Understanding Filter Rules

Filters are the heart of a view: they determine which tasks appear. Each filter rule checks a field with an operator against a value—you can combine as many rules as you like.

How a Filter Rule Is Built

Field           Operator      Value
────────────    ──────────    ────────────
Due Date        on or before  @today+3d
Status          is            Active
Overdue         is            Yes

Read each line as a sentence: “Due date on or before three days from today.” You choose the field, operator, and value in the filter editor (Advanced mode). In the view file, the same rules use technical names, such as due_date · lte · @today+3d; the tables below list both.

Field Reference

The field menu is split into three groups: Fields, Virtual Fields, and—if you’ve created any—Custom Attributes.

Fields

Virtual Fields (Calculated)

These fields aren’t stored in the file but are calculated from other fields. Their keys start with @.

In the view file, the view engine also understands project, area, folder, defer_date (defer date), and @effective_tags—useful when an AI agent writes views directly.

Custom Attributes

If you’ve defined custom attributes in Settings, they appear in the field menu under Custom Attributes. In the view YAML they’re called attributes.key—for example, attributes.client (operator is, value ACME) or attributes.acceptance with a date expression such as @today. Sorting and grouping offer the attributes as well.

Operators

Which operators are offered depends on the field. Every field also offers is empty and is not empty (without a value).

In the view file, starts_with (starts with, not case-sensitive) is also available.

Date Expressions

As the value in date filters, you can type a dynamic expression instead of a fixed date (2026-03-01). The expression is recalculated every time the view runs.

Single Points in Time

Date Ranges

You use date ranges with the operator is—the app then checks whether the date falls within the range (including start and end). When a week starts depends on your device’s region (in the US, on Sunday).

Combining Rules

Each filter group starts with a choice of how its rules are combined:

With Rule, you add a condition; with Subgroup, a nested group—for example, an OR group inside an AND group.

Simple Mode vs. Advanced Mode

Simple—Under Quick Setup, the buttons Today, Overdue, Waiting, and Active set the filter, grouping, and sorting in one step. Below that, you choose individually:

• Tasks: All, Active, Due Today, Overdue, Waiting, Inbox
• Grouping: None, Project, Area, Folder, Status
• Sorting: Due Date, Do Date (each ascending), Created, Modified (each descending), or Manual

Advanced—You build the filter tree yourself and split the view into sections: named sections with their own filter, sorting, and grouping. To add another, use Add Section. Each section also has:

If a section’s filter checks exactly one tag, you can drag tasks between such sections and thereby retag them (see Reorganizing with Drag and Drop).