How to Duplicate a Task in Asana (2026 Guide)
To duplicate a task in Asana, right-click the task (or open its three-dot menu), choose Duplicate task, pick exactly which fields to copy, and click Create new task. The same idea scales up to duplicating a whole project. Here’s how it works in 2026, plus when a template is the better choice.
1. Duplicate a Single Task
Two ways to start:
- Right-click the task in List or Board view and choose Duplicate task.
- Or open the task, click the three-dot (…) menu in the top-right of the detail pane, and choose Duplicate task.
Asana opens a dialog asking what to carry over. By default the copy is named “Copy of [task name]”, which you can rename before or after creating it.
2. Choose What to Copy
This is the useful part: duplicating a task isn’t all-or-nothing. The dialog lets you check exactly which fields come along:
- Assignee (leave unchecked if a different person will own the copy)
- Due date and start date (usually uncheck so the copy doesn’t inherit a stale deadline)
- Subtasks (great for repeatable checklists)
- Description (the body of the task)
- Attachments
- Tags
- Projects (which projects the copy is added to)
- Collaborators
- Custom fields
- Dependencies
Check the things that stay the same run to run, and uncheck the things that should reset. For example, copying a “New hire onboarding” task, you’d keep the subtasks and description but clear the assignee and due date so you can set fresh ones.
Click Create new task and the copy appears with only your selected fields filled in.
3. Where the Duplicate Lands
The new task is created in the same project and section as the original (unless you change the Projects selection in the dialog). If you only copied into one project, it shows up right next to the original so you can rename and reassign it immediately. You can then drag it to a different section or multi-home it elsewhere.
4. Duplicate a Whole Project
If you’re rebuilding the same structure repeatedly, copy the entire project rather than task by task:
- Open the project.
- Click the dropdown arrow next to the project name at the top (or the project’s three-dot menu).
- Choose Duplicate.
- Select which elements to include:
- Tasks (the task list itself)
- Assignees
- Due dates
- Subtasks
- Descriptions
- Attachments
- Collaborators
- Custom fields
- Name the new project and click Create project.
This is ideal for cloning a project you already use as your standard, like copying last quarter’s campaign plan to start this quarter’s.
5. Duplicate vs Template: Which to Use
Duplicating works, but for anything you repeat regularly, a template is usually the better tool.
| Duplicate | Template | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | None, copy on demand | Build once, reuse |
| Best for | One-off copies, ad-hoc reuse | Repeatable, standardized workflows |
| Stays in sync | No, it’s a snapshot | New projects always start from the latest template |
| Date handling | Carries fixed dates unless you uncheck | Can set relative dates that recalculate on use |
| Where | Right-click > Duplicate | Saved as a reusable template |
Reach for duplicate when you need a quick copy right now. Build a template when the same project or task structure comes up again and again, especially because templates support relative due dates that recalculate each time you launch a new project from them. The free Personal plan has limits on custom templates (see Asana free plan limits), so duplicating is the free-tier workaround for reuse.
Quick Reference
| Want to | Do this |
|---|---|
| Copy a task | Right-click > Duplicate task |
| Control what copies | Check fields in the duplicate dialog |
| Reset owner/date | Uncheck Assignee and Due date |
| Copy a project | Project dropdown > Duplicate |
| Reuse repeatedly | Save a template instead |
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More on Asana: How to create a template in Asana · How to set a recurring task in Asana · How to use subtasks in Asana · Asana integration
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