Move Completed Tasks Down

An Obsidian plugin that automatically moves completed tasks to the bottom of their list — 5 seconds after you check them off.

What it does

When you tick a task checkbox, the plugin waits 5 seconds and then silently relocates that task — along with any sub-items nested beneath it — to the end of its sibling group. Incomplete tasks stay exactly where they are. The result is a continuously self-organizing list where finished work sinks to the bottom without any manual drag-and-drop.

If you change your mind and uncheck the task before the 5-second delay expires, the pending move is cancelled and nothing happens.

Features

• Automatic, delayed sorting — tasks move 5 seconds after completion, giving you time to undo an accidental check
• Child-aware — sub-items nested under a completed task travel with it as a unit
• Scope-aware — sorting is limited to the sibling level of the checked task; items in a parent or different nested group are never disturbed
• Stable ordering — incomplete tasks keep their original relative order; multiple completed tasks accumulate in the order they were completed
• Cancellable — unchecking a task before the timer fires cancels the move entirely
• Code-block safe — tasks inside fenced code blocks (```) are never moved
• All view modes — works in Source mode, Live Preview, and Reading view
• Mobile compatible — works on Obsidian for iOS and Android

Supported task formats

The plugin recognises all standard Markdown task list syntax:

- [ ] Bullet dash
* [ ] Bullet asterisk
+ [ ] Bullet plus
1. [ ] Numbered list

Completion is detected for both lowercase and uppercase x:

- [x] completed (lowercase)
- [X] completed (uppercase)

How it works — step by step

1. You open a note and check off a task.
2. The plugin detects the change (by diffing the file before and after the save).
3. A 5-second timer is started for that specific task.
4. When the timer fires, the plugin re-reads the file (in case you made other edits), locates the task, and moves it — together with any indented children — to the bottom of its sibling scope.
5. The file is saved silently in the background; your cursor position and undo history are unaffected.

Nested list example

Given this list:

- [ ] Buy groceries
    - [x] Eggs
    - [ ] Milk
    - [ ] Bread
- [ ] Call the bank

Five seconds after checking Eggs, the list becomes:

- [ ] Buy groceries
    - [ ] Milk
    - [ ] Bread
    - [x] Eggs
- [ ] Call the bank

Only the siblings inside Buy groceries are reordered. The top-level items are untouched.

Installation

From the Obsidian community plugins browser (recommended)

1. Open Settings → Community plugins.
2. Make sure Restricted mode is off.
3. Click Browse and search for Move Completed Tasks Down.
4. Click Install, then Enable.

Manual installation

1. Download main.js and manifest.json from the latest release.
2. Create a folder at <your vault>/.obsidian/plugins/move-completed-tasks-down/.
3. Copy both files into that folder.
4. In Obsidian, go to Settings → Community plugins and enable Move Completed Tasks Down.

Settings

This plugin has no configuration options. It works automatically once enabled.

Compatibility

FAQ

Will it move tasks I have already completed before installing the plugin? No. The plugin only reacts to tasks that are checked off while it is running. Pre-existing completed tasks are left in place.

What if I edit the file right after checking a task? The plugin re-reads the file when the 5-second timer fires, so it always operates on the latest content. It searches a small window around the original line number to locate the task even if lines shifted due to your edits.

Does it work with Dataview or Tasks plugin checkbox states like - [/] or - [-]? No. Only [x] and [X] are treated as completed. All other custom states are ignored.

Can the 5-second delay be changed? Not currently. A settings panel to configure the delay is planned for a future release.

Is my vault modified unexpectedly? The plugin only writes to a file when at least one completed task is out of order in its sibling scope. If the list is already sorted, it does nothing.

Contributing

Pull requests and issues are welcome. To build from source:

git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/obsidian-move-completed-tasks-down
cd obsidian-move-completed-tasks-down
npm install

# Development build (watches for changes)
npm run dev

# Production build
npm run build

Copy main.js and manifest.json into your vault's plugin folder to test.

License

MIT