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Getting Started with Exocortex

A beginner-friendly guide to setting up and using Exocortex for task management in Obsidian.

Table of Contents

  1. What is Exocortex?
  2. Installation
  3. Your First Area
  4. Your First Project
  5. Your First Task
  6. Daily Planning
  7. Understanding the Layout
  8. Next Steps

What is Exocortex?

Exocortex transforms Obsidian into a powerful task management system with:

  • Automatic layouts that appear below your note's metadata
  • Hierarchical organization (Areas → Projects → Tasks)
  • Daily planning with focused task lists
  • Effort tracking from idea to completion
  • Collaborative voting for prioritization

The key insight: Instead of manually maintaining task lists, you define relationships in frontmatter, and Exocortex automatically displays relevant information based on context.

Installation

Step 1: Download the Plugin

Option A: Community Plugins (Recommended)

  1. Open Obsidian Settings → Community plugins
  2. Search for "Exocortex"
  3. Click Install → Enable

Option B: Manual Installation

cd /your/vault/.obsidian/plugins
git clone https://github.com/kitelev/exocortex
cd exocortex
npm install && npm run build

Step 2: Enable the Plugin

  1. Settings → Community plugins → Installed plugins
  2. Find "Exocortex" in the list
  3. Toggle ON

Step 3: Verify Installation

  1. Create a test note with frontmatter:
---
exo__Instance_class: ems__Area
exo__Asset_label: Test Area
---
  1. Switch to Reading Mode (Ctrl/Cmd + E)
  2. You should see the Exocortex layout below the metadata

If the layout doesn't appear:

  • Check that the plugin is enabled (Settings → Community plugins)
  • Verify you're in Reading Mode (not Live Preview or Source Mode)
  • Check the console for errors (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + I → Console tab)

Your First Area

Areas represent broad domains of work (e.g., "Development", "Marketing", "Personal Projects").

Create an Area Note

  1. Create a new note called Development.md
  2. Add frontmatter:
---
exo__Instance_class: ems__Area
exo__Asset_label: Development
---

# Development

All software development efforts live here.
  1. Switch to Reading Mode

What You'll See

The Exocortex layout renders with these sections:

  • Properties Table: Shows all frontmatter properties
  • Action Buttons: Commands relevant to areas (Create Project, etc.)
  • Area Hierarchy Tree: Parent/child area relationships (empty for now)
  • Asset Relations: Notes referencing this area (empty for now)

📝 Note: The layout only appears in Reading Mode, not in Edit Mode.

Your First Project

Projects represent specific initiatives within an area.

Create a Project Note

  1. Create a new note called Build API Server.md
  2. Add frontmatter:
---
exo__Instance_class: ems__Project
exo__Asset_label: Build API Server
ems__Effort_area: "[[Development]]"
ems__Effort_status: "[[ems__EffortStatusBacklog]]"
---

# Build API Server

REST API for the mobile app.
  1. Switch to Reading Mode

Understanding the Frontmatter

  • exo__Instance_class: ems__Project - Declares this note as a project
  • exo__Asset_label - Human-readable name (displayed everywhere)
  • ems__Effort_area - Links to the parent area (wiki-link)
  • ems__Effort_status - Current workflow status (Backlog, Analysis, ToDo, Doing, Done)

Available Status Values

  • ems__EffortStatusDraft - Initial idea, not yet committed
  • ems__EffortStatusBacklog - Committed, awaiting analysis
  • ems__EffortStatusAnalysis - Being analyzed/planned
  • ems__EffortStatusToDo - Ready to start
  • ems__EffortStatusDoing - In progress
  • ems__EffortStatusDone - Completed

What You'll See

  • Action Buttons: Move between statuses, vote, create tasks
  • Asset Relations: This project will appear in the Development area's relations

Your First Task

Tasks represent specific work items within a project.

Create a Task Using the Button

  1. Open the project note (Build API Server.md) in Reading Mode
  2. Click "Create Task" button
  3. Fill in the form:
    • Label: Set up Express server
    • Status: ems__EffortStatusToDo
    • Area: (auto-filled from parent project)

Or Create Manually

Create Set up Express server.md:

---
exo__Instance_class: ems__Task
exo__Asset_label: Set up Express server
ems__Effort_area: "[[Development]]"
ems__Effort_project: "[[Build API Server]]"
ems__Effort_status: "[[ems__EffortStatusToDo]]"
---

# Set up Express server

Initialize Node.js project and configure Express.

