Concepts

Tags

Label tasks the way you think, and filter to just what matters.

Tags are a flexible way to cut across projects and areas. Where a task lives in exactly one project, it can carry as many tags as you like — @errand, @waiting, @home, @quick — so you can pull up a slice of your work from any angle.

Creating and applying tags#

Add a tag to a task while editing it with ⌘T, or manage your whole set in the Tag Manager (⌘⇧G). Tags can also be attached to projects and headings.

Each tag has a color, chosen from a large named palette. Todebaran quietly adjusts a tag's color for legibility against whatever background and theme you're using, so labels stay readable everywhere.

Nested tags#

Tags can nest, so you can keep a tidy hierarchy — for example an @errands tag with @errands/shopping and @errands/calls underneath. Filtering a parent tag naturally includes what's below it.

Filtering a list#

Press ⌘F to toggle a tag filter on the current list and narrow it to just the tasks you want to see. Filters show only — they never move or change your tasks.

Per-tag shortcuts#

Any tag can be given its own single-key shortcut in the Tag Manager. Once set:

  • ⌃ key toggles that tag on the selected tasks.
  • ⌃⇧ key toggles the list filter for that tag.

Give your two or three most-used tags a shortcut key. Flagging a task as @waiting with one keystroke, and later filtering to everything you're waiting on, turns tags into a genuinely fast workflow.

Screenshot coming soon
The Tag Manager, with colors and per-tag shortcut keys.

For views that gather tagged tasks automatically, see smart lists.