# Tasks (https://terac.com/docs/researchers/opportunities/tasks)

Configure the work participants complete after passing screening.

Tasks define what participants actually do in your opportunity. After a participant passes screening, they're presented with the task you've configured.

## Task Types [#task-types]

| Type                | Description                                        | Best For                                 |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| **Survey**          | Structured questions answered in the app           | Quick data collection, opinion gathering |
| **File Upload**     | Participants submit files                          | Screenshots, documents, code samples     |
| **Interview**       | AI-moderated voice conversation                    | In-depth qualitative research            |
| **Activity**        | An in-app activity or an external link you provide | Usability tests, your own survey tool    |
| **Schedule a call** | Participant books a slot on your calendar link     | Human-moderated sessions                 |
| **Agreement**       | Participant accepts terms or signs a document      | NDAs and consent before work begins      |

An opportunity can string several tasks together in order, so you can combine these: for example an agreement, then a survey, then an interview.

## Configuring Tasks [#configuring-tasks]

### Survey Tasks [#survey-tasks]

Surveys consist of questions that participants answer directly in the Terac interface. You can include various question formats and add instructions for each section.

### File Upload Tasks [#file-upload-tasks]

For file uploads, specify:

* What files you need (type, format, size constraints)
* Clear instructions on what to submit
* Any examples or templates

To collect everything at once, open the **⋯** menu on the opportunity in your Opportunities list and choose **Download all files**. You get one zip with two folders: **Approved** holds the files from approved file upload tasks, and **Pending review** holds the files still waiting for your review. Inside each, there is a folder per submission.

### Interview Tasks [#interview-tasks]

Interview tasks use the AI moderator to conduct structured conversations. You'll need a [research guide](https://terac.com/docs/researchers/opportunities/research-guides) to define:

* The discussion script the AI follows
* Stimulus materials to show during the interview (images, videos, prototypes)
* Expected duration

### Multiple Tasks [#multiple-tasks]

An opportunity can contain several tasks, presented in the order you define. For example, you might ask participants to:

1. Complete a survey about their background
2. Upload screenshots of their workflow
3. Participate in a follow-up interview

Give each task a clear, expert-facing title and description so participants know what they are agreeing to before they start.

## Timing [#timing]

Recruitment runs until you reach your participant target or you stop the opportunity, so there is no per-task deadline for you to set. Participants who start and go quiet are eventually marked abandoned or timed out and their slot is freed. If your fieldwork has to close by a specific date, say so during the [feasibility check](https://terac.com/docs/researchers/recruitment/feasibility) so recruitment is paced to hit it.

## Review Methods [#review-methods]

After participants submit their work, it is resolved according to the review method set on each task:

| Method            | Description                                                                                                                                |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Manual review** | The submission waits in Work review until you approve or reject it                                                                         |
| **Auto-approve**  | A `completed` redirect from your external tool approves it and pays the participant. On a task without a redirect it waits for you instead |
| **Self-report**   | The participant's own completion approves it and pays them, with no review from you                                                        |

The task builder offers two of these. **Expert approves** is self-report. **Needs approval** is manual review, except on an external-link task, where it is auto-approve; manual review on an external link is set through the API. See [External Surveys & Redirect URLs](https://terac.com/docs/researchers/integrations/external-surveys).

On an opportunity launching without a screener, **Needs approval** is manual review on every task, external links included, and **Expert approves** is not available, so you approve each submission before anyone is paid. See [Launching Without a Screener](https://terac.com/docs/researchers/opportunities/screening#launching-without-a-screener).

See [Reviewing Work](https://terac.com/docs/researchers/results/reviewing-work) for the workflow.

## What's Next? [#whats-next]

- [Research Guides](https://terac.com/docs/researchers/opportunities/research-guides): Build discussion scripts for AI interviews
- [Reviewing Work](https://terac.com/docs/researchers/results/reviewing-work): Learn the approval workflow
- [Opportunity Lifecycle](https://terac.com/docs/researchers/opportunities/opportunity-lifecycle): Understand what happens at each stage