There is no one-click TaskNotes importer, but there is a reliable path made from Operon's own features. The idea is to teach Operon your existing property names, adopt your existing notes as file tasks in bulk, and make sure new notes are Operon-ready. Work through these steps in order. For orientation first, see Coming from TaskNotes.

MEDIA-DOCS-093-1: The four steps: map fields, add custom keys, scan a folder, add operonId to templates.

Step 1: Map your fields with Key Mappings

This is the heart of the move. In Settings → Operon → Core → Keymapping, each Operon canonical key has a Property area. Write your TaskNotes property name there, and Operon will read and write that property instead of its default name.

For example, if TaskNotes stores a deadline in a due property, set the Property area of Operon's dateDue key to due. From then on:

• File tasks use your property name (due) in frontmatter, matching your existing notes.
• Inline tasks use the canonical key (dateDue) on the line.

Both resolve to the same field, so the two stay in sync. One rule matters: the value type must match. A date property should map to a date key, a list property to a list key. See Key mappings for how mappings behave.

Concretely, suppose an existing note carries a due property:

---
title: Draft release notes
due: 2026-05-31
---

After you map due to dateDue (Step 1) and adopt the note in the scan (Step 3), Operon keeps every value and only adds what it needs:

---
title: Draft release notes
due: 2026-05-31
operonId: {{operonId}}
---

Your due value is untouched, and Operon now reads it as the task's due date. The new operonId is a real id Operon generates during the scan, shown here as the template variable. Operon also adds a mapped modified-time property. Nothing in your note is rewritten or removed.

Two mappings need extra care, for reasons covered under conflicts below: do not map status onto a property another plugin also writes, and remember that Operon stores time in seconds. Map only flat properties; a nested property has no Operon field type.

Step 2: Add Custom Keys for the rest

Some TaskNotes properties will not have a built-in Operon equivalent. For those, add a Custom Key with the same property name and the matching type, so Operon carries that data too instead of ignoring it. See Custom keys.

Do this before the scan, so that when your notes are adopted, every property you care about already has a home.

Step 3: Adopt your notes with a folder scan

Now bring your existing TaskNotes notes in as Operon file tasks, in bulk, without rewriting them. In Settings → Operon → Tasks → File Tasks, open Convert notes.

1. Choose a match rule: a folder, a tag, or a frontmatter property with an exact value. For TaskNotes, the rule that targets your task notes precisely is usually the folder they live in or a property they all carry.
2. Click Scan vault. Operon reports how many files match, how many can be converted, how many already are file tasks, and how many sit in excluded folders.
3. Review the eligible files, then click Convert Files.

The confirmation tells you what happens: Operon adds an operonId and the mapped modified-time property while preserving your existing frontmatter values. Your notes keep their content and properties; they simply become Operon file tasks. The detailed reference for this tool is Bulk convert a folder into file tasks.

MEDIA-DOCS-093-2: The Convert notes panel after a scan, showing matched files ready to convert.

Step 4: Make new notes Operon-ready

If you create TaskNotes-style notes from a template, add an operonId to that template so each new note is a valid Operon task from the moment it is created, with no extra step. The template-variable approach is covered in operonId template variables.

This closes the loop: old notes are adopted by the scan, and new notes are born Operon-ready.

After you migrate

Your former TaskNotes tasks now behave like any Operon file task. They appear in the Filter View, on the Calendar, and on the Kanban, next to any inline tasks you create. If something does not show up, the usual cause is the index, not a lost note; see Missing tasks.

Running both at once: conflicts to know

You can keep TaskNotes installed while you move, but the two systems overlap in places, so a few things can clash. These are why running both is best treated as a temporary bridge rather than a permanent setup. The safe pattern is to let one system own status and time, map only flat properties, and convert each note once.

• Two plugins decorating one note. Operon treats the note as its own file task and manages its fields and status. If another plugin also manages the same note, their decorations and writes can collide. Let one system manage a given note.
• Different status systems. Operon moves tasks through a pipeline of statuses, like Project.InProgress, which is not the same set another plugin uses. Do not map Operon's status onto a status property another plugin also writes, or the two will overwrite each other. Keep status owned by one system. See Pipelines and statuses.
• Time is in seconds. Operon stores estimate and duration in seconds, not minutes. A tool that uses a different unit would misread the same raw value, so do not share a single duration or estimate property between systems. See Time tracking.
• Flat properties only. Operon's fields use Obsidian's own property types: text, number, date, date and time, list, and checkbox. A nested or structured property has no Operon field type, so map only flat properties and move nested data into separate flat keys. See Custom keys.
• Similar tools, not shared. Operon has its own Dynamic file task filter; a comparable feature in another plugin is separate, not a shared view. This is a difference to expect, not a conflict.

The one constant is that an Operon task always has an operonId, so this remains interoperability rather than a frictionless import. Plan the mapping once, respect the points above, and the rest is repeatable.

FAQ

Will the scan change my note content? It adds an operonId and the mapped modified-time property, and preserves your existing frontmatter and body.

What if a property has no Operon field? Add a Custom Key for it before scanning, so the data is kept.

Do I have to convert every note at once? No. Scan by folder, tag, or property, and convert in batches whenever you are ready.

Related

• Operon Docs MOC
• FAQ for TaskNotes users