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Projects

Create and organize projects, nest sub-projects, set backgrounds, archive, duplicate, delete, and more.

A project is the main place where tasks live in Vikunja. You can create as many projects as you need and arrange them in a hierarchy.

What you can do with projects#

  • Create projects to group related tasks.
  • Nest sub-projects to build a hierarchy such as Office Move > Packing & Logistics > Floor 3.
  • Share projects with other users or teams. See Sharing & Teams.
  • Choose how tasks are displayed using views (list, kanban, gantt, table).

Projects vs. saved filters: A project holds tasks. A saved filter is a personal view that shows matching tasks from across all your projects. If you want to group tasks, use a project. If you want to see tasks from multiple projects in one place, use a saved filter.

The inbox project#

Every user has an Inbox project. When you create a task from the dashboard without choosing a project, it goes there.

Use Inbox as a quick capture space, then move tasks into other projects later.

Creating a project#

Open Projects in the sidebar, then use the button in the top right to create a new project.

Project overview page showing all projects

Project settings#

To open project settings, click the three-dot menu next to the project title and select Edit.

Project context menu with available actions Project settings form

You can change:

  • Title: The display name of the project.
  • Parent project: Assign this project as a sub-project of another project. You can also change this by dragging and dropping the project in the sidebar.
  • Description: An optional text description for the project.
  • Identifier: A short code (e.g. MOVE) that is combined with task numbers to create unique task references like MOVE-42. These references appear in the task detail view and make it easier to refer to specific tasks in conversations or comments. They are globally unique across all projects.
  • Color: Shown in the sidebar and on the project overview page.

Sub-projects#

You can nest projects to create a hierarchy. There are two ways to move a project under another one:

  • Drag and drop the project in the sidebar to place it under a parent project.
  • Edit the project settings and set the desired parent project.

To create a sub-project directly, open the three-dot menu next to a project and choose Create sub-project.

Background images#

Background image dialog with upload and Unsplash options

You can set a background image for any project from the three-dot menu.

  • Upload an image from your device.
  • Search Unsplash for a photo.

The Unsplash integration requires an API key configured on the instance. If you are using Vikunja Cloud, this works out of the box.

Archiving a project#

Archiving hides a project from the main working views and makes it read-only.

Open the three-dot menu and select Archive. You can unarchive it later from the same menu.

Duplicating a project#

To copy a project, open the three-dot menu and select Duplicate. Vikunja creates a new project with copies of its tasks, views, sub-projects, and settings.

Favoriting a project#

Star icon for favoriting a project

To favorite a project, hover over it in the sidebar or on the project overview page and click the star icon. Favorited projects appear at the top of the sidebar.

Deleting a project#

To delete a project, open the three-dot menu and select Delete. You need Admin permission on the project.

The dialog shows how many sub-projects and tasks will be deleted with it. After you confirm, the project and its sub-projects and tasks move to the trash. Click Undo in the message that appears to bring them back right away.

Project deletion dialog listing the two sub-projects and fourteen tasks that will move to the trash

Deleted projects stay in the trash for 30 days. You can restore them from there until then. After 30 days, they are deleted permanently. See Trash for details.

The trash is available from Vikunja 2.8.0 onwards (or unstable builds).

Related pages:

  • Sharing and Teams - Share projects with other users or teams.
  • Views - Configure how tasks are displayed within a project (list, kanban, gantt, table).
  • Webhooks - Set up webhooks to notify external services of events in a project.
  • Trash - Restore deleted projects and tasks.
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