Automation rules
On this page
A rule says when something happens, which tasks it is for, and what to change. When the label waiting is added, move the task to the Waiting section of Work. Rules run on your server, so they work while every device is closed. Open More → Rules.
Make a rule#
Choose New rule, name it, then:
- When: a task is created, completed or reopened; a label is added or removed; a task is assigned to you or moved to a project or section; a task is due (at its time, 09:00 for a date without a time); a task's date passes (at the start of the next day); or on a schedule, at a time on chosen weekdays.
- Only for tasks that: optional conditions, all of which must hold: project (with its sub-projects), labels, priority, date, deadline, assignee, blocked. The editor shows how many open tasks match now.
- Then: priority, date, start, deadline, assignee, labels to add or remove, project and section, complete or reopen, a comment, an in-app notification, or a delivery to one of your webhooks.
A rule saved offline is listed at once and runs after the next sync. Times use the time zone your devices report and your day start.
What a rule changes#
A rule writes the same changes you would: completing a repeating task moves it to its next date, and a moved date carries its reminders along. A change the task already has is not written. Each change appears in the task's history as Rule (name), and Restore this value undoes it like any edit.
Rules fire only for your own edits, never for a teammate's change in a shared project or for an import. A rule never moves tasks into or out of a shared project.
Limits and pauses#
An account runs at most 60 rule runs a minute and 2,000 a day, a run changes at most 500 tasks, and you can have 50 rules. A rule that keeps hitting the per-minute limit is paused with Paused: it ran too often and you get one notification; turn it back on when it is fixed. Rules that trigger each other stop after three in a row.
Pause all rules at the bottom of the page pauses every rule of yours until you resume.
History#
History in a rule's menu lists its recent runs (the last 100, for 30 days) with the tasks each one changed. The history is kept on the server, so it needs a connection.
Turn a filter into a rule#
A saved view's menu and a board column's Rule dialog offer Make an automation rule. The editor opens with the column's changes as actions and the filter's project, label, priority, date and similar terms as conditions; terms a rule cannot use, such as a text search, are named.
Encrypted accounts#
Conditions and actions use ids and dates, which the server reads for every account, so rules work with end-to-end encryption. The comment action is not available: the server cannot encrypt a comment.
For the server owner#
Settings → Server → Automations turns rules off for every account. The optional variable OPENTODO_AUTOMATIONS=off (or on) sets it and makes the switch read-only; another value stops the server at startup. A demo instance never runs rules.