Sync Things Tasks

Bridge thinking (Obsidian) and doing (Things 3) using the things CLI.

Core Concepts

• Thinking vs. Doing: Use Obsidian for drafting ideas and planning. Use Things 3 for actionable todos with dates/deadlines.
• CLI-First: Use the things command to add tasks without leaving the chat.
• Contextual Tasks: When summarizing notes, proactively identify action items and offer to send them to Things.

Auth Token

The CLI requires an auth token for update operations. The user should have THINGS_AUTH_TOKEN set in their shell profile.

Common Workflows

Adding Tasks from Notes

# Add to Today with Obsidian link
things add "Follow up with [Name]" --notes "Context: [Note Title](obsidian://open?vault=MyVault&file=Path%2FTo%2FNote)" --when today

Project Task Extraction

When working on project notes, extract action items:

things add "Draft initial spec" --list "Project Name" --notes "Reference: [Project](obsidian://open?vault=MyVault&file=...)"

Reviewing Tasks

things today              # What's on today
things areas             # Existing Areas
things projects          # Existing Projects
things show "Area Name"  # Contents of Area
things tasks --project "Project Name"  # Tasks in project
things search "query"    # Search for existing tasks

Integration Principles

• Discovery First: Use things areas and things projects before creating new containers
• Obsidian URIs: Include clickable Obsidian links in Things notes: [Note](obsidian://open?vault=MyVault&file=URL_ENCODED_PATH)
• Dry Run First: Use things --dry-run add "..." for complex tasks
• Things as Truth: Things is the source of truth for "doing"; don't necessarily update Obsidian when tasks complete