JXA script to convert Markdown back to TaskPaper format. Preserves date tags, project tags, and task completion status.

to_taskpaper.scpt

#!/usr/bin/env osascript -l JavaScript

function run(argv) {
    const app = Application.currentApplication();
    app.includeStandardAdditions = true;
    
    let content;
    if (argv.length > 0) {
        // Use file from command line
        content = app.read(Path(argv[0]));
    } else {
        // Use clipboard
        content = app.theClipboard();
    }
    
    const lines = content.split(/\r\n|\r|\n/);
    let taskpaper = '';
    
    for (let line of lines) {
        if (line.trim() === '') {
            taskpaper += '\n';
        } else if (line.startsWith('## ')) {
            taskpaper += `${line.slice(3)}:\n`;
        } else if (line.includes('- [x]')) {
            let task = line.replace(/.*-\s*\[x\]\s*/, '').trim();
            const doneDateMatch = task.match(/#done-(\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2})/);
            const doneDate = doneDateMatch ? doneDateMatch[1] : new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0];
            if (doneDateMatch) {
                task = task.replace(/#done-\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}/, '').trim();
            }
            task = task.replace(/#due-(\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2})/g, '@due($1)')
                      .replace(/#start-(\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2})/g, '@start($1)')
                      .replace(/#([A-Z][a-zA-Z]*)/g, '@project($1)')
                      .replace(/#(\w+)/g, '@$1').trim();
            taskpaper += `\t- ${task} @done(${doneDate})\n`;
        } else if (line.includes('- [ ]')) {
            let task = line.replace(/.*-\s*\[\s*\]\s*/, '').trim();
            task = task.replace(/#due-(\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2})/g, '@due($1)')
                      .replace(/#start-(\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2})/g, '@start($1)')
                      .replace(/#([A-Z][a-zA-Z]*)/g, '@project($1)')
                      .replace(/#(\w+)/g, '@$1').trim();
            taskpaper += `\t- ${task}\n`;
        } else {
            taskpaper += `${line}\n`;
        }
    }
    
    app.setTheClipboardTo(taskpaper);
    console.log("Converted Markdown to TaskPaper and copied to clipboard");
    return taskpaper;
}

Usage

Markdown → TaskPaper:

osascript markdown-to-taskpaper.js                    # From clipboard
osascript markdown-to-taskpaper.js file.md            # From file

Conversions

TaskPaper	Markdown
Project:	## Project
- task	- [ ] task
- task @done	- [x] task
@due(2025-12-18)	#due-2025-12-18
@start(2025-12-18)	#start-2025-12-18
@project(Name)	#Name (capitalized)
@tag	#tag

Output goes to clipboard for easy pasting between apps.