Why Connect OpenClaw to Todoist?

Todoist is one of the most popular personal task management apps, with over 40 million users. While team-oriented tools like Asana or Jira handle project-level work, Todoist excels at personal productivity — the individual tasks, reminders, and habits that keep you effective.

Based on hands-on testing over 30 days, connecting OpenClaw to Todoist turns your AI agent into a personal productivity assistant. The biggest impact was in email-to-task conversion: instead of manually creating tasks from emails, OpenClaw parses incoming messages and creates properly prioritized, labeled, and dated Todoist tasks in seconds.

For team project management needs, see the Asana integration or ClickUp integration. For OpenClaw basics, see the beginner setup guide.

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Prerequisites

• OpenClaw installed and running.
• Todoist account — Free or Pro.
• Todoist API token — found in Settings > Integrations > Developer.

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Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Get Your Todoist API Token

In Todoist, go to Settings > Integrations > Developer and copy your API token:

# Store your Todoist API token
export TODOIST_API_TOKEN="your_api_token_here"

# Verify the token
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $TODOIST_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.todoist.com/rest/v2/projects" | jq '.[].name'

Step 2: Configure OpenClaw

# ~/.openclaw/config.yaml
integrations:
  todoist:
    api_token: ${TODOIST_API_TOKEN}
    default_project: "Inbox"

skills:
  - name: todoist-manager
    trigger: "todoist"
    actions:
      - create_task
      - complete_task
      - update_task
      - list_tasks
      - create_project
      - daily_plan

Step 3: Install and Test

# Install the Todoist skill
openclaw skill install todoist-manager

# Test task creation
openclaw run "Add a Todoist task: 'Review Q2 roadmap' with priority 2, due tomorrow, in the Work project"

# Test listing today's tasks
openclaw run "Show me all Todoist tasks due today, sorted by priority"

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Example Use Cases

1. Morning Daily Planning

schedule:
  morning_plan:
    cron: "0 7 * * 1-5"
    action: "Review my Todoist tasks due today and this week. Generate a prioritized daily plan with time blocks. Move any overdue tasks to today or reschedule them based on urgency."

2. Email-to-Task Conversion

openclaw run "Parse this email and create Todoist tasks for each action item:
Subject: Project Update - Action Items
- Finalize the vendor contract by April 10
- Schedule a call with the design team this week
- Review the analytics dashboard before Friday standup"

3. Weekly Review Automation

Every Friday, OpenClaw can review your completed and incomplete tasks, generate a weekly summary, and set up next week's priority tasks automatically.

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Troubleshooting Tips

403 Forbidden

Todoist API tokens do not expire but can be regenerated, which invalidates the old token. If you see 403 errors, get a fresh token from Settings > Integrations > Developer.

Tasks Not Appearing in the Right Project

If you do not specify a project, tasks go to the Inbox. Make sure to either set a default_project in your config or specify the project name in each command.

Recurring Task Issues

Todoist handles recurring tasks through its natural language parser. If a recurring task is not being set correctly, try the explicit format: "every Monday at 9am" rather than abbreviated versions.

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Limitations and Known Issues

• Free plan limits: Todoist Free allows 5 projects and 300 active tasks. For heavy automation, Todoist Pro is recommended.
• No time tracking: Todoist does not have built-in time tracking. If you need time tracking with task management, consider the ClickUp integration.
• Limited team features: Todoist is primarily a personal tool. While it supports shared projects, it lacks the team management features of Asana or Jira.
• Sync API complexity: For advanced features like activity logs and completed task history, the Sync API is required, which is more complex than the REST API. OpenClaw abstracts this complexity, but some edge cases may arise.

For the official Todoist API docs, see developer.todoist.com.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Todoist API free to use?

Yes. The Todoist REST API and Sync API are free on all Todoist plans including the free tier. The API does not require a Pro subscription. However, some features like reminders and labels are limited on the free plan, which affects what OpenClaw can manage.

Can OpenClaw use natural language to create Todoist tasks?

Yes. OpenClaw parses natural language and uses Todoist's built-in natural language processing for due dates. For example, "Create a task to review the proposal every Friday at 2pm" correctly sets a recurring due date. OpenClaw also handles priority levels, labels, and project assignment from natural language.

How does OpenClaw handle Todoist's daily task limits?

Todoist Free allows up to 5 active projects and 300 active tasks. Todoist Pro has no task limit. If you hit the free plan's limits, OpenClaw will return an error. We recommend Todoist Pro for OpenClaw integration if you plan to create more than a few dozen tasks per day.

Can I sync Todoist with team project management tools?

Yes. OpenClaw can act as a bridge between Todoist (personal tasks) and team tools like Asana, ClickUp, or Jira. For example, when a Jira issue is assigned to you, OpenClaw can create a corresponding Todoist task for your personal workflow.

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Further Reading

• How to Set Up OpenClaw AI Agent
• OpenClaw Marketplace
• OpenClaw + Asana Integration
• Todoist API Documentation