feat: Add the ability to launch the task modal to edit an existing line

[justise]

Types of changes

Changes visible to users:

• New feature (prefix: feat - non-breaking change which adds functionality)
  • Issue/discussion: Fixes Support editing existing tasks from the API #1945
• Documentation (prefix: docs - improvements to any documentation content for users)

Internal changes:

• Tests (prefix: test - additions and improvements to unit tests and the smoke tests)

Description

Expose an editTaskLineModal(taskLine: string) : Promise<string> method in the API.

This method takes the content of the task and populates the values into the tasks modal.

The return value is the newly edited tasks markdown, or empty if the modal is canceled.

• Expose the new API Method
• Tests for the new API method
• Update the documentation to document how to use the new API
• Remove the known limitation of the API stating you cannot edit a task
• Also extended the mocks to include a mock of the Modal class
• Typed the parameters for the TasksModal, this helps to ensure the mocks of the Task modal are importing all the right properties which I encountered and didn't realize why allTasks wasn't being passed.

Motivation and Context

This will support external plugins to interact with tasks by leveraging the Obsidian Tasks API. Without this, plugins cannot enter the tasks edit modal, they'll require users to launch it themselves.

Fixes #1945.

How has this been tested?

[x] Unit tests for the new editTaskLineModal() internal method
[x] Unit tests for the API method to ensure it calls
[ ] Smoke Testing

Screenshots (if appropriate)

API, n/a

Checklist

• My code follows the code style of this project and passes yarn run lint.
• My change requires a change to the documentation.
• I have updated the documentation accordingly.
• My change has adequate Unit Test coverage.

Terms

• My contribution follows this project's contributing guide
• I agree to follow this project's Code of Conduct

[justise]

Next, I need to smoke test and add smoke tests for the tasks edit api

[claremacrae]

Hi @justise, many thanks for doing this.

I have a few suggestions for the docs... I'll wait until you make it non-Draft, and then to save your time, I'll make the edits and push them to your branch.

[claremacrae]

I've done two smoke tests for it, having built the plugin with the code on this PR.

Both worked great!!! 😄

Test 1

1. Paste this in the developer console.

const tasksApi = this.app.plugins.plugins['obsidian-tasks-plugin'].apiV1;
let editedTaskLine = await tasksApi.editTaskLineModal('- [ ] #task Do every day 🔼 🔁 every day ➕ 2025-07-06 ⏳ 2025-07-06');
console.log(editedTaskLine);

2. Change the Status to Done

Result:

- [ ] #task Do every day 🔼 🔁 every day ⏳ 2025-07-07
- [x] #task Do every day 🔼 🔁 every day ➕ 2025-07-06 ⏳ 2025-07-06 ✅ 2025-07-06
undefined

Test 2 - changed Tasks settings

1. Reverse the order of Recurring tasks in the Tasks settings
2. Paste the same lines in the developer console.

const tasksApi = this.app.plugins.plugins['obsidian-tasks-plugin'].apiV1;
let editedTaskLine = await tasksApi.editTaskLineModal('- [ ] #task Do every day 🔼 🔁 every day ➕ 2025-07-06 ⏳ 2025-07-06');
console.log(editedTaskLine);

3. Change the Status to Done

Result is the same lines returned but correctly in the opposite order:

- [x] #task Do every day 🔼 🔁 every day ➕ 2025-07-06 ⏳ 2025-07-06 ✅ 2025-07-06
- [ ] #task Do every day 🔼 🔁 every day ⏳ 2025-07-07

[justise]

Thanks. Want me to add those to the smoke tests docs?

Admittedly I haven't yet smoke tested myself but could mark it ready for review now to unblock till I can do some manual testing.

[claremacrae]

Thanks. Want me to add those to the smoke tests docs?

Admittedly I haven't yet smoke tested myself but could mark it ready for review now to unblock till I can do some manual testing.

Just one of them will be fine.

If you could add it to the Demo page I linked in #3509 (comment), that would be ideal - just so we don't forget about how to test it in future...

[claremacrae]

Personally, I don't feel a need for any more manual testing. I can't think of anything that could go wrong, based on the smoke testing already done.

(The automated tests of the Modal via the API are mostly testing mocks, as far as I can tell, rather than testing actual behaviour - but there is already very thorough other testing of the actual API behaviour - so in the case I'm happy with the smoke testing being sufficient..)

[justise]

Pushing some smoke test documentation, hope its decent. :)

[sonarqubecloud]

Quality Gate passed

Issues
0 New issues
0 Accepted issues

Measures
0 Security Hotspots
0.0% Coverage on New Code
0.0% Duplication on New Code

See analysis details on SonarQube Cloud

[claremacrae]

Pushing some smoke test documentation, hope its decent. :)

Thank you! I will review this as soon as I can.

[justise]

Version needs updating

[claremacrae]

Since you asked:
https://publish.obsidian.md/tasks-contributing/Documentation/Version+numbers+in+documentation

It’s on my list to edit that version to X.Y.Z and then the release script will set the version number automatically.