Show HN: TaskTXT, plain text task-timing notepad (tasktxt.com)

Nice. I’ve done this manually a couple of times. So I like the format. What have you the idea to build it? What was the most challenging part of building it?

I was all ready to be like "yeah, but org-mode can already..." and then I watched the video. You know what? This is actually a great idea. I love the timer. The graphics are very clean and nice. This is a great simple little idea.

Of course, now I'm like .... "huh, how could i get that functionality in org-mode?" but... ;)

for those of you not using org-mode... watch the really short vid and see if it's something that'd work for your brain.

[edit: yup. org-mode has something similar, just not a running timer visible _in_ your doc]

I've been using TaskTXT for a few weeks and it's a highly polished and very useful bit of software. Nice!

Looks cool! I did a quick skim of the website and privacy policy. It was quick, so maybe I missed it, but where are the notes stored? How are they protected? Are the contents of the notes considered Personal Data as relates to the privacy policy?

Interesting tool. I like the simplicity. In some ways, it reminds me of a (now defunct) web app called Daystack. And thanks for taking that time to make TaskTXT responsive. It works well on a phone.

Will you be implementing a way to export/download tasks?

Love this! I use Horo[0] to set timers for myself, but this fits the use-case I have far better. Just picked up the yearly plan.

I would love to see the current timer in my mac status bar to see time remaining at a glance.

Congrats on the launch!

[0] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/horo-timer-for-menu-bar/id1437...

I like it. Will you support nested tasks?

I sometimes use a text editor just because the indenting works well.

This allows me to break down the tasks into sub tasks. Would be useful to sum the time for each branch.

What tech stack did you use front/back end?

Popup as soon as I go to the web site ==> Close tab.

Sorry. Life is short.

Amazing software. Will use it daily!

The app sounds really cool, but the videos are what stood out to me.

Everything you need to know about the app is conveyed clearly and succinctly (and persuasively!). It’s high quality but not overdone.

If I want to promote a side project, these videos are what I’m aiming for.

Well done!

Nice concise video showing off the features. I love that it's plain text. Very cool UI. I'd like to use it, but as long as:

- there's no local-only version (although I'm now seeing from another of your comments that you plan to do a full offline mode - hooray!)

- there's a requirement to sign in (even before using any paid features)

I'd rather not use it.

Also, a better name might be TaskTimer, but I imagine that's taken.

Congrats on getting this far, your time tracking tool looks slick and marketable! I also like keeping text with tasks and time-tacking. My approach is to use a vim plugin and markdown files. Keyboard shortcuts let me start a timer, and calculate totals. There is also two scripts to export to JSON or CSV, I then use those to generate invoices. The result looks like this https://github.com/mozey/vim-timetracker#example My plan with using markdown files was to have some kind of UI to display the time sheets, but I never got that far.

I get the paid tier; I do... although i really hate that "dark mode" is ever considered a paid option by any application what-so-ever.

As someone who has very sensitive eyes (even when on HN I use a user script to turn everything dark) and works in low-light environments most of my day the sheer amount of applications I will not use due to the fact they will not give the option to enable dark mode is astounding.

Cool concept, i don't really like the double lining after each task but it's nothing more than a slight annoyance; i just really hate that what is essentially an accessibility feature being paid only is something on principle i'm not going to pay for, as i shouldn't owe you money to save my vision.

I'm not trying to complain too much; I think this is a really cool concept and the rest of the application seems to make sense. I like the simplicity etc.

What’s the concept around New page? I don’t see a search so does your work allow you to forget about remaining tasks? Or do you use another task manager and this is what you want to achieve each day?

Is this more a sticky note approach rather than a full outstanding list right?

I've used many note taking apps (VS Code extensions for todo lists, Trello, plain text files, OneNote, etc) and this is nice, a few thoughts:

1) Was there a keyboard shortcut for starting/stopping a timer and marking a task done? 2) Note the 'forgot password' link doesn't work from the subscribe popup 3) Storing the notes locally by reading from a .txt file that's synced to a personal drive would be great

Thanks!

