Task editor

The task editor is where you write and manage one task: its title, details, description, stage, skills, linked tasks, attachments and history.

Open a task from Boards, Tasks or search (⌘K). On the board, a task first opens in the task panel; press ⌘E to open it in the full editor. Each task opens in its own tab.

The task panel on the board and the full editor have the same areas. The full editor also has the Tasks back button, the outline and the Save & release prompt.

Top bar

Item	What it does
Tasks	Full editor only. Goes back to the Tasks page.
Save status	Shows Unsaved changes, Saving… or when the task was last saved, for example Saved 2 mins ago.
Save	Appears when the title or description has unsaved changes. Same as ⌘S.
More actions (⋮)	Mark as done, Reload from disk, Archive and Delete. See More actions menu.
Open actions	Appears when the window is too narrow to show the actions rail. Opens the rail as a drawer.

Title

The large field at the top is the task title. Click it and type. The title saves when you save.

Metadata strip

The row under the title shows the task’s details. Changes here save straight away.

Item	What it does
Type	Click + Type to give the task a type, such as a bug or a feature. Search the list, or type a new name and choose Create “…”. Choose None to remove the type.
Task ID	Shows # and the task ID. Click it to copy the ID.
File name	The task’s file in .neova/tasks/. Click it to show the file in Finder.
Completed	Shown when the task is done.
Tags	The task’s tags. Click + Tags (or + when the task has tags) to open Manage Tags. Type a tag and press comma or ↵ to add it, click a tag to change its colour, then click Save Tags.
Assign	Click + Assign to choose who works on the task: You under People, or agents under Agents. Click a name again to remove it. When the task has assignees, their avatars show here; click them to change the list.
Goal	Click + Goal to add the task to an active goal. The goal’s name then shows here, with Remove from goal (×) next to it.
Contributors	Avatars of the agents that wrote content in the task, taken from its history. Hover over one to see who it is.

Assigning an agent here saves it to the task. It doesn’t send the agent a message. To hand the task to an agent, use a stage skill with Send to Agent, or tell the agent in its terminal.

Description

The description is a markdown editor. It has a toolbar with headings, bold, italic, inline code, strikethrough, lists, checklist, quote, link and image, plus Search in text (⌘F) and Switch to raw markdown (⌘⇧M).

While you type:

• Type / at the start of a line to insert a heading, list, checklist, table, code block or other block.
• Type @ to link to another task.
• Type { to insert a replacement field. See Replacement fields.
• Paste or drop an image to add it.

Under the editor, Neova shows the length of the description, for example 420 words (2 min).

The description saves when you save.

Send to agent

Select text in the description. A button with a sparkle appears above the selection. Click it, or right-click the selection, and choose Send to agent.

The Ask agent for help window opens:

1. Choose a running agent from the list at the top.
2. Type what you want in Ask or instruct….
3. Press ↵ or click Send.

The agent receives your request, the selected text and a reference to the task. The window then shows the agent’s terminal output.

Outline

In the full editor, when the description has headings, an outline shows on the left. Click a heading to jump to it. Click Hide outline to close it and Show outline to bring it back.

Actions rail

The rail on the right has four sections. Click a section header to open or close it. Click Hide actions to close the rail and Show actions to bring it back.

Agent Actions

Stage shows the task’s stage. Choose another stage to move the task. The change saves straight away.

Stage Actions lists the skills attached to the current stage. Each skill is a split button:

Part	What it does
Skill name	Fills in the skill’s prompt for this task and copies it to the clipboard.
▾ › Copy to clipboard	The same as clicking the skill name.
▾ › Edit template	Opens the skill’s template in Composer with this task.
▾ › Send to Agent	Fills in the prompt and sends it to an agent’s terminal, then shows that terminal. If you have more than one agent, choose one in the Send to Agent window. If the agent isn’t running, Neova starts it first.

A skill whose template can’t be found is greyed out and shows Template not available. A stage without skills shows No actions available.

Linked tasks

Lists the tasks linked to this one. Click a linked task to open it. Hover over it and click × to unlink it. Click Link task to open Attach Tasks, select one or more tasks and click Attach. Links save straight away.

Attachments

Shows the task’s images. To add one, click Click to upload, drag an image onto the drop area, or paste it with ⌘V. PNG and JPG files up to 10 MB work. When you drop a single image, Annotate image opens first so you can mark it up.

Each image has Open image, Copy image reference and Remove image buttons. When you remove an image, choose Delete from disk or Keep file. Attachments save straight away.

History

Lists what happened to the task and who did it. If Neova Git is on, a row with a saved version has View changes. It opens the version with two views: Changes and Full version. Click Restore this version to put that description back. The current version stays in the history.

More actions menu

Option	What it does
Mark as done	Sets the task’s status to completed. The stage stays the same. Shows Marked as done when the task is already done.
Reload from disk	Reads the task again from its file. ⌘⇧R does the same in the full editor.
Archive	Moves the task to the archive. If the task has images, choose Delete images or Keep images, then click Archive.
Delete	Asks you to confirm, then deletes the task and its images. Click Delete Permanently. This can’t be undone.

Saving

• The title and description wait for Save or ⌘S.
• Everything else saves as soon as you change it: stage, type, tags, assignees, goal, linked tasks, attachments and status.
• A tab with unsaved changes shows a dot. If you close it, Neova asks whether to save or discard.

When an agent writes to the task

While the full editor has unsaved changes, agents can’t write to the task. If an agent tries, a message says that the agent is waiting to write to this task. Click Save & release to save your changes and let the agent continue.

If the task’s description changes on disk while you are editing it, a bar appears: This task was changed outside the editor. Click Load their version to replace your edits with the new text, or Keep my edits to keep working on yours.

When an agent is reading or writing the task, a banner at the top shows it.

How to write a task

1. Press ⌘T, or click + (Add task) on a column in Boards.
2. Replace New Task with a title.
3. Describe the work in the description. Use / for headings and lists, @ to link other tasks.
4. Add a type, tags and a goal in the metadata strip.
5. Press ⌘S.

How to send a task to an agent with a skill

1. Check that the task is in the right stage under Agent Actions › Stage.
2. Under Stage Actions, click ▾ next to the skill.
3. Choose Send to Agent and pick the agent.

Neova shows the agent’s terminal with the prompt sent. To paste the prompt yourself, click the skill name and paste it where you need it.

How to link two tasks

1. Open Linked tasks in the actions rail.
2. Click Link task.
3. In Attach Tasks, search for the task by title and select it.
4. Click Attach.

How to restore an earlier description

1. Open History in the actions rail.
2. Click View changes on the version you want.
3. Check the text under Changes or Full version.
4. Click Restore this version and confirm.

Related

• Boards: the task panel and the board.
• Settings › Stages, Types and Tags.
• Settings › Agents: the skills attached to each stage.
• Replacement fields: fields you can use in descriptions and skill templates.
• MCP tools: agents use get_task, update_task, add_to_task, replace_section_in_task, link_task and assign_task to work on tasks.