# obsidian tasks without opening obsidian

See your Obsidian tasks without opening Obsidian

BaseBar lives in the Mac menu bar and reads your task notes directly — so you can check your board, move a task, or add one with Obsidian closed.

See the live demo →

macOS 13+ · One-time, from $9.99 · Not affiliated with Obsidian

# the problem

Opening Obsidian just to nudge one task is friction

Obsidian is where your notes live, but you don't want to launch it, wait, and find the right view every time you finish something. Most of the day you just need to glance at your board or move one card — without opening Obsidian at all.

BaseBar solves that by reading your task notes straight from the folder and showing them in the menu bar, next to the clock.

How BaseBar shows your tasks with Obsidian closed

Point BaseBar at your tasks folder once. From then on, a click on the menu-bar icon draws every note with a status: property as a kanban board. Drag a card and it updates the note on disk. Hit ＋ to add a task and BaseBar writes a new note into the folder.

Because it reads and writes the files themselves — not a hidden database — Obsidian sees every change the next time you open it. No sync engine, no account, nothing leaves your Mac.

# How it works

Your Base, in the bar, in three moves.

No sync engine, no account, nothing to configure twice. The board you already built in Obsidian, shown where your eyes already are — watch it happen.

  1. Tasks.base
    filters:
    inFolder("tasks")
    views:
    groupBy: status
    order: due, priority
    todo
    Reply to testers
    in progress
    Ship v1.0
    done
    Set up DB
    01

    Point it at a .base

    BaseBar reads that file: its filters, the view you picked, what it groups by, the column order, and your own property names. It never writes to the .base.

  2. 312:09
    TasksMedia planReading
    todo
    Reply to testers
    Draft tweet
    in progress
    Ship v1.0
    Record demo
    done
    Set up DB
    02

    That view lives in the menu bar

    One click and the board is there, over whatever app you're in. Several bases? Each one is a tab — and one base with two views can be two tabs.

  3. Doing
    Ship v1.0
    Done
    Ship v1.0.md
    status: doingdone
    03

    Drag a card — one line changes

    BaseBar rewrites only the property the view groups by, inside that one note. Everything else in the file is untouched, and Obsidian picks it up whenever you open it.

# faq

People also ask

Can I see my Obsidian tasks without opening Obsidian?
Yes. BaseBar is a Mac menu-bar app that reads your task notes directly from disk. Click the menu-bar icon and your board appears — Obsidian doesn't need to be running.
Can I update a task without opening Obsidian?
Yes. Drag a card between columns and BaseBar rewrites only the status line in the note. You can also add a task from the menu bar — it becomes a new Markdown note in your folder. Obsidian picks up the changes the next time you open it.
Does it change my notes?
Only the status line, and only when you move a card. Adding a task creates a new note. BaseBar never rewrites the rest of a file, and it has no server or account — everything stays on your Mac.
What do my tasks need to look like?
Each task is a Markdown note with a status property in its frontmatter (for example status: doing). That's exactly what a folder in an Obsidian vault already is — no special format required.

# Pricing

One price. You own it.

Early access
$9.99$19.99

One-time. Price goes up after launch.

  • ✓One-time purchase — no subscription
  • ✓1 user, up to 2 Macs
  • ✓30-day money-back refund
  • ✓Free updates for v1.x

macOS 13+ · Secure checkout when it opens

# what you get

  • The BaseBar app

    The native menu-bar app itself — a signed .app you drag into Applications. Works whether Obsidian is open or closed.

  • A starter board if you need one

    No Base yet? The setup wizard writes a small working board into your vault — no plugins to enable, nothing to configure.

  • Free updates through 1.x

    Every 1.x release is included — you buy once, updates keep coming at no extra charge.

How you get it

  1. 1Buy once
  2. 2Get an email with your download link
  3. 3Open the file, drag to Applications

No account to create, no activation server. It's just a file you own.

# related