Tasks & Kanban

Tasks are the core unit of work in HELIX. Each task is assigned to an agent, tracked on a Kanban board, and progresses through status columns until completion.

Creating a Task

From any board view, click + New Task in the "To Do" column, or use the New Task button at the top.

Field	Description	Required
Title	Short task description	Yes
Description	Detailed instructions for the agent	No
Board	Which Kanban board to place the task on	Yes
Agent	Which agent should execute the task	No
Priority	low, medium, high, or urgent	Yes (default: medium)
Due Date	When the task should be completed	No
Tags	Labels for categorization and filtering	No
Requires Approval	Whether the result needs human approval	No

Writing Good Task Descriptions

The task description is sent to the agent as part of its prompt. Be specific about:

• What output you expect (blog post, analysis, code, etc.)
• Any constraints (word count, format, tone)
• Context the agent needs (background information, links)
• Success criteria (what makes this task "done")

Task Status Flow

Tasks progress through four columns on the Kanban board:

To Do → In Progress → Review → Done

Status	Meaning
To Do	Task created, waiting for execution
In Progress	Agent is actively working on the task
Review	Agent completed the task, awaiting human review
Done	Task approved and completed
Rejected	Task result was rejected (can be re-executed)

Status Transitions

• To Do → In Progress: Happens automatically when an agent starts executing
• In Progress → Review: Agent finishes and writes its result
• In Progress → Done: Agent finishes (when approval is not required)
• Review → Done: Human approves the result
• Review → Rejected: Human rejects the result

Kanban Board

The Kanban view shows tasks as cards in status columns. You can:

• Drag and drop cards between columns to change status
• Click a card to open the task detail view
• Filter by priority, agent, tags, or search text
• Sort tasks within columns

Board Navigation

Each department has multiple boards. Use the sidebar to navigate:

Marketing
  ├── Marketing Overview
  ├── Meta Ads
  ├── Email Marketing
  ├── SEO & Blog
  ├── Creative Studio
  ├── Social Media
  └── Growth & Analytics

Task Detail View

Click a task card to open the detail view with:

• Title and description — full task information
• Result — the agent's output (appears after execution)
• Comments — threaded discussion with @mention support
• Activity log — history of all status changes and actions
• Metadata — priority, due date, tags, assigned agent, creator

Executing Tasks

Manual Execution

1. Open a task in the "To Do" column
2. Click the Execute button
3. The task moves to "In Progress"
4. The agent processes the task and writes its result
5. The task moves to "Review" or "Done"

Auto Execution

If the assigned agent's execution mode is set to auto, the task executes immediately on creation — no manual trigger needed.

Approval Workflow

For tasks marked with Requires Approval:

1. Agent completes the task → moves to Review
2. A notification is sent to the task creator
3. Open the task and review the agent's result
4. Click Approve to move to Done, or Reject to send it back
5. If rejected, you can add a comment explaining what to change, then re-execute

Task Search

Use the search bar to find tasks across all boards:

GET /api/tasks/search?q=blog post

Search matches against task title, description, and assigned agent name.

Archiving Tasks

Completed or obsolete tasks can be archived. Archived tasks are hidden from the default board view but can be retrieved with filters:

• Archive a task from its detail view
• View archived tasks by toggling the "Show Archived" filter
• Archived tasks are not deleted — they remain in the database

Tags

Tags help categorize and filter tasks. Add tags when creating or editing a task:

• Tags are freeform text labels
• Multiple tags per task
• Filter the board view by tag
• Common examples: urgent, blog, social, q1-campaign, bug