I really like the idea that is not meant as long-term to-do list, but for tasks that you are currently working on. I am pretty sure everybody already has some kind to to-do list, so your app complements that perfectly :)

It’s cool that you’ve launched a native app for TaskTXT. I think the UI concept is terrific, as it let’s me see and manipulate my plain data, but then also dynamically amends it with useful extra information and functionality.

Is the video that demonstrates the Mac app linked from your website? I’d personally prefer if the link in the navigation of your website was “Mac App”, which would take me to a separate page with more infos/screenshots/videos, instead of downloading it right away. That way I could get an impression of the app first, without having to “blindly” install.

Despite the subscription vs. one-time payment question being an old story, I’m not sure I’d be willing to subscribe and pay recurringly. What would happen with an installed Mac App when the subscription expires?

Another question, just out of curiosity: is there a more detailed write-up or specification of the underlying file format?

I first stumbled upon TaskTXT, and your really quite excellent YouTube channel, a few weeks ago. I’m a fan so far.

I really appreciate the attention to detail in the app. You asked about its viability as a business - I have no idea but I really hope there is a market for small design-focused indie apps like this.

One thing I’ve found a little contradictory. In one of your videos you mentioned that TaskTXT is not for long-term notes and todos, just a space for what you’re focusing on at the moment, and not be too concerned about losing data for example. To me the use of a plain-text format suggests the opposite, that this is something that is very easy to archive, search, backup, keep in a git repo, etc. And the opposite; if the purpose is not to plan out a long list of tasks with descriptions and notes before you start, then maybe there would be another design that makes it feel more like a quick throwaway timer that’s useful only for about as long as it’s running.

I think it’s a very clever design though so I would encourage you to think about how to support planning for slightly longer time horizons as well.

Really like the timer function, but not enough to justify $5/mo. Having a one-time purchase option might convince me to switch from my current solution.

For now I'll stick with FromScratch: https://fromscratch.rocks

Awesome tool. I love its simplicity, and also the vim-like command mode. Right off the bat, here are a few improvements I would suggest for the command mode:

  - (i or Enter): Go back to edit mode
  - (dd): Delete the task
  - (u/r): Undo/Redo

Another suggestion would be to spin up some sort of issue-tracker (github, discourse, canny...) where feedback can be given in an organized way.

Congrats.

I like a few things:

1) A task is a block of text. The tools I'm using kind can do something similar, using indents, but it doesn't work that well at all.

2) I love the estimate. It's exactly what I do when for example planning my day.

3) The timer is a very well thought out thin.

While I wouldn't use this as my main or side driver, I'm def. gonna try it out during days where I work exactly like that.. When I have a ton of things to do, I estimate each thing, and want to make some good progress

Related - I’ve been using Toggl Track to track how much time I spend on various projects, and it’s one of the most useful tech tools in my workflow, plus it has Mac and iOS apps.

https://toggl.com/track/

Great video. I've been thinking about something similar in particular because of the distractions. What happens a lot for me is that in order to achieve one task ("analyze churn rate") i get into a bunch of other tasks "find a software to visualize the chart" > "try apache superset" > "update docker desktop" on Windows" which in term of effort are way out of proportion to what I was willing to spend on the first task.

I'm eager to try how this tools handles the stacking/sub-tasks.

Also the hardest bit is the change in behavior and really write down all the little things before actually doing them.

Eager to try.

I like the tool a lot but it has an infuriating bug at the moment.

If you create more than one page, the tasks from pages that are not in-use shows up and covers the tasks on the page we are currently editing.

Apart from this, TaskTXT is perfect

Cool concept. I use the integrated timer in ClickUp to achieve something similar. Starting the timer acts like a mini psychological commitment that prevents me from diverting my attention until the task is done.

It could be worth considering how your concept could be integrated with existing task management tools, as task management is notoriously personal and everyone seems to already have a favourite software tool for doing it.