Attachments
On this page
A task, or a comment on it, can carry files and links: a receipt, a photo of a whiteboard, a PDF, the link to a design. Open a task and use Attachments below its subtasks, or the paperclip in the comment box.
Add a file or a link#
- Pick, paste or drop. Choose Attach › Choose files… to pick files, paste an image or a file into the task panel, or drop files onto it (a drop zone appears while you drag).
- Links. Choose Attach › Add a link… and paste an
httporhttpsaddress. A link is stored as a link: the server never downloads it. - Offline. Adding a file without a connection works: the attachment appears at once, marked "waiting to upload", and uploads after the next sync. Other devices show it as "uploading" until the file has arrived on the server.
Images show a thumbnail; other files show their name, type and size. Open shows the file in a new tab when the browser can display it safely (images, PDF, plain text, audio and video); everything else, and every file of an encrypted account, is downloaded instead. You can rename your own attachments and remove them; a removal can be undone from the notice that follows.
Who sees and changes them#
Attachments belong to their task: everyone who can see the task can see its attachments, viewers of a shared project included, and anyone who can comment can attach files. Only the person who added an attachment can rename it. The author, a project admin and the owner can remove it.
Limits#
The server owner sets a size limit per file (25 MB unless changed) and a total per account (1 GB unless changed) in Settings → Server → Attachments, and can turn attachments off. Settings → Data shows how much of your total you use. Removing an attachment frees your total at once; the file itself stays on the server for the Trash retention period (30 days unless changed), so a removal can be undone from any device, and is then deleted for good. Purging a task from the Trash deletes its files immediately.
Encryption#
On an account with end-to-end encryption, the file name, its type, a link's address and the file's bytes are encrypted on your device before they leave it. The server stores and serves only the encrypted bytes and never holds a key. Turning encryption on or off re-uploads existing files in the new form as part of the switch.
Privacy and safety#
Files are only ever served to signed-in people who can see the task. A file is never shown as a web page: documents that could run code (HTML, SVG and the like) are always downloaded, and every file is served with headers that stop the browser from running anything in it.
For operators#
Files live under <data>/attachments/, one file per attachment, written once and never changed. Backups include them after the database, the ZIP export (GET /api/v1/export?format=zip) adds them to a user's export, and opentodo restore puts them back. The optional OPENTODO_ATTACHMENTS_MAX_FILE_MB and OPENTODO_ATTACHMENTS_QUOTA_MB preset the two limits on the first start; after that the owner's settings decide. The public demo has attachments turned off. The routes are described in the API reference.