Trash and history
Deleting something in OpenTodo doesn't make it vanish. It goes to the Trash first, and every change to a task is kept in its history, so a slip of the finger is easy to undo.
On this page
Restore something from the Trash#
Open Trash in the sidebar (or press g x). It lists deleted tasks and projects, newest first, with when they were deleted and how many days they have left.
Select Restore next to an item. It comes back exactly where it was:
- A restored project returns to its place in the sidebar, with all its tasks.
- A restored task returns to its project. If that project is still in the Trash, the task goes to your Inbox instead.
With the keyboard: j / k to select, r to restore.
Delete for good#
Delete permanently removes one item for good, and Empty Trash removes everything in it. Both ask you to confirm, and both need a connection. Once something is permanently deleted, it's gone from every device and from the server, and it can't come back.
Items are also deleted for good automatically after 30 days in the Trash. Your server's owner can change that period or turn it off.
What deleting does#
- Deleting a task also deletes its subtasks.
- Deleting a project hides it and its tasks everywhere. Its sub-projects move up a level, so they aren't lost.
- Reminders on deleted tasks stay quiet. Restore the task and they work again.
- Deleted items are still in your export until they are deleted for good.
See what changed on a task#
Open a task and select History at the bottom of its panel. You see every change, newest first: what the field was, what it became, when, and from where (this device, another device, the API, a calendar app, or an AI assistant). Changes made by an AI assistant read "AI assistant (token name)" for your own assistants and "AI assistant" for someone else's in a shared project, and can be restored like any other change.
Projects have a History too, at the top of the project.
History is loaded from your server, so it needs a connection.
Bring back an earlier value#
Next to each change in the history is Restore this value. Select it to set the field back to what it was then. Restoring is a change like any other: it syncs to all devices and shows up in the history itself, so you can always undo the undo.
Activity on a task#
The comment thread of a task also shows its activity: who created it, completed it, moved it or changed the date. In shared projects this includes everyone's changes. See Sharing and comments.
Archived projects#
Archiving is different from deleting. An archived project disappears from the sidebar, but it isn't in the Trash and isn't deleted after 30 days: it and its tasks are kept as they are. Archive a project from its Project menu.
When you complete the last task of a project, OpenTodo offers to archive it. Projects without open tasks for 30 days are archived automatically, with a notice that has an undo button. To switch automatic archiving off on a device, untick the option under Settings → General → Projects.
Bring back an archived project#
Open Settings → General → Projects. Under Archived projects you see every archived project, with its parent project and how many open tasks it has. Select Restore next to one, and it's back in the sidebar with all its tasks. With the keyboard, Tab to the button and press Enter.
- Restoring works offline, like any change, and the project comes back on your other devices after they sync.
- Restoring brings back that one project. If you archived a project with sub-projects, they stay in the list until you restore each of them.
- A project you restore by hand isn't archived automatically again on that device.
- In a shared project, only the owner or an admin can restore it, the same people who can archive it.