Tao
Download for macOS

The todo list
where the work
gets done.

Capture, organize and check things off the way you always have. Hand a task to Tao and it does the legwork, preps what it can, and brings back only the calls that need you.

Download for macOS See how a handoff works

macOS 15 Sequoia or later · Apple Silicon and Intel

Tao's Home project: your own tasks with checkboxes beside three tasks Tao is working on, shown as small robots, and the Talk to Tao bar at the bottom. Tao's Home project in light mode: your own tasks beside three tasks Tao is working on, and the Talk to Tao bar.
A real Tao window, rendered from a test copy with sample tasks.
Local-first
Your list lives on this Mac. No account needed.
Your own key
Sign in to OpenRouter. No tokens resold.
~5 ms
To reopen, measured against a 10,000-task store.
Native Mac app
macOS 15 or later. Apple Silicon and Intel.

Checking it off still feels like Todoist.

The loop you already trust stays exactly where it is. Capture it fast, put it in the right place and time, do it, check it off.

Capture

Get it out of your head in a second.

Press ⌥Space from any app and type it the way you'd say it. Saving is instant and offline, so capture never waits on a model.

  • Dates in plain words: every fri 4pm
  • #project and p1 right in the line
  • ⌘T adds a task from anywhere in Tao
Tao's Home list: your own tasks with checkboxes, and tasks Tao is working on shown as small robots. Tao's Home list in light mode.
Quick Add with the text: Renew the passport before the trip, #Trips highlighted as the project and p1 highlighted as the priority. Quick Add in light mode, with #Trips and p1 highlighted.

Organize

Everything in its place, the way you like it.

Projects and sections, labels and saved filters, priorities p1 to p4. Coming from Todoist? Import a project CSV and every title stays word for word.

  • Labels like @calls and saved views
  • Subtasks and recurring tasks
  • A quiet description at the top of each project
Tao's Home project with its description above the tasks and the Talk to Tao bar. Tao's Home project in light mode, with its description above the tasks and the Talk to Tao bar.

Plan

Plan the day against your calendar.

Today lines your tasks up beside the day's events. What's waiting on you comes first, then the timeline, then everything due.

  • Today and Upcoming
  • Your calendar, read-only
  • Waiting on you sits at the top
Today in Tao: a Waiting on you section with two questions from Tao, then the day's timeline. Today in light mode, with Waiting on you and the timeline.

Tasks that turn into agents.

Tao works the tasks you hand it and reports back on the task itself, in one line, like a sharp assistant. Not a chatbot.

Hand off

Hold a checkbox. Tao does the legwork.

Hold a checkbox for a beat and it becomes a robot: On it. Tao does the task, preps it for you to finish, or hands it back with a reason. Hold the robot to take it back.

  • Results land in the task's own conversation
  • Drafts come with Copy. Tao sends nothing on its own.
  • Sending, paying and booking always need your tap
A task's conversation. Tao: Found 3 that take Aetna within 2 miles. Dr. Lee has Tue 9am open, the earliest. Worth booking? A task's conversation in light mode, with Tao's one-line result about three dentists.

Needs you

Only the calls that need you come back.

The Tao filter groups everything Tao has by Needs you, Working and Waiting. Each question arrives one at a time, with a recommended answer.

  • Ask what's stuck with ⌘K, answers link to tasks
  • Every move leaves a trace and an undo
  • Permissions live in the system, not in a prompt
The Tao filter, grouped by who has each task: Needs you, with two questions, then Working, with tasks Tao is doing. The Tao filter in light mode: Needs you, then Working.

  • Get 3 moving quotes

    Reliable or Ace? Ace is $240 less and can do the 15th.

  • Find three dentists that take Aetna

    Found 3 within 2 miles. Dr. Lee has Tue 9am open.

  • Draft the out-of-office note

    Draft ready. Copy it into Mail when you're set.

  • Tell me when the refund lands

    It landed: $84.20 back to your card on Nov 5.

Examples in Tao's voice, not customer quotes. Some of these jobs need connections that are still being built.

See it the way you think.

Every project opens as a list, a board or a calendar. Switch any time; your tasks stay put.

A project as a list: tasks with checkboxes, subtasks and priorities. A project as a list, in light mode.
List · subtasks, sections, priorities
The move as a board: a column per section, Before, Moving week and the rest, with Get 3 moving quotes asking Reliable or Ace? The move as a board in light mode, with a column per section.
Board · a column per section
Today's day calendar, with the timeline beside the tasks due. Today's day calendar in light mode.
Calendar · your day in Today

Local first. Fast on purpose.

  • Your list lives on your Mac. SQLite, no account needed.
  • Capture is sacred. Saving is instant and offline. Everything smart happens after.
  • Trust is enforced in code. Permissions live in the system, not in a prompt.
  • Native, not a web wrapper. SwiftUI, measured against a 10,000-task store.
~5 ms
to reopen
10,000
tasks in every budget
0
accounts required

Download

Tao for Mac

A native app for macOS 15 Sequoia or later, on Apple Silicon and Intel. The list works with no model at all; bring your own OpenRouter key when you want Tao to do the legwork.

Download for macOS No account needed
The Tao app icon: three blue stones stacked.

Your list deserves
to get shorter.

Tao is a native Mac app. Capture like you always have, hand off the rest, and only make the calls that need you.

Download for macOS Back to top

macOS 15 Sequoia or later · Apple Silicon and Intel · Privacy · Terms