Understanding Task Frontmatter

  • ems__Effort_project - Links to the parent project
  • All other properties work like projects
  • Tasks can have ems__Effort_parent for sub-tasks

Daily Planning

Daily notes show all tasks scheduled for a specific date.

Create a Daily Note

  1. Create a note named 2025-11-10.md (use ISO format: YYYY-MM-DD)
  2. Add frontmatter:
---
exo__Instance_class: pn__DailyNote
exo__Asset_label: "2025-11-10"
pn__Day_date: "2025-11-10"
---

# 2025-11-10

Today's plan.

Schedule Tasks for Today

  1. Open a task note in Reading Mode
  2. Click "Plan on Today" button
  3. The task's frontmatter updates with today's date:
ems__Effort_scheduled_start_date: "2025-11-10"

View Today's Tasks

  1. Open today's daily note in Reading Mode
  2. The Daily Tasks section shows all scheduled tasks:
    • Grouped by area
    • Sorted by project
    • Shows status, votes, and action buttons
    • Toggle "Show Archived" to hide/show completed tasks

Shift Scheduling

Use arrow buttons (◀ / ▶) to move tasks between days:

  • ◀ Shift Day Backward (reschedule to yesterday)
  • ▶ Shift Day Forward (reschedule to tomorrow)

Understanding the Layout

The Exocortex layout renders automatically in Reading Mode based on the note's exo__Instance_class:

Common Sections

1. Properties Table

  • Shows all frontmatter properties
  • Resolves wiki-links to display labels
  • Sortable columns (click headers)
  • Toggle visibility with "Toggle Properties" button

2. Action Buttons

  • Grouped by function:
    • Creation: Create Task, Create Project
    • Status: Move to Backlog, Move to ToDo, Start Effort, Mark Done
    • Planning: Plan on Today, Shift Day Forward/Backward
    • Maintenance: Archive, Trash, Vote, Clean Properties
  • Only relevant buttons shown (based on note type and state)

3. Asset Relations

  • Lists all notes that reference this note
  • Grouped by property (e.g., all tasks with this project as parent)
  • Sortable by name, class, status
  • Click rows to navigate

Class-Specific Sections

ems__Area

  • Area Hierarchy Tree: Interactive collapsible tree of parent/child areas

pn__DailyNote

  • Daily Tasks: All tasks scheduled for this date
  • Daily Projects: All projects scheduled for this date
  • Focus Area Filter: Show only tasks from specific area

ems__Project / ems__Task

  • Standard layout (Properties + Buttons + Relations)

Next Steps

Now that you have the basics, explore advanced features:

1. Workflow Management

Learn the complete effort lifecycle:

2. Daily Planning

Master daily note organization:

3. Area Hierarchies

Build knowledge domains:

4. Command Reference

Discover all 32 commands:

5. Advanced Features

Quick Reference Card

Essential Frontmatter Properties

Property Purpose Example Value
exo__Instance_class Note type ems__Task, ems__Project, ems__Area, pn__DailyNote
exo__Asset_label Display name "Build API Server"
ems__Effort_area Parent area "[[Development]]"
ems__Effort_project Parent project (tasks only) "[[Build API Server]]"
ems__Effort_status Workflow status "[[ems__EffortStatusToDo]]"
ems__Effort_scheduled_start_date Planned date "2025-11-10"
pn__Day_date Daily note date "2025-11-10"

Common Commands

Action Command
Create task Click "Create Task" button or Cmd/Ctrl+P → "Create Task"
Move status Use status buttons (Backlog → Analysis → ToDo → Doing → Done)
Plan for today Click "Plan on Today" button
Shift day Use ◀ / ▶ buttons
Vote on effort Click "Vote" button
Reload layout Cmd/Ctrl+P → "Reload Layout"

Troubleshooting

Problem Solution
Layout doesn't appear Switch to Reading Mode (Ctrl/Cmd + E)
Buttons don't work Check console for errors (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + I)
Wiki-links not resolving Verify target note exists with correct exo__Asset_label
Daily tasks not showing Check task has ems__Effort_scheduled_start_date matching daily note's pn__Day_date

Getting Help

Next: Task Workflows →