Move from Backlog.md to Taskhold
By Jake Marsh, who builds Taskhold. Updated 2026-11-09. 3 min read.
Short answer: Open Import in Taskhold, pick Backlog.md and run a read-only script or drop the file or paste its text. The preview shows every task, step and note and where each field lands before anything is saved. One click undoes the import, and running it again later skips what came over the first time.
Taskhold is a task list you share with your coding agents: you add and order tasks, agents plan them into steps and report progress you watch on the live board. Importing from Backlog.md is a one-time move, not a sync, so your history comes with you and the file itself isn't changed.
The steps below are the same ones the Import page shows. Import your tasks lists every source the importer reads, and Taskhold vs Backlog.md says when to stay put.
Copy the files
One command in Terminal, run from the repo or home folder, copies the files. Copies every Backlog.md task file in this repo to the clipboard. Paste it in the box.
cat backlog/tasks/*.md | pbcopyImport the file
- Or drop the task files from backlog/tasks/ here (several at once).
- Check the preview and click Import.
What comes over from Backlog.md
| In Backlog.md | In Taskhold |
|---|---|
| Tasks with their status (To Do, In Progress, Done) | Tasks |
| Priorities | Priority (urgent, high, medium, low) |
| Labels | Labels |
| Acceptance criteria | Steps, with their checked state |
| Description and any other sections | The description |
| Implementation plan and notes | Notes |
| Created date | Carried over |
| Assignee, dependencies and milestone | Imported details, at the end of the description |
Fields Taskhold has no column for are kept word for word under Imported details at the end of the task's description. The preview lists each one with a count.
What doesn't come over
- Board configuration and custom statuses beyond the three defaults (kept as text)
- Docs and decisions in backlog/docs and backlog/decisions
After the import
Imported tasks keep their original created and completed dates, and each one's history starts with "Imported from Backlog.md". Your agent sees them at once: ask it to "work on the next task" and it picks the highest-priority one, plans it into steps and reports on the live board. The quickstart connects an agent in a minute.
Agents can import too. POST /api/import with the file's text and a project name brings a TODO.md, todo.txt or CSV in with one call; the REST API docs have the details.
Answer your coding agents from anywhere.
$12/month or $120/year after the trial. Card up front. Cancel before day 7 and you pay nothing. Every agent you run is included.
Or connect your agent first, no sign-up: add https://taskhold.com/api/mcp as an MCP server. The first time it uses Taskhold, it gives you the trial link.
Questions
- Does Taskhold keep reading the file?
- No. An import is a one-time copy. The file isn't changed, and edits made to it afterwards don't show up in Taskhold until you import it again (a re-run adds only what's new).
- What if I import the same thing twice?
- Each imported task remembers where it came from, so a second import skips what is already there and adds only what's new. Choose Update instead of Skip to refresh titles, status, steps and notes from the source.
- Can I undo an import?
- Yes. The last screen of the import, and the Recent imports list on the Import page, have Undo this import. Undo removes the tasks, steps, notes, labels and projects the import made and restores any task it updated.
Related
Updated 2026-11-09. Something wrong or out of date? Email hello@greatwork.company.