Your to-do list, there when you start your computer.
TaskPop slides in when you start your computer, and comes back with a double-tap of Control from any app. Tick things off, set a timer, keep a private note, and get back to work.
Free and open source. For macOS 13 Ventura or later, and Windows 10 and 11.
This is a working demo: tick a task, switch tags, or open the note with the arrow. Double-tap control to hide and show it.
A quick list that shows up on its own.
No app to remember to open. TaskPop lives on your computer, appears the moment you start using it, and comes back with a double-tap from whatever you’re doing.
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Pops up when you start your computer
Open the lid or wake your computer and your tasks slide in from the side. It can also appear when you unlock the screen, or stay quiet until you call it.
When I start my computerWhen I unlock the screen -
Double-tap to open it, from any app
Tap Control twice and your list slides in, on whichever desktop you’re on and over full-screen apps too. Tap twice again and it’s gone. You can pick Option, Command or Shift instead (Alt or Shift on Windows), or use ⌃⌥T or a shortcut of your own.
⌃controlor press ⌃⌥T in any app -
Categories keep things apart
Small tags along the top: All, Personal, Work and any you add. Click one to see only its tasks, and whatever you add there goes into it. Drag a task onto a tag, or type #work as you add it.
Finish the Q3 deck Work -
Important tasks stay on top
Star a task, or start it with an exclamation mark, and it sits above everything else until it’s done.
Pay the electricity bill!Call the bank before 5 -
A timer for what can’t wait
Give a task 15 minutes, an afternoon or a day. It jumps to the top with a countdown and a line that shrinks as the time runs out, turning orange near the end. A “Time’s up” notification arrives right on time.
Submit the expense report 23:41 left
Time’s up Submit the expense reportnowMark as doneAdd 15 min -
A quick note, with hidden text
Click the arrow under your list (or press ⌘J, Ctrl+J on Windows) for a note that’s always at hand. Select a password or a PIN and click Hide selected: it’s encrypted at once and shows as dots. Click Show, confirm with Touch ID or your password (Windows Hello on a PC), then copy all of it, one line, or just the part you select.
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Reminders that reach you
Right-click a task to be reminded in an hour, this evening, tomorrow morning, or at any time you choose. Mark it done or snooze it straight from the notification.
TaskPop reminder Send the weekly reportnowMark as doneSnooze 15 min -
Send a task to Google Calendar
Click the … on a task and TaskPop reads dates like “tomorrow at 3pm” from it. Set the time, length, place or a Meet link, and Google Calendar opens in your browser with the event ready to save. Nothing is connected to your Google account.
Meeting with Adam tomorrow at 3pm -
Routines that reset every morning
Set a task to repeat every day and it un-ticks itself overnight, ready for tomorrow. Its reminder comes back too.
Morning workoutEvery day Today 7:00 AM -
A summary to start the day
Turn on the morning summary and get one notification at the time you pick, listing what’s left to do.
TaskPop You have 4 tasks today Send the weekly report, Book dentist, Pay the electricity bill and 1 more9:00 AM -
Fast with the keyboard
Arrows to move, Space to tick, Return to edit, T for a timer, ← and → to switch categories, ⌘J for the note and ⌘Z to undo (Ctrl on Windows). Drag tasks to reorder them, or move them with ⌥↑ and ⌥↓.
↑↓SpaceT←→⌘J⌘Z -
Put it where you want it
Drag the panel by its top bar and it opens in that spot from then on, on the screen you left it on. Or keep it in the left or right corner. Choose light or dark, its width, and whether it hides when you click away.
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Updates that ask first
When a new version is out, a small pop-up says what’s new: update now, or later. TaskPop checks the download against its published checksum, installs it and reopens with your tasks and settings kept.
Your tasks stay on your computer.
There’s no account to create and nothing is sent to a server. TaskPop saves every change on your computer, keeps a backup of the previous save, and lets you export your list whenever you want. Text you hide in the quick note is encrypted with a key that macOS keeps in your keychain, or Windows keeps for your account, and TaskPop only ever learns whether Touch ID or Windows Hello said yes.
- No sign-up
- No cloud
- No tracking
- Hidden text encrypted
- Automatic backup
- Export and import
Saved locally on the computer you use. Read the privacy notes
Installed in about a minute.
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Download the installer
Choose macOS or Windows below. The Mac file is one installer for Apple Silicon and Intel.
