Task

Last updated: 2 Feb 2026

Introduction #

A Task represents a to-do item to be addressed. Tasks can be assigned to individual staff members and can also have associated comments and labels.

Basic usage #

To get a task by it’s identifier, use the get method on the Task model manager:

from canvas_sdk.v1.data.task import Task

task = Task.objects.get(id="7895e1db-f8de-4660-a0a3-9e5b43a475c6")

From a Patient object, tasks for the patient can be accessed with the tasks attribute:

import arrow
from canvas_sdk.v1.data.patient import Patient
from canvas_sdk.v1.data.task import TaskStatus

patient = Patient.objects.get(id="36950971cb3e4174ad8b9d365abfd6d0")

# All tasks for the patient
tasks_for_patient = patient.tasks.all()

# Tasks for the patient that are overdue
tasks_for_patient_overdue = patient.tasks.filter(due__lte=arrow.utcnow().datetime, status=TaskStatus.OPEN)

Task objects are also able to have associated TaskLabel objects.

from canvas_sdk.v1.data.task import Task

task = Task.objects.get(id="7895e1db-f8de-4660-a0a3-9e5b43a475c6")

[(label.name, label.color,) for label in task.labels.all()]

# [('Emergent', 'red')]

Staff members are able to leave comments on tasks. These are stored as associated TaskComment objects. For example:

from canvas_sdk.v1.data.task import Task

task = Task.objects.get(id="7895e1db-f8de-4660-a0a3-9e5b43a475c6")

[(comment.creator, comment.body,) for comment in task.comments.all()]
# [(<Staff: Sam Jones>, "Please call patient.")]

Note Tasks and Initial Comments #

A NoteTask represents the link between a Task command and the Task it generates. When a task is created via a Task command, a NoteTask record is created that stores the original values entered in the command. Of importance is the initial comment that is provided during task creation in the internal_comment field.

This is important because task.comments.all() only returns manual comments added after the task is created through the interface—it does not include the original comment entered during task creation. To access that initial comment, you need to use the NoteTask model.

To get a note task by its identifier:

from canvas_sdk.v1.data.task import NoteTask

note_task = NoteTask.objects.get(id="a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890")
print(f"Initial comment: {note_task.internal_comment}")

From a Task object, you can access the associated NoteTask to retrieve the initial comment:

from canvas_sdk.v1.data.task import Task

task = Task.objects.get(id="7895e1db-f8de-4660-a0a3-9e5b43a475c6")

# Access the NoteTask to get the initial comment
note_task = task.note_tasks.first()
if note_task:
    print(f"Initial comment: {note_task.internal_comment}")
    print(f"Original title: {note_task.original_title}")
    print(f"Original assignee: {note_task.original_assignee}")

Common workflow pattern: handling a TASK_CREATED event and accessing the initial comment:

from canvas_sdk.events import EventType
from canvas_sdk.handlers import BaseHandler
from canvas_sdk.v1.data.task import Task

class TaskCreatedHandler(BaseHandler):
    RESPONDS_TO = [EventType.Name(EventType.TASK_CREATED)]

    def compute(self):
        task_id = self.target
        task = Task.objects.get(id=task_id)

        # Get the initial comment from the NoteTask
        note_task = task.note_tasks.first()
        if note_task:
            initial_comment = note_task.internal_comment
            # Use the initial comment for your logic
            self.log(f"Task created with initial comment: {initial_comment}")

From a Note object, note tasks can be accessed with the note_tasks attribute:

from canvas_sdk.v1.data.note import Note

note = Note.objects.get(id="1eed3ea2a8d546a1b681a2a45de1d790")
note_tasks = note.note_tasks.all()

for note_task in note_tasks:
    print(f"Task: {note_task.original_title}")
    print(f"Initial comment: {note_task.internal_comment}")

Attributes #

Task #

Field Name	Type
id	UUID
dbid	Integer
created	DateTime
modified	DateTime
creator	Staff
assignee	Staff
patient	Patient
task_type	TaskType
tag	String
title	String
due	DateTime
due_event	EventType
status	TaskStatus
comments	TaskComment[]
labels	TaskLabel[]
metadata	TaskMetadata[]
note_tasks	NoteTask[]

NoteTask #

Field Name	Type
id	UUID
dbid	Integer
created	DateTime
modified	DateTime
originator	CanvasUser
committer	CanvasUser
entered_in_error	CanvasUser
deleted	Boolean
note	Note
task	Task
patient	Patient
original_title	String
original_assignee	Staff
original_team	Team
original_role	CareTeamRole
original_due	DateTime
internal_comment	String
labels	TaskLabel[]

TaskComment #

Field Name	Type
id	UUID
dbid	Integer
created	DateTime
modified	DateTime
creator	Staff
task	Task
body	String

TaskLabel #

Field Name	Type
id	UUID
dbid	Integer
tasks	M2M
position	Integer
color	ColorEnum
task_association	Origin
name	String
active	Boolean
modules	TaskLabelModule
claims	Claim[]

TaskMetadata #

Field Name	Type
id	UUID
dbid	Integer
task	Task
key	String
value	String

from canvas_sdk.v1.data.task import Task
from logger import log

task_id = "7895e1db-f8de-4660-a0a3-9e5b43a475c6"
task = Task.objects.get(id=task_id)
task_metadata = task.metadata.all()

for metadata in task_metadata:
   log.info(f"Task metadata: {metadata.key}, {metadata.value}") # external_system_id - EXT-12345

Enumeration types #

TaskType #

Value	Label
Task	Task
Reminder	Reminder

EventType #

Value	Label
Chart Open	Chart Open

TaskStatus #

Value	Label
COMPLETED	Completed
CLOSED	Closed
OPEN	Open

TaskLabelModule #

Value	Label
claims	Claims
tasks	Tasks