Getting started
This guide takes you from opening OpenTodo for the first time to adding a task, giving it a date and ticking it off. It takes about five minutes. You can follow along in the demo or on your own server.
On this page
Open OpenTodo#
You have three ways in.
Try the demo#
Go to opentodo-demo.pixari.dev and select Try the demo. You get a private sandbox filled with sample projects and tasks. Nobody else can see it, and it is deleted after two hours without activity (and every night), so don't keep anything personal there.
Set up your own server#
The first person to open a new OpenTodo server creates the owner account. Enter your name, email and a password of at least 10 characters, then select Create owner account. After that, sign-up is closed: other people join with an invitation from you (see Sharing and comments).
Join with an invitation#
Open the invitation link you were sent, choose a name and password, and you're in. If your server offers single sign-on or passkeys, the sign-in screen shows those buttons too.
Once you're signed in, the app is stored on your device. You can keep using it without a connection, and it catches up with the server when you're back online.
Find your way around#
The sidebar on the left lists your views and projects. On a phone it's behind the menu button at the top left.
- Inbox collects tasks that don't belong to a project yet.
- Today shows what's due today, with anything overdue at the top.
- Upcoming shows the days ahead, grouped by date.
- Projects are your own lists, like "Home renovation" or "Work".
The circle to the left of each task completes it. The small line under the title shows the date, labels and project. More on all the views in Views.
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.
Help inside the app#
Every guide on this site is also in the app: select Help at the bottom of the sidebar, or press g then ?. It works offline and matches the version of your server. Many screens have a small Help link that opens the right section next to what you're doing, without closing it.
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.