Your first task
On this page
You are signed in (see Getting started). This page adds a task, gives it a date and ticks it off.
Your first visit#
The first time an account opens the app, the Inbox shows a short card with three steps instead of an empty list: add your first task, choose light or dark, and install the app. Every step has a Skip button, and Skip all closes the card at once. It never comes back on that account, on any of your devices.
The card also offers Show me around. It creates one project, "Show me around", with six tasks that demonstrate a date, a deadline, a label, a subtask, a repeat and notes. They are ordinary tasks: edit them, complete them, or delete the project when you are done and it goes to the Trash like any other.
Add your first task#
- Press q, or click the Add a task box at the top of the list.
- Type what you need to do, for example
Call the dentist. - Press Enter.
The task appears straight away. The box stays open, so you can type the next one right after.
Where the task goes depends on where you are: in a project it goes into that project, in Today it's due today, and in the Inbox it waits there until you sort it.
Give it a date#
You can schedule a task while you type it. Quick add understands everyday words:
Call the dentist tomorrow at 9amAs you type, small chips appear under the box to show what OpenTodo understood: a date chip for "tomorrow at 9am", and below them the title that will be saved. If a word was picked up by mistake ("May" as in the name, not the month), click the × on its chip and it stays part of the title.
The same line can also set a project with #, a label with @, a priority from p1 (highest) to p4, and how long it will take with +, like +15m. The quick add reference lists everything it understands, in six languages.
To change the date later, open the task (click it, or select it and press Enter) and use Due in the panel that opens.
Complete it#
When you're done, click the circle next to the task, or select it with j and k and press c. The task leaves the list and moves to Completed in the sidebar. Changed your mind? Open Completed and reopen it.
Get it on your phone#
OpenTodo runs in the browser, and you can install it like an app on your phone, tablet or computer. It then opens in its own window and works offline. See Installing the app.
Where to go next#
- Tasks and projects: notes, subtasks, priorities and organising your work.
- Views: Today, Upcoming, the calendar and views you save yourself.
- Recurring tasks and reminders: repeat a task every week and get a nudge on time.
- Keyboard shortcuts: press ? in the app to see them all.