i got tired of todo apps that slow me down

A todo app that keeps up.

Capture a task in seconds. Autocomplete fills in the project, date, and priority. Syncs on every device.

(A) priority +project @context due:date rec:recurrence
devtodo.txt on a phone, showing the Today view

Why I built this

Every todo app I tried wanted to be a project manager. I wanted a plain text file that keeps up while I work. Capture a task in two seconds, get back to code. Nothing did that, so I built it. It has run my days ever since.

Keyboard

⌘K for everything.

Open the command palette with ⌘K. Move with ↑ ↓, complete with space. The app launches instantly, nothing to load.

The command palette, opened with ⌘K, listing New task, New tab, Find in tab and more

Plain text

It's just a text file.

Your tasks are a todo.txt file. Open it in any editor, grep it, keep it in git. Nothing to export, nothing to migrate.

todo.txt
(A) Ship user auth flow before Friday +api-v2 @work due:2026-03-13
(A) Deploy hotfix for checkout rounding bug +infra @work due:2026-03-10
(B) Write migration script for Postgres 16 upgrade +infra @work due:2026-03-14
(B) Update API docs for v2 endpoints +api-v2 @work
(C) Add dark mode toggle to settings page +side-project @laptop
Triage Sentry errors from last deploy +api-v2 @work
Run weekly backup of side-project database +side-project rec:1w
Water the plants @home rec:1d
Call dentist to reschedule appointment @phone due:2026-03-11
x 2026-03-09 Fix flaky CI test in auth module +api-v2 @work

Storage

Cloud, Gist, or a local file.

Encrypted cloud sync, free forever. Or a GitHub Gist with your own token, or a plain file in Dropbox or iCloud through the desktop app. Or nothing at all, browser-only, to try it out.

Sync settings with four storage options: Cloud sync, GitHub Gist, Local file, This browser

Apps

Sync across every device.

macOS, Windows, Linux, web, and mobile. Native desktop apps, or open it in the browser.

devtodo.txt desktop app showing the Projects board, one column per project

How it stacks up.

Feature devtodo.txt Todoist Things Jira todo.txt CLI
Plain todo.txt file
Works offline
Keyboard-first shortcuts shortcuts
Opens instantly
Mac, Windows, Linux Mac only browser
Mobile app iOS only
Sync via Gist, Dropbox, iCloud
No account required
Free free tier paid free tier
Team collaboration

Stop fighting your todo app.

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