonId:: {{operonId}}}} {{status:: Project.InProgress}} {{priority:: A}} {{dateDue:: 2026-05-31}}

A pasted snippet that lets Operon fill the default status, default priority, current date, and current datetime:

- [ ] Follow up with reviewer {{operonId:: {{operonId}}}} {{status:: {{status}}}} {{priority:: {{priority}}}} {{dateScheduled:: {{date}}}} {{datetimeCreated:: {{datetime}}}} {{datetimeModified:: {{datetime}}}}

If your default status is Project.Brainstorming, your default priority is High, and the snippet is resolved at 2026-06-27T13:46:10, the task becomes:

- [ ] Follow up with reviewer {{operonId:: a1b2c3d}} {{status:: Project.Brainstorming}} {{priority:: High}} {{dateScheduled:: 2026-06-27}} {{datetimeCreated:: 2026-06-27T13:46:10}} {{datetimeModified:: 2026-06-27T13:46:10}}

Your real output uses your current Operon defaults and local time. See operonId template variables for the full variable list and the difference between raw pasted inline snippets and file task templates.

A task with tags and a context, which stay as ordinary Markdown:

- [ ] Email the supplier #work #procurement {{operonId:: {{operonId}}}} {{contexts:: [[Office]]}} {{dateScheduled:: 2026-05-20}}

A task with several values in its list fields, separated by ; :

- [ ] Run the planning workshop {{operonId:: {{operonId}}}} {{assignees:: [[Me]]; [[Sam]]}} {{contexts:: [[Office]]; [[Errands]]}} {{dateDue:: 2026-05-31}}

A parent task with two subtasks, wired by a shared id. The parent takes {{operonId1}}, and each child points its parentTask at that same suffix:

- [ ] Plan the launch {{operonId:: {{operonId1}}}} {{status:: Project.InProgress}} {{priority:: B}}
    - [ ] Draft the announcement {{operonId:: {{operonId}}}} {{parentTask:: {{operonId1}}}} {{dateDue:: 2026-05-28}}
    - [ ] Schedule the email {{operonId:: {{operonId}}}} {{parentTask:: {{operonId1}}}} {{dateScheduled:: 2026-05-29}}

A small recurring task that repeats every week:

- [ ] Weekly review {{operonId:: {{operonId}}}} {{status:: Project.Planned}} {{repeat:: mode=schedule|freq=week|interval=1}}

Let Operon write it

The safest way to produce correct syntax is to let Operon do it: create with the Task Creator, edit with the Task Editor, and convert with Operon commands. Hand-editing the text is fine; just be careful with operonId, which is the field that tells Operon which task it is looking at. See Task identity and operonId.

A quick rule of thumb for what is safe to touch by hand:

• Safe to edit directly: the readable text, #tags, and simple values such as status, priority, dateDue, dateScheduled, and note.
• Let the Task Editor handle: operonId, parentTask, blocking and blockedBy, repeat, and every field in the Fields Operon manages for you table above. These carry identity, task links, recurrence, and bookkeeping that has to stay consistent across the whole vault.

Related

• Operon Docs MOC
• Inline tasks
• File tasks
• Task properties