Dates & Reminders

Due dates, start and end dates, reminders, and repeating tasks.

Tasks can have due dates, start and end dates, reminders, and repeating schedules. Here’s how each one works.

Due Date#

The due date is when a task must be finished. Once the due date passes, the task is considered overdue. Overdue tasks are highlighted so you can quickly spot what needs attention.

Overdue task highlighted in the task list

If you’ve enabled it in the settings, you’ll receive an email each morning with a list of the tasks that are overdue.

Due dates are also used for sorting in the Upcoming view and on the dashboard, making it easy to see what is coming up next.

Default due time#

If you usually make tasks due at the same time of day, set a Default due time under Settings > General > Projects & Tasks. Vikunja uses it when you choose a date without a time, including dates added with Quick Add Magic.

Times you enter explicitly are left unchanged. If you leave the setting empty, Vikunja picks its usual nearest time of day.

Start and End Date#

Start and end dates define the window during which you plan to work on a task. For example, a report due March 31 (due date) might have a start date of March 20 and an end date of March 28, meaning you plan to do the work during that week.

These dates are primarily used in the Gantt view, where each task appears as a bar spanning from its start date to its end date on the timeline.

Reminders#

Reminder configuration with absolute and relative options

You can set one or more reminders on any task. When a reminder triggers, you receive a notification in the Vikunja UI. If you have email notifications enabled in your settings, you will also receive an email.

Reminders come in two types:

Absolute reminders: Set for a specific date and time (e.g. “remind me on March 5th at 9:00 AM”).
Relative reminders: Set relative to one of the task’s date fields (due date, start date, or end date). For example, “remind me 1 hour before the due date” or “remind me 2 days before the start date”.

Relative reminders require the corresponding date field to be set on the task. For example, a reminder relative to the due date will not trigger if no due date is set.

Repeating Tasks#

Tasks can repeat on a schedule. Use the quick buttons (Every Day, Every Week, Every 30 Days) or enter your own interval in hours, days, or weeks. The Repeat mode controls how the next dates are calculated:

Default: Repeats after a fixed interval, counted from the task’s current dates. For example, a task due Monday that repeats every week will be due the following Monday.
Monthly: Repeats on the same day of every month. The interval is ignored. If a month is shorter, the date moves to the last day of that month.
From completion date: Repeats after a fixed interval, counted from when you mark the task done. Use this for tasks like “water the plants every 3 days”, where the next time depends on when you last did it.

When you mark a repeating task as done, Vikunja does not create a new task. Instead, it keeps the same task open and moves its due, start, and end dates and its reminders forward to the next occurrence. Any checklist in the description is unchecked so you can start fresh.

More flexible rules, like “every 2 weeks on Tuesday” or “the first Tuesday of the month”, are not supported yet. They are on the roadmap.

Quick Add Magic#

Due dates, reminders, and repeating schedules can all be set directly when creating a task using Quick Add Magic. Instead of filling in fields manually, you can type everything in natural language right in the task title.

For the full list of supported keywords and date formats, see Quick Add Magic.