Build a to do list app: projects, due dates and keyboard shortcuts
Most task apps grow until adding a task takes three clicks and a decision about labels. If you want a fast personal list that works the way you think, building your own is a reasonable afternoon's project. Anticode writes it as an app saved in your browser. Here's a sensible feature set, the shortcuts that make it quick, and the point at which a shared task manager makes more sense.
Decide what kind of list you want
Task apps embody a method, whether they say so or not. Pick yours before you describe the app, because it decides the main screen:
- Today first. The main view is what's due today and overdue; everything else is behind a tab. Good for people who plan daily.
- Projects first. A sidebar of projects with their tasks; dates are secondary. Good for freelancers juggling clients.
- Inbox and review. Everything lands in an inbox, and a weekly review sorts it into projects and dates. Good for people who follow a capture-and-review routine.
- Kanban. Columns for to do, doing and done. Better for visual workflows; see the kanban board page.
A feature set that stays fast
| Core | Nice to have | Usually skip |
|---|---|---|
| Quick add from anywhere | Subtasks or checklists | Gamification and points |
| Projects or lists | Recurring tasks | Time tracking inside tasks |
| Due dates, with today and overdue views | Priority levels | Attachments |
| Complete, undo, edit, delete | Notes per task | Colour themes per project |
| Search | Natural-language dates ("fri", "next week") | Calendar view |
Natural-language dates are worth having if you type a lot: "Call the accountant tomorrow" becomes a task with tomorrow's date. Ask for the specific phrases you use, and test them, since date parsing is where homemade task apps most often go wrong (week starts, "next Friday" said on a Thursday, time zones near midnight).
Keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard control is what separates a quick task list from a slow one on a laptop. A set that's easy to learn:
- N or Q
- New task, cursor in the field
- J and K, or arrow keys
- Move between tasks
- X or Space
- Complete the selected task
- E or Enter
- Edit the selected task
- T
- Set due date to today
- Slash
- Search
- Question mark
- Show all shortcuts
Browsers only send key presses to an app after you've clicked or tapped into it, so the app should make that obvious on load. Shortcuts must never fire while you're typing in a field.
Building it with Anticode
Describe the method, the views and the shortcuts: "A personal to-do app, today-first. Projects in a sidebar, due dates with natural-language entry, recurring tasks, subtasks, search. Keyboard shortcuts as listed, with a ? overlay. Quiet, compact, light theme." The model writes it as one app. Tasks save in your browser and persist between visits. Every published site can be installed as an app on a phone or desktop, so the list can sit in your dock or home screen like any other.
Change it as you use it. After a week you'll know what's missing: ask for it in a sentence ("add a 'waiting for' list", "show overdue in red"), and earlier versions stay in version history if a change doesn't suit you.
When you need shared lists instead
Anticode apps run in a sandbox with no network, so a to-do list built here belongs to one browser on one device. That's ideal for a private list, and a real limitation in these cases:
- You use a phone and a laptop. Tasks added on one won't appear on the other. Export and import by hand works occasionally, not daily.
- You share chores or projects with others. Assigning tasks, comments and notifications all need a server.
- You want reminders. The app can't notify you when it's closed.
- You need email or calendar integration. It can't read your inbox or calendar.
For any of those, an established task manager with sync is the better choice. If you're designing a task product for a team, an Anticode build can still serve as a prototype to test the interface, and the project management prototype page covers that.
Questions people ask
Why build a to do list app when so many exist?
Because you can make it work exactly the way you think, with no account, no subscription and nothing you don't use. If you need sync or sharing, an existing app is the better pick.
Is my list private?
Yes. Tasks are saved in your own browser and aren't sent anywhere, including to Anticode.
Can I back up my tasks?
Ask for an export button that saves your tasks as a file, and an import to load them back. Keep a copy somewhere safe.