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Open the installer
On a Mac, open the disk image and double-click Install TaskPop. On Windows, run the .exe: it installs just for you, with no administrator prompt.
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Allow it once
On a Mac, open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, click Open Anyway and confirm. If Windows shows SmartScreen, choose More info, then Run anyway.
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Take the one-minute tour
TaskPop opens with a short tour: pick the key you’ll double-tap and try it on a big on-screen key. On a Mac it shows you where to allow it, too.
Download TaskPop
Free. One Mac installer for Apple Silicon and Intel, plus a Windows installer for x64 and ARM64 PCs.
Questions
Why does macOS ask me to confirm the installer?
TaskPop isn’t distributed through the Mac App Store, so macOS treats it as an app from an unidentified developer. After you open the installer, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway. Confirm the prompt. You only need to do this once.
Which computers does TaskPop work on?
Any Mac running macOS 13 Ventura or later — Apple Silicon and Intel use the same download — and PCs running Windows 10 or 11, x64 or ARM64.
Where are my tasks saved?
Only on the computer you use: on a Mac in ~/Library/Application Support/TaskPop, on Windows in %APPDATA%\TaskPop. Every change is saved straight away with a backup of the previous version, and you can export your tasks and categories to a file from Settings.
Can I change the double-tap key or the shortcut?
Yes. In Settings → General, choose the key you double-tap (Control, Option, Command or Shift on a Mac; Ctrl, Alt or Shift on Windows) or turn the double-tap off. Click the keyboard shortcut to record a different one. Only a quick tap on its own counts, so shortcuts like ⌘C or Ctrl+C never open the panel.
Why does my Mac ask for Input Monitoring?
That’s what lets the double-tap work while you’re in another app. TaskPop only reads whether keys like Control are held down, plus a count of other key presses so shortcuts don’t count as taps. It never records what you type. If the double-tap stops working after an update, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Input Monitoring, remove TaskPop with −, add it back with + and restart TaskPop. The keyboard shortcut and the menu bar icon work without this permission.
How private is hidden text in the quick note?
Hidden text is encrypted the moment you hide it, with a key that macOS keeps in your keychain, or Windows keeps for your account. It’s never saved, backed up or copied as plain text. To show or copy it, TaskPop asks your Mac for Touch ID or your password (Windows Hello or your Windows password on a PC) and is only told yes or no. While it shows you can select any part of it, so an email and the password under it can be copied separately. It hides itself again after a minute, and copied text is taken off the clipboard after a minute too. For a password, click Add hidden to type it straight into a password box.
How do categories and timers work?
Categories are the small tags at the top of the panel. Click one to see only its tasks, drag a task onto a tag to move it, or type #work when you add it. Timers give a task a time frame: click … → Set a timer, or select the task and press T. It moves to the top with a countdown, and you get a “Time’s up” notification with Mark as done and Add 15 min.
Will it pop up every time I unlock my computer?
By default it appears when you start your computer and when you unlock the screen. You can turn either of these off in Settings.
Does it sync between computers?
No, your tasks stay on the computer you use. To move them to another computer, export them from Settings and import the file there.
Does it work on Windows?
Yes. Download the Windows installer, run the .exe, and follow the setup steps. If Windows shows a SmartScreen warning, choose More info and then Run anyway.
How do I add a task to Google Calendar?
Click the … on the task, choose a date and time, and TaskPop opens Google Calendar in your browser with the event filled in. Save it there if you want it on your calendar. The task itself stays on your computer.
How do I update TaskPop?
TaskPop checks for a new version on its own, shortly after you open it and again every few hours. When one is out, a small “New update is here” pop-up shows what’s new: choose Update now, or Update later to be asked again in a few hours. TaskPop checks the download against its published checksum, installs it and reopens. On a Mac you enter your password once; on Windows there are no extra prompts. Your tasks and settings stay. If your copy is older and has no updater, download the newest installer from this page once.
How do I uninstall it?
On a Mac, click the TaskPop icon in the menu bar, turn off Open at Login and choose Quit. Then drag TaskPop from Applications to the Trash. To remove your tasks too, delete the TaskPop folder in ~/Library/Application Support. On Windows, open Settings → Apps → Installed apps, find TaskPop and choose Uninstall; it asks whether to delete your tasks and settings as well.