Module guide
Tasks
The atomic unit of work in Atlas.
Overview
A task carries everything a unit of work needs: title, description, priority, status, due and start dates, estimates, assignees, labels, attachments, threaded comments, dependencies, subtasks, custom links, recurrence, reminders, and approval state. Every view in Atlas renders tasks one way or another, so the task is the one object worth learning first.
Highlights
The capabilities worth knowing before you dive in.
- Subtasks with auto-propagating parent status
- Custom tenant-defined relation kinds (blocks, derives from, enables, or whatever your team calls it)
- Recurrence via a simple enum or RRULE-style custom rules
- Approval workflow (PENDING to APPROVED or REJECTED)
- Deterministic my-day scoring picks your Today's Focus without an LLM
Important to know
Limits, permissions, and sharp edges to keep in mind.
- Status values are lowercase strings (todo, in_progress, done, blocked). Custom swimlanes add their own keys.
- Versions are an opt-in optimistic lock. If you PATCH with a stale version, the API returns 409.
- Archived is not the same as deleted. Archive hides a task from default views; delete is a soft-delete with a 30-day grace period.
How to use it
The primary workflow, start to finish.
- Press ⌘K and type the task title to create it or jump to it.
- Open the detail drawer to set priority, add comments, link subtasks, and attach files.
- Assign a recurrence rule so the task spawns a follow-up every time you mark it done.
FAQ
- Why does my parent task auto-close when I mark the last subtask done?
- Atlas propagates parent status forward. When every subtask reaches a "done" status, the parent closes automatically. The reverse never happens: marking a subtask back to todo never re-opens a closed parent. You can always reopen the parent manually.
- Can I block a task with multiple others?
- Yes. Use the Dependencies section for the canonical BLOCKS, DUPLICATES, and RELATES set, or the Links section for custom tenant-authored relations (Settings > Relation kinds).
- How do I see tasks I'm blocked on right now?
- Open the Views page, group by status, and look at the "blocked" swimlane, or run a Cmd-K scope search: `t blocked`.
Automate this module
Everything on this screen is scriptable. Drive it from the REST API, or let an AI agent run it through the MCP server.
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