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Getting Started

This is the zero-to-working-chart path. It takes about five minutes.

New to TaskNotes?

TaskNotes Gantt is a companion to TaskNotes, a task-and-note plugin for Obsidian. TaskNotes is the system of record: it owns what a task is, its scheduled / due dates, its blockedBy dependencies, and its statuses — the Gantt just draws and edits them.

If those terms are new, skim the TaskNotes Core Concepts and Task Management pages first. You can still use the Gantt as a read-only timeline without TaskNotes — see Core Concepts → The two modes.

Requirements

  • Obsidian 1.10.0+ (the Gantt is built on the official Bases API).
  • The core Bases plugin enabled (Settings → Core plugins → Bases).
  • TaskNotes — this plugin is built as a TaskNotes companion, so TaskNotes is strongly recommended: it's required for write-back, dependencies, colors, inline editing, and task menus. Without it you get only a read-only timeline (see the two modes).

1. Install the plugin

Until the plugin is in the community store, install it one of two ways.

  1. Install the BRAT plugin.
  2. In BRAT, Add a beta plugin and enter renatomen/tasknotes-gantt.
  3. Enable TaskNotes Gantt in Settings → Community plugins.

BRAT keeps you on the latest beta release automatically.

  1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from a release.
  2. Put them in <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/tasknotes-gantt/.
  3. Enable TaskNotes Gantt in Settings → Community plugins.

Verifying the download (optional)

Release assets are built in GitHub Actions and carry a build-provenance attestation. You can verify a downloaded main.js was built from this repo's source:

gh attestation verify main.js --repo renatomen/tasknotes-gantt

2. Enable Bases

The Gantt is an Obsidian Bases view, so the core Bases plugin must be on: Settings → Core plugins → Bases.

3. Create a Base over your tasks

Create or open a Base whose query returns the notes you want on the timeline. With TaskNotes, that's typically your task notes. Without TaskNotes, it's any notes that have date properties.

4. Add a TaskNotes Gantt view

You can add the Gantt two ways — pick whichever fits how you work.

A · A standalone Base view. In the Base, add a new view and choose type TaskNotes Gantt. It fills its own tab — the natural home for a project's main timeline.

B · Embedded in a note. Drop a base code block into any markdown note and give it an obsidianGantt view. The chart renders inline, right in the note:

```base
filters:
  and:
    - 'file.hasTag("project")'
views:
  - type: obsidianGantt
    name: Timeline
```

You can place several such blocks in one note, each with its own filter, scale, and colours — for example a weekly, priority-coloured view above a monthly, status-coloured view of the same project:

Light Dark
A note with two embedded base blocks, each a Gantt at a different scale and colour configuration, in a light theme The same note in a dark theme

Either way, an empty (or partially populated) chart appears — the next step maps your dates.

5. Map your date properties

Open the view options (the gear / view-settings menu) and confirm the field mappings under Fields:

  • Start Date Property and End Date Property — with TaskNotes these default to scheduled / due. Without TaskNotes, point them at whatever date properties your notes use.
  • Parent Property (optional) — enables parent/child roll-up.

Every field mapping is documented in Settings → Fields.

6. You should now see a chart

Your notes render as bars along the timeline. From here:

  • Companion mode: drag and resize bars, draw dependencies, edit cells inline, and right-click a bar for TaskNotes' own task menu.
  • Standalone mode: you have a read-only timeline — pan, zoom, and read.

Next steps