Now on macOS · Windows & mobile planned

Turn a messy day into
a clear plan — without leaving text.

Type tasks, subtasks, dates, habits, and goals as plain lines — then switch between Plan, Focus, and Done over the same .todo file. Fast to get in, clear to work from — and it stays a plain-text file you own.

Download for Mac — free trial See how it works

Apple Silicon · macOS 12+ · 14-day free trial, pay once

macOS Available Windows Soon iOS Soon Android Soon

Notify me when Windows or mobile lands →

Plain text in. Plan, Focus, and Done views over the same file. 30s demo · muted loop

Paid once, no subscription 100% local-first No account, no tracking macOS now · Windows, iOS & Android coming soon TaskPaper-compatible

Problem 01 · Getting it in

Most planners slow you down before you've typed a thing.

TickTick and Todoist make you click through fields and modals for every task. On a heavy day full of subtasks, that friction is why capture never keeps up. Plainlist is just text: type a line, indent for a subtask, add @est or /p1 inline. Nothing to click first.

A subtask is one indent. No nesting UI, no drag-and-drop.
Metadata is typed, not tapped. @start, @due, @est, @p1 inline on the line.
Quick capture from any app with one global shortcut, in natural language.

Plainlist Editor — a project with tasks and indented subtasks, inline @est and time tags, no forms.

Problem 02 · Organize and still focus

Plan the whole thing. Then see only today.

Organizing a full schedule and staying focused pull against each other. Plainlist splits them into two surfaces over the same file: Plan to shape the day and week with anytime lanes and timed blocks, Focus to work today and nothing else.

Plan by day or by time. Date-only lanes or exact timed blocks, both written as @start.
Focus shows just today — planned work, what's running, and done-today receipts.

Plainlist Plan view — a day/week grid with anytime lanes and timed blocks.

Plainlist Focus view — today's plan and nothing else.

Problem 03 · Know what matters

When the day's full, goals keep priorities from blurring.

Mark an outcome with 🎯 and an optional @span, then nest the tasks that move it right underneath. The day's work points somewhere, so what matters stays obvious when you're slammed.

Plainlist filtered to Goals — a goal with a span and nested tasks.

Problem 04 · Keep the rhythm

Keep the habits that compound — without another app.

Track a routine on a fixed schedule (@every(mon/wed/fri)) or a flexible weekly quota (@quota(3/week)). A Habits drawer shows what's ready today, your current streak, and Week/Month history.

Fixed weekdays or a weekly quota — ready-today, on-track, and streak, all derived from the file.
Still one text file — your day, habits, and goals live a few lines apart.

Plainlist Habit Rhythm drawer — Ready today (Workout 2 of 3, Read one paper 1 of 2) and Steady (Morning pages on track).

Screenshots

See the actual app.

The same .todo file, four ways — Editor, Plan, Focus, Done — plus everything else in one quiet window. Click any shot to zoom.

Plainlist Editor view — your tasks in one plain .todo file, open it anywhere. — Editor

Plainlist Plan view — plan tasks by day or exact time on a grid. — Plan

Plainlist Done view — a weekly review log of what shipped. — Done

Plainlist features — quick capture, slash commands, command palette, smart filters, repeats and estimates, weekly review. — And more

Keyboard-first

Hands stay on the keys.

Fast by mouse. Faster by keyboard. Capture from anywhere, open ⌘K, finish with ⌘D, and edit task metadata without leaving text flow. Power-user speed, no power-user ceremony.

⌘⌥TSummon the popup from anywhere

⌘⌥NQuick capture from any app

⌘KCommand palette - Plan, Due date, Estimate, Priority

/Slash commands on the current task line

⌘DToggle @done

Select 2+Multi-select task lines — set Done, Due, Estimate, Priority, or Plan together

TabIndent / nest a task

⌘ZUndo — including drag-scheduling

Filter bar - type a smart tokenis:attention

The reason it's safe to commit

It's one plain-text file
you own.

You've abandoned trackers before because they were never really yours. This one is a readable .todo file — paid once, no account — that opens in Vim, VS Code, or TextEdit. There's less to abandon, because the plan is still just a file.

TaskPaper grammar. Projects end in a colon, tasks start with -, tags are plain @words.
The text is the state. No hidden database — what you see in the app is what's in the file.
Keep it in any folder you already sync — iCloud, Dropbox, or Git.

# tasks.todo — plain UTF-8, tabs = nesting
Work:
	- draft Q3 report @brain @est(2h) @start(2026-06-01) @due(2026-06-05) @p1
	- reply to client emails @ai @est(30m)
		- prep standup notes @me @est(15m) @start(2026-06-01T14:00)
Habits:
	- workout @habit @quota(3/week)
Goals:
	- Ship 1.0 🎯 @span(2026-07-01..2026-09-30)

Be first when Windows & mobile land.

macOS today. Windows, iOS, and Android are on the roadmap, built on the same file-owned model. Leave your email and we'll tell you the day each one ships — nothing else.

No spam · roughly one email per platform launch · unsubscribe anytime.

Buy the app once. Keep the file forever.

Native, local-first, and account-free. macOS comes first, with Windows, iOS, and Android coming soon around the same file-owned model. Paid once; final launch price to be announced.

Download for Mac — free trial Mac App Store Apple Silicon · macOS 12+ · 14-day free trial, pay once

Have a bug or a feature idea?

Open feedback board

No account needed · votes shape what ships next, in Featurebase.

Turn a messy day intoa clear plan — without leaving text.