Task Status
Route: /org/taskconfig?tab=statuses · Manage permission: Manage Task Status
1. What a status is
A status is where a task currently sits in the flow of work. It is the only piece of task vocabulary that has structure behind it: each status belongs to one of three fixed categories, and the workflow canvas decides which status can follow which.
Statuses are also the one list that changes the shape of a screen. Every status is a Kanban column — add one and a column appears; reorder them and the board reorders.
| Status | Priority | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Changes during a task's life | Constantly | Sometimes | Rarely |
| Drives Kanban columns | Yes — one column each | No | No |
| Has a transition graph | Yes | No | No |
| Belongs to a fixed category | Yes — 3 | No | No |
2. How statuses spread across the application
| Surface | What it uses |
|---|---|
| Kanban board | One column per status, in order |
| Task detail and list | The status control; the colour draws the chip |
| Workflow canvas | One node per status — the nodes are this list |
| Task Analytics | Status Distribution donut, and the completion rate |
3. Managing statuses — step by step
Step 1 · Read the list
The section is headed Project Statuses — "Configure the workflow statuses for this project."
A four-column header sits above a drag-sortable list:
| Column | Holds |
|---|---|
| Status Name | Drag handle, colour dot, name |
| Order | Sort position, centred |
| Category | A coloured chip — To Do, In Progress or Done |
| (unlabelled) | Edit and Delete, hover-only |
Empty, it reads No statuses defined. Click "Add New Status" to create one.
Step 2 · Add one
Add New Status opens a right-hand drawer, pre-filled with grey (#9CA3AF), category todo, and
an Order of the current count plus one.
ID is locked once the status exists, so only the name, category, colour and order can change
later.
Category is the field that matters beyond this screen: it is what completion metrics count, and it cannot be added to.
Step 3 · Choose a category
Every status belongs to exactly one of three:
| Category | Chip | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
todo | To Do — slate | Not started |
in_progress | In Progress — blue | Being worked on |
done | Done — green | Finished |
To Do, In Progress and Done are hard-coded. You can create ten statuses, but each has to map
onto one of these three.
This matters more than it looks: completion is measured by category, not by name. A status
called Closed that you left in In Progress will never count as complete in Task Analytics, no
matter what it is called.
Step 4 · Reorder by dragging
Drag the grip handle. Dropping renumbers every order from 1 and saves immediately — this is
also the order of the Kanban columns.
Step 5 · Delete
Delete Status — Are you sure you want to delete this status? This action cannot be undone.
Confirming removes the row, renumbers the rest from 1, and toasts Status deleted successfully.
4. Field reference — the status drawer
| Field | Control | Required | Locked on edit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ID | Text | ✅ | Yes — padlock | Placeholder e.g. todo. Helper: "Unique identifier for this status." |
| Name | Text | ✅ | No | Placeholder e.g. To Do |
| Category | Select | ✅ | No | To Do · In Progress · Done. Fixed list |
| Color | Swatch picker | — | No | Eight fixed swatches |
| Order | Number | — | No | Sort position; overridden by dragging |
Where the colours come from
Eight fixed swatches, a different set from priorities and types:
#9CA3AF grey · #3B82F6 blue · #F59E0B amber · #8B5CF6 violet · #10B981 emerald ·
#6B7280 cool grey · #EC4899 pink · #F43F5E rose
Validation
| Rule | When | Message |
|---|---|---|
| ID and Name present | Either empty on save | ID and Name are required |
| ID unique | Adding a duplicate ID | Status ID must be unique |
Success toasts: Status created successfully, Status updated successfully,
Status deleted successfully.
There is no check that a status is unused before deleting it, and no check that at least one
done status exists.
5. The admin contract
| Prerequisite | Where |
|---|---|
| Page Access of Task Configuration | Page access |
| Manage Task Status | Manage — and this same permission grants the workflow canvas |
| A selected project | Statuses are per project |
A new status appears as a Kanban column and a workflow node straight away — but with no transitions. Until you connect it on the workflow canvas, nothing can move into or out of it.
Every status change is a two-tab job: create it here, wire it there.
6. Downstream
| Action | Effect |
|---|---|
| Add | A new Kanban column and an unconnected workflow node |
| Reorder | Kanban columns reorder |
| Recolour | Chips redraw everywhere |
| Change category | Changes what counts as complete in analytics |
| Rename | Safe — tasks and the workflow reference the ID |
| Delete | The column disappears. Tasks holding that ID keep an unresolvable status, and the workflow keeps no record of the node |
7. Don't confuse this with…
| Thing | Where | Why it is different |
|---|---|---|
| Task status (this page) | ?tab=statuses | The list of states |
| Task workflow | ?tab=workflow | Which state may follow which |
| Status category | The Category column here | One of three fixed buckets — not a task category |
| Ticket status | Resolve settings | Resolve's own list, with its own workflow versioning |
| Module State Management | Organization Settings | Approval-driven state machines for other modules |
The Category column on a status is one of To Do / In Progress / Done.
A task category is a project-defined group with a supervisor and a billable
flag. They share a word and nothing else.
8. Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause |
|---|---|
| A task cannot be moved to a new status | No transition into it — see Workflow |
| Completion rate looks wrong | A finished-sounding status is not in the Done category |
| Kanban columns in the wrong order | Drag the rows here; the board follows order |
| A drag did not stick | Reorder saves on drop; an error re-renders from the server |
| Tasks show a blank status | Their status was deleted |
| Cannot edit the ID | IDs are immutable after creation |
| No Add button | Missing Manage Task Status |
Related
- Workflow — wiring the statuses together
- Kanban board — one column per status
- Task Analytics — where the
Donecategory is counted