Create recurring task lists in Notion via API

To create recurring task lists in Notion via API, you would need to interact with Notion’s official API. The Notion API doesn’t directly support recurring tasks, but you can achieve this functionality by creating a system that automatically duplicates tasks at set intervals. Here’s a guide to how you can go about doing this:

Steps to Create Recurring Task Lists in Notion via API:

1. Set up Notion API Access:

• Go to the Notion Developers page and create a new integration.

• Once you’ve created the integration, you’ll receive an integration token (API key).

• Share the database you want to interact with, ensuring that your integration has the correct permissions (read, write).

2. Set Up the Notion Database:

• Create a Notion database that will hold your tasks. Ensure it has the necessary properties such as:

  • Title (for task name)

  • Date (for task deadline or due date)

  • Recurring (a checkbox or select property to mark whether a task should recur)

  • Repeat Interval (select property for daily, weekly, monthly, etc.)

3. Use Python to Interact with Notion API:

We’ll use Python with the requests library to interact with the Notion API. You’ll also need the schedule library to handle periodic task duplication.

Install required packages:

bash
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pip install requests schedule

Python Code:

python
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import requests
import schedule
import time
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

NOTION_TOKEN = 'your_notion_integration_token'
DATABASE_ID = 'your_notion_database_id'

# Set headers for the API request
headers = {
    "Authorization": f"Bearer {NOTION_TOKEN}",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "Notion-Version": "2021-05-13"
}

# Function to create a new task in Notion
def create_task(task_name, due_date, recurring=False):
    url = f"https://api.notion.com/v1/pages"
    
    # The data to be sent in the POST request
    data = {
        "parent": {"database_id": DATABASE_ID},
        "properties": {
            "Title": {"title": [{"text": {"content": task_name}}]},
            "Date": {"date": {"start": due_date}},
            "Recurring": {"checkbox": recurring},
            "Repeat Interval": {"select": {"name": "Daily"}}  # Can be "Daily", "Weekly", etc.
        }
    }

    # Send the request to Notion
    response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=data)
    
    if response.status_code == 200:
        print(f"Task '{task_name}' created successfully.")
    else:
        print(f"Error creating task: {response.status_code}, {response.text}")

# Function to duplicate recurring tasks (called at intervals)
def duplicate_recurring_tasks():
    # Get the existing tasks
    url = f"https://api.notion.com/v1/databases/{DATABASE_ID}/query"
    response = requests.post(url, headers=headers)
    
    if response.status_code != 200:
        print(f"Error fetching tasks: {response.status_code}, {response.text}")
        return
    
    tasks = response.json().get('results', [])
    
    for task in tasks:
        title = task['properties']['Title']['title'][0]['text']['content']
        due_date = task['properties']['Date']['date']['start']
        recurring = task['properties']['Recurring']['checkbox']
        repeat_interval = task['properties']['Repeat Interval']['select']['name']
        
        if recurring:
            # Calculate the next due date based on the repeat interval
            next_due_date = None
            if repeat_interval == "Daily":
                next_due_date = datetime.strptime(due_date, "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%fZ") + timedelta(days=1)
            elif repeat_interval == "Weekly":
                next_due_date = datetime.strptime(due_date, "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%fZ") + timedelta(weeks=1)
            elif repeat_interval == "Monthly":
                next_due_date = datetime.strptime(due_date, "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%fZ") + timedelta(weeks=4)  # Approx. for monthly
            
            # Format the next due date for Notion
            next_due_date_str = next_due_date.strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%fZ")
            
            # Create the recurring task
            create_task(title, next_due_date_str, recurring=True)

# Schedule the recurring task duplication every 24 hours
schedule.every(24).hours.do(duplicate_recurring_tasks)

# Run the task scheduler
while True:
    schedule.run_pending()
    time.sleep(1)

4. Understanding the Code:

• API Requests: We send a POST request to create tasks in Notion. The task contains properties like Title, Date, Recurring, and Repeat Interval.

• Schedule Library: The schedule library is used to run the duplicate_recurring_tasks function at regular intervals, such as daily.

• Task Duplication: When tasks with the Recurring checkbox are found, we duplicate them and set a new due date based on the repeat interval.

• Repeat Intervals: You can customize the repeat intervals (e.g., Daily, Weekly, Monthly) and modify how tasks are duplicated.

5. Run the Script:

• Once the script is ready, you can run it on a server or a cloud environment like Heroku, AWS Lambda, or your local machine to keep your recurring task system running.

6. Limitations and Considerations:

• Notion’s API doesn’t natively support recurring tasks, so you need to handle the logic for duplicating tasks manually.

• Be mindful of rate limits on the Notion API, especially if you’re creating many tasks at once or running the script frequently.

This setup creates a system that automatically generates recurring tasks based on your preferences.