GSoC Proposal Idea: Task Intelligence System for Joplin

GSoC
1

Problem

Users often store tasks inside notes, but Joplin lacks a system that analyzes tasks globally and provides productivity insights.

Proposed Solution

Create a plugin that extracts tasks from notes and generates a global task index and productivity dashboard.

Features Thinking of Implementing

1. Task Extraction Engine

The system will scan notes and detect tasks written using Markdown checkboxes (e.g., - [ ]) or TODO notes. These tasks will be extracted and indexed so they can be analyzed across the entire note collection.

Expected Output

Example note:

# Machine Learning Study Plan

- [ ] Revise gradient descent
- [ ] Solve assignment
- [ ] Watch lecture 5

After extraction, the system internally stores something like:

Task Index

1. Revise gradient descent
   Source: Machine Learning Study Plan

2. Solve assignment
   Source: Machine Learning Study Plan

3. Watch lecture 5
   Source: Machine Learning Study Plan

This creates a structured representation of tasks across notes.

2. Global Task Overview

The system will aggregate tasks from all notes and provide a unified overview so users can easily track pending work without manually opening each note.

Expected Output

Global Task Overview

Pending Tasks
• Revise gradient descent
• Solve assignment
• Submit lab report

Completed Tasks
• Install development environment

This allows users to quickly see all their tasks across notebooks.

3. Deadline Detection

The system will attempt to detect simple deadlines written in notes (such as dates or relative time expressions like “tomorrow” or “next week”) and associate them with tasks.

Expected Output

Example note:

Finish ML assignment tomorrow
Prepare presentation on 25 March

Detected tasks:

Task Deadlines

Finish ML assignment
Deadline: Tomorrow

Prepare presentation
Deadline: 25 March

This allows the system to track upcoming deadlines.

4. Daily Productivity Summary

Using the extracted task data, the system will generate a summary of tasks and deadlines to help users quickly understand their workload.

Expected Output

Daily Summary

Tasks Due Today: 3
Overdue Tasks: 1
Upcoming Deadlines: 2

This provides a quick overview of task status.

5. Task Source Linking

Each detected task will maintain a reference to the note it originated from, allowing users to quickly navigate to the original context of the task.

Expected Output

Pending Tasks

Revise gradient descent
Source: Machine Learning Study Plan

Submit lab report
Source: University Notes

Selecting a task would open the corresponding note.

Implementation Idea

This project would likely be implemented as a plugin using the Joplin plugin API. The plugin would scan notes, parse Markdown content to detect task lists (e.g., - [ ] checkboxes), and extract task information.

The extracted tasks would then be stored in an indexed structure so they can be aggregated across all notes. The plugin could generate summaries such as pending tasks, overdue tasks, and upcoming deadlines, and present them through a dedicated task overview panel.

Question

Would this idea align with Joplin's goals for Google Summer of Code? I developed this idea after reviewing the existing GSoC idea list and trying to identify functionality that is currently missing but could complement the other proposed ideas.

If any of these features already exist in the ecosystem or overlap with ongoing work, I would appreciate guidance. I would also welcome suggestions on whether the scope is appropriate or if some parts should be adjusted..

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I'm not sure. I think such a feature should be based on actual needs. Is there information out there that shows that this is a feature people would want?

1 Like
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I'm not sure how necessary the machine learning aspect would be, but it would be nice if there was a place that showed all TODO notes in one place, I currently use a low tech solution where I only create them in one folder (prefixed with @ so it shows in the top of the note folder list)

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What are your thoughts on formalizing that workaround into an inbuilt “All todos” notebook beneath “All notes”? Is that possible via plugin? If so, could the notebook only show if any todo notes exist (like how the “Conflicts” notebook works)?

5

according to me the global task overview seems to be a good feature because something similar is already being used in obsidian like note apps, where you can have aggregated tasks from all notes into a single dashboard.

the idea about task extraction from notes came from notion AI which seems able to find actionable tasks from notes. the deadline detection idea came from todoist where it can detect something like "complete task by tomorrow" and parse it into an actual date and time.

notion also has task linking, where the task still shows the source page it came from.

the main motive is simple. many users write tasks across different notes, but then they need to search through notes again to find them. instead of searching every time, the idea is to extract those tasks and make them easily accessible in a single dashboard, while still linking them back to their original notes.

so the flow would basically be:

multiple notes → task extraction → deadline detection (if present) → global task dashboard → task links back to its source note.

6

i agree of having a single dashboard as user can have multiple notes... they have search or through all of these every time it better to have everything in one place but with a link to the source page.

7

very good take actually, and it is a good idea for separating todos from the allnotes that contains both for now. but this will mostly help users who already use todo notes. in my idea the main thing is for users who mostly write normal notes, they do not have to worry about creating a todo separately after writing a note. instead we can automate the process of extracting tasks from the notes themselves.

but your idea is also useful because it organizes existing todos better. about the implementation through plugin i am not fully sure if plugins can create something like a virtual notebook in the sidebar similar to conflicts, it might depend on the plugin api capabilities.

8

just following up on this since the proposal deadline is approaching.

from looking at other note-taking tools it seems users often write tasks directly inside notes and then need a way to collect them in one place.

for example obsidian has a popular tasks plugin that aggregates tasks from multiple notes, and tools like notion also try to extemphasised textract actionable items from notes automatically.

the motivation behind my idea is similar for joplin: many users write tasks inside notes, but later they have to manually search across notes to find them again. having a system that extracts tasks and shows them in a global overview could make them easier to manage.

do you think this direction would make sense for a gsoc proposal, or should the idea be narrowed down further?

9

Ok that's reasonable I guess. You might want to update your proposal as described here:

UX will be very important for this plugin, as it's almost the point of it, so make sure you include some mockups of the UI.

Also try to provide more details when possible. For example "The system will attempt to detect simple deadlines written in notes" - you should expand - what will be detected and what how will that be used. Will the title be updated, or alarm, or tag? All that needs to be described

1 Like
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Hello querysmith, Laurent and more.

I’d like to give a +1 for this idea. I use both Joplin and Obsidian for personal and work profiles and one thing that I greatly miss on Joplin is the Tasks Plugin from Obsidian. It gathers my work tasks (inline, generally from meeting notes) into one place that I can then manage as needed. It can be as complex as needed, using filters and stuff, but I think just the standard functionality is already enough for many users.

I believe it would be a greatly appreciated by me and the community if something like this would be built for Joplin.

1 Like
11

check out the draft proposal based on the latest format that contains the process of how i am gona implement the feature, any sugestion or feedback is welcome
Link: GSoC 2026 Proposal Draft – Idea: Task Intelligence System– Dipok Dutta

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Please check the updated proposal format: