Task Types
Route: /org/taskconfig?tab=types · Manage permission: Manage Task Status and workflow
1. What a task type is
A task type is what kind of work a task is — Bug, Feature, Chore, Design. It is chosen
once, when the task is created, and rarely changes afterwards.
Unlike the other configuration lists, exactly one type is always the default — the one a task gets when it is created without a type. The list enforces this; it is not optional.
| Type | Priority | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answers | What kind of work? | How urgent? | Where in the flow? |
| Has an icon | Yes | No | No |
| Has a default | Yes — exactly one | No | No |
| Changes over a task's life | Rarely | Sometimes | Constantly |
2. How types spread across the application
| Surface | What it uses |
|---|---|
| Create Task drawer | The list; the default is pre-selected |
| Task card and detail | The icon and colour |
| Group by → Type | The list becomes the group headings |
| Task Analytics | The Type Breakdown donut |
| Anything creating a task without a type | The default type |
3. Managing types — step by step
Step 1 · Read the table
Types are a table, not a drag list — the only configuration tab that is:
| Column | Holds |
|---|---|
| TASK TYPE NAME | The name, plus an amber ★ DEFAULT badge on the default type |
| COLOR | A colour dot and the hex value in uppercase |
| ICON | The rendered icon and its name |
| ORDER | Sort position |
| ACTIONS | Star, Edit, Delete — hover-only, and only if you can manage |
Above the table sits a search box (Search task types…) which filters on both name and ID.
Search is client-side and case-insensitive.
An empty result reads No task types found.
Step 2 · Add one
Add New Task Type opens a right-hand drawer. It pre-selects the icon CheckSquare, the colour
blue (#3B82F6) and an Order of the current count plus one.
The drawer opens pre-set to the icon CheckSquare, the colour blue, and an order one past the end
of the list.
The icon grid scrolls: 21 icons, six to a row, with the chosen one named underneath as
Selected: <name>. Below the colour swatches sits the Default task type toggle — the control
that decides which type a task gets when none is chosen.
Step 3 · Set the default
Two ways, and they behave identically:
| Where | How |
|---|---|
| The table | The star button on the row. Disabled on the row that is already default |
| The drawer | The Default task type toggle at the bottom |
Setting a default is immediate and reports Default task type updated.
The list is normalised on every save. If no type is flagged, the one with the lowest order becomes the default implicitly, so a task created without a type can always resolve one.
This means the amber badge can appear on a type you never chose — it is the fallback doing its job.
Step 4 · Reorder
There is no dragging on this tab. Order is changed by editing the row and setting the Order
field. The table sorts by order after every save.
Step 5 · Delete
Delete Task Type — Are you sure you want to delete this task type? This action cannot be undone.
Unlike priorities and statuses, deleting a type leaves the remaining order values untouched — a
list ordered 1, 2, 3 becomes 1, 3. Harmless, but it explains why the Order column develops gaps.
If you delete the default type, the next save re-normalises and the lowest-order remaining type silently becomes the default.
4. Field reference — the type drawer
| Field | Control | Required | Locked on edit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ID | Text | ✅ | Yes — padlock | Placeholder e.g. bug. Helper: "Unique identifier for this task type." |
| Name | Text | ✅ | No | Placeholder e.g. Bug Fix |
| Icon | Icon grid | — | No | 21 icons, six per row, scrollable. Selected name shown beneath as Selected: <name> |
| Color | Swatch picker | — | No | 13 fixed swatches |
| Order | Number | — | No | Sort position |
| Default task type | Toggle | — | No | "Used when a task is created without a type." Turning it on turns it off everywhere else |
Where the icons come from
Plus · Bug · TrendingUp · Settings · FileText · Search · HelpCircle · CheckSquare ·
AlertCircle · Bookmark · Calendar · CheckCircle · Clock · Database · Flag · Layout ·
Link · Mail · MessageSquare · Paperclip · User
They are Lucide icons selected by name. Uploading an icon is not possible, and an unrecognised
stored name falls back to a question mark (HelpCircle) rather than breaking the row.
Where the colours come from
Thirteen fixed swatches — six more than priorities offer:
#DC2626 · #3B82F6 · #22C55E · #F97316 · #06B6D4 · #A855F7 · #EAB308 · #EC4899 ·
#6B7280 · #8B5CF6 · #10B981 · #EF4444 · #F59E0B
No hex entry, no picker.
Validation
| Rule | When | Message |
|---|---|---|
| ID and Name present | Either empty on save | ID and Name are required |
| ID unique | Adding a duplicate ID | Task Type ID must be unique |
Success paths also toast: Task type created successfully, Task type updated successfully,
Task type deleted successfully.
5. The admin contract
| Prerequisite | Where |
|---|---|
| Page Access of Task Configuration | Page access |
| Manage Task Status and workflow | Otherwise read-only — no search-bar button, no row actions |
| A selected project | Types are per project |
6. Downstream
| Action | Effect |
|---|---|
| Add | Available immediately in the Create Task drawer |
| Change icon or colour | Every existing task of that type redraws |
| Set default | Only affects tasks created from now on |
| Rename | Safe — tasks reference the ID |
| Delete | The option disappears; tasks referencing the ID keep an unresolvable value |
7. Don't confuse this with…
| Thing | Where | Why it is different |
|---|---|---|
| Task type (this page) | ?tab=types | What kind of work |
| Task category | ?tab=categories | Which group of work, and whether it is billable |
| Issue type | Resolve settings | Resolve's own classification for tickets |
| Jira issue type | Jira sync | Mapped onto task types during sync; not the same list |
A type says what the work is — a bug, a feature. A category says which bucket it belongs to — and carries a supervisor and a billable default. A task has both.
8. Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause |
|---|---|
| Star button does nothing | It is disabled on the row that is already default |
| A type is marked default that nobody set | The implicit fallback picked the lowest-order type |
| New tasks get the wrong type | Check which row carries the amber badge |
| Order column has gaps | Deleting a type does not renumber |
| Search finds nothing | It matches name and ID only — not the icon or colour |
| No Add button | Missing Manage Task Status and workflow |
Related
- Priorities · Statuses · Categories
- Creating a task — where the default is applied
- Jira sync — mapping external issue types onto these