Quick Add Magic

Create tasks faster by typing labels, dates, priorities, and more directly into the task title.

Quick Add Magic lets you set task details like due dates, labels, and priorities while typing the task title. Instead of creating a task and then editing its fields one by one, you can do it all in one step.

For example, typing:

Order packing supplies *logistics !3 tomorrow at 5pm

creates a task called “Order packing supplies” with the label logistics, priority 3, and a due date of tomorrow at 5pm.

Quick Add Magic parsing a task title into structured fields

Quick Add Magic is available in the web UI. It uses the default mode described below. If you’re coming from Todoist, you can switch to Todoist-compatible shortcuts in your settings.

Labels#

Add a label by typing * followed by the label name. If the label doesn’t exist yet, Vikunja creates it for you.

  • *logistics adds the label “logistics”
  • *"waiting on others" wraps the name in quotes for multi-word labels
  • You can add multiple labels: *urgent *logistics

Assignees#

Assign the task to someone by typing @ followed by their username. You can assign multiple people.

  • @sarah assigns the task to sarah
  • @sarah @david assigns to both

Project#

Move the task into a specific project by typing + followed by the project name. The project must already exist.

  • +Personal puts the task in the “Personal” project
  • +"Office Move" wraps the name in quotes for multi-word projects

Priority#

Set a priority by typing ! followed by a number from 1 (low) to 5 (urgent).

  • !1 low priority
  • !5 urgent

Dates and times#

Type a date anywhere in the task title to set it as the due date. Vikunja understands many natural formats:

  • Relative: today, tonight, tomorrow, next monday, this weekend, later this week, next week, next month, end of month, in 5 days
  • Weekdays: tuesday (uses the next occurrence)
  • Specific dates: 17/02/2025, Feb 17, 17th (current month)

Add a time with at: tomorrow at 5pm, next monday at 17:00.

Repeating tasks#

Make a task repeat by adding every followed by an interval:

  • every day
  • every 3 days
  • every week
  • every 2 weeks
  • every month

Creating multiple tasks at once#

Creating multiple tasks with multiline input

To create several tasks in one go, enter each task on its own line. Press Shift + Enter to add a new line, or paste multiline text from another document.

Subtasks#

When entering multiple tasks, indent a line to make it a subtask of the line above. You can use spaces or tabs for indentation, just be consistent within one batch.

Plan moving day
  Reserve loading dock
  Notify all departments
    Print department labels

This creates “Plan moving day” as the parent task, with “Reserve loading dock” and “Notify all departments” as subtasks. “Print department labels” becomes a subtask of “Notify all departments”.

Putting it all together#

Moving check-in +"Office Move" *urgent every week monday at 10am

Creates a repeating weekly task called “Moving check-in” in the “Office Move” project, labeled “urgent”, due every Monday at 10am.

Finalize seating chart *urgent *logistics @david in 5 days

Creates a task assigned to david, with two labels, due in 5 days.

Todoist mode#

If you’re used to Todoist’s quick-add shortcuts, you can switch Vikunja to use those keywords instead.

Go to Settings, scroll to “Quick Add Magic Mode”, and select “Todoist”.

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