Quick add syntax
Type one line in Quick add. blastbeat reads the date, time, Priority, Project and Labels out of it, and what is left becomes the Task’s title.
- Title
- Call dentist
- Due
- Fri · 10:00 (2026-10-16)
- Priority
- High (P2)
- Project
- Home
- Labels
- None
- Due a date or a time
- Priority p1 to p4, or !
- Project #Name
- Label @name
The demo runs the same parser as the app. Its clock is fixed at Wednesday, 2026-10-14, and its Projects are Launch, Home, Garden, Reading list and Labels are errands, waiting, deep work.
How a line is read
Quick add looks for a few kinds of words and colors each one as you type. Whatever it recognizes leaves the title. Everything else stays in it.
Every blastbeat app uses the same parser, and this page runs it too. Nothing you type here is sent anywhere.
If a kind appears twice, the last one wins. Two dates give you the second date. Two Projects give you the second Project. Labels are the exception: every Label you name is added.
Due dates
Dates count from today in your timezone. These examples use a fixed clock, 2026-10-14, which is a Wednesday.
| Write | Example | Quick add reads |
|---|---|---|
today | Pay rent today | Title “Pay rent”, Due 2026-10-14 (Wed) |
tomorrow | Call the bank tomorrow | Title “Call the bank”, Due 2026-10-15 (Thu) |
next week | Draft the roadmap next week | Title “Draft the roadmap”, Due 2026-10-19 (Mon) |
mon … sun, monday … sunday | Review notes friday | Title “Review notes”, Due 2026-10-16 (Fri) |
oct 28, october 28th | Renew passport oct 28 | Title “Renew passport”, Due 2026-10-28 (Wed) |
2026-11-02 | File expenses 2026-11-02 | Title “File expenses”, Due 2026-11-02 (Mon) |
A weekday means its next turn, and today if today is that day. next week means the coming Monday. A month and day that has already passed this year means next year, so oct 2 typed in October 2026 gives 2027-10-02.
Due times
| Write | Example | Quick add reads |
|---|---|---|
4pm, 9 am | Stand-up 9am | Title “Stand-up”, Due 2026-10-14 (Wed) at 09:00 |
16:30 | Dentist friday 16:30 | Title “Dentist”, Due 2026-10-16 (Fri) at 16:30 |
4pm needs am or pm and a whole hour. For minutes, use the 24-hour form, 16:30. A time with no date is due today.
Priority
| Write | Example | Quick add reads |
|---|---|---|
p1 | Send the invoice p1 | Title “Send the invoice”, Priority P1 |
p2, p3, p4 | Tidy the desk p3 | Title “Tidy the desk”, Priority P3 |
!p1 … !p4 | Book the venue !p2 | Title “Book the venue”, Priority P2 |
!!! | Fix the login bug !!! | Title “Fix the login bug”, Priority P1 |
!! | Reply to the landlord !! | Title “Reply to the landlord”, Priority P2 |
! | Order printer ink ! | Title “Order printer ink”, Priority P3 |
Priority runs from P1, Urgent, to P4, Normal. P4 is the default, so a line with no Priority has none. !!! is P1, !! is P2 and ! is P3.
Projects
| Write | Example | Quick add reads |
|---|---|---|
#Launch | Draft the post #Launch | Title “Draft the post”, Project Launch |
#Reading list | Finish chapter 4 #Reading list | Title “Finish chapter 4”, Project Reading list |
#Nowhere | Call Sam #Nowhere | Title “Call Sam #Nowhere” |
# names a Project that already exists. The match ignores case and takes the whole name, spaces included, so #Reading list works without quotes. When two names start the same way, the longer one wins.
A #name that matches no Project is not an error. It stays in the title as plain text. Quick add does not create Projects.
A Task goes to the Project you name. With no #name, it goes to the Project you are looking at when you press Q, and to the Inbox if you are looking at something else.
Labels
| Write | Example | Quick add reads |
|---|---|---|
@errands | Pick up the parcel @errands | Title “Pick up the parcel”, Label errands |
@deep work | Outline the talk @deep work | Title “Outline the talk”, Label deep work |
@errands @waiting | Chase the refund @errands @waiting | Title “Chase the refund”, Label errands, Label waiting |
@ names a Label that already exists. Like Projects, the match ignores case and takes the whole name, so @deep work works. A Task can carry as many Labels as you write.
Suggestions
Type # or @ and Quick add lists the matching Projects or Labels. Pick one with ↑ ↓, then Tab or ↵.
After three letters of today, tomorrow, next week or a weekday, Quick add offers to finish the word. Tab accepts it.
Esc closes the suggestions first, and then Quick add.
Adding the Task
↵ adds the Task and closes Quick add. ⇧↵ adds it and keeps Quick add open for the next one.
Below the line, buttons set the Project, Due date, Priority and Labels without typing. The Due date, Priority and Label buttons write their token into the line, so you can see what they did and edit it. The Project button files the Task without one.
Quick add opens with a start already in the line on some pages. On Today it begins with today, on High Priority with p1, and on a Label’s page with that Label.