Wanted: A ToDo List Application With Sync 2021-01-10
Kind of recently I setup a CalDAV/CardDAV server so I could host my own calendars [and stuff]. I guess it was a bit of a pain in the ass to setup, but eventually Radicale worked and with it I can have a fancy calendar just like you except I don't have to let Google or Microsoft host it. Yes, that is important. Anyways, I figured that since I have it working as my calendar hosting service I may as well also use it to host my ToDo list. You know, a simple list management application that makes it easy to record and prioritize lists of stuff. My grocery list, my list of bills to pay, my list of phone calls I need to make, etc.
I actually thought this was going to be easy. I figured that people who self host stuff would all want to have a quick an' dirty ToDo list thingy. I guess I was wrong. They all want to have ToDo list thingy that puts a lot of effort in to things like categorizing tasks, assigning tasks to individuals, setting timelines on tasks, or fun colours. Seriously, I just want the list to be easy to keep updated, and private. I don't need something that is one step away from producing gantt charts. Well... I have been looking for days and tried a bunch of applications and none of them is right for me. So now that I am this far down the rabbit hole I may as well start from the beginning and record what each one is or is not so I don't keep trying the same ones over and over again.
Zombie Ken.To start with I am going to check the awesome selfhosted list. The anchor doesn't take you right to the section on task management, but it is there. Just scroll down. I know these also probably have nothing to do with having my own CalDAV/CardDAV server but they are still self hosted and this list is often pretty good. After that I'll try some apps from F-Droid and see what they have. If I still can't find anything I guess I'll start looking through APKPure and see if they have anything worth trying.
| Application | Notes |
|---|---|
| Volition [Link] | The only install instructions seem to be for Mac (my keyboard does not have a "command" button) and requires the use of Heroku which appears to be some cloud service installer. In other words, even though they talk a big game, this does not look like something that is meant to be installed on some laptop or rpi at home. The only other option I see is to pay them to host it for you. |
| Vikunja [Link] | While it is apparently all open source, it requires a backend server (apparently docker and systemd heavy) to be installed, an optional but recommended javascript frontend, and then client applications to access it. This is way too much buy-in to a platform that should be barely more complicated than a text file. |
| Tracks [Link] | A Ruby-based [that is bad] web server [that is too much] that has lots of fancy features like contexts, tagging and starring, multiuser tracking, charts, and even rss feeds. I do not need project management software, just a ToDo list. |
| todoMini.app [Link] | Looks simple enough, and only requires a php enabled web server. This suits my needs from a list perspective, but is only available when I have Internet access (I am not a millennial so that is not all the time) and it depends on emoji characters to disaply buttons (in other words it is unusable in Pale Moon because I intentionally deleted the emoji font, also because I am not a millennial). I also wish it was possible to expand the lists without having to "go in to" each one, but it is still the best I have seen so far. |
| prologic/todo [Link] | Docker-only install [that is bad] so I couldn't even test it. Runs it's own web server [that is bad] anyways. |
| m1guelpf/tasks [Link] | I was a bit disappointed to find that the first install option is Heroku, and the second is paid hosting. The good news is that the third install option is to manually download. The bad news is that I followed the instructions and there appears to be no way to creare a user. There are even two issues on the github page [1] [2] from 2017 and 2018 for this issue that have never been resolved. I guess this is a dead end for this one. |
| taskfreak! [Link] | This is also a php based application that uses MySQL [bad] or SQLite [okay] as a database. It looks like way too much application for what I need, so I am not even going to bother setting up a database for it. |
| piga [Link] | It is its own web server and installs with docker. Not an option. |
| myTinyTodo [Link] | Meh, this one looks okay I guess, but uses a MySQL or SQLite database which I really don't like and I think none of these application on the self-hosted list are going to suit my needs because none of then can be available offline. The sync feature is a requirement I guess. :-( |
| OpenTasks [Link] | This is the first Android app I found that I thought I might want to use, and it does sync via DAVx5. Unfortunately it is too detailed and does not have an easy way to simply expand all my lists and the tasks (or subitmes) for them. It is just too many "clicks" to get anything done (meaning looking at a list, editing a list, looking at subitems, editing subitems, you get the idea. |
| Markor [Link] | I found this video showing how the application works and it looks like the idea is to use markdown to edit plain text files. While I like the idea of plain text files, using markdown is a waste of time. The interface should simply provide the functionality of markdown so I do not spend half my day typing out various brackets and trying to put my finger on my screen in the exact correct position so that my cursor lands where I want to put an x. Not going to try this one. |
| Notify [Link] | No thanks, this one is clearly all about the notifications and not the lists. |
| Moloko [Link] | Only works with rememberthemilk.com as far as I can tell. |
| To-Do List (Privacy Friendly) [Link] | No sync, just local. |
| QueueToDo [Link] | No sync, and kanban as far as I can tell. |
| Todo Agenda [Link] | Meant to be used with calendars, and is overly notification and time focused. |
| Carnet [Link] | Mostly kanban based and intended for lots more than simple lists. |
| 1List [Link] | Local only and does not even do subitems. |
| Simpletask [Link] | Local only. |
| Orgzly [Link] | Does webDAV but is all markdown and subitems are all jammed in a single textbox within each list. In other words, it is a nightmare to edit subitems. |
| To Do List [Link] | Local only. |
| Simple ToDo [Link] | Local only. |
| Taskkeeper [Link] | Local only. |
| SyncOrg [Link] | Interface almost makes it seem like there is a way to sync, but I don't think there is. |
| Clear List [Link] | Local only. |
| Minimal [Link] | Local only. |
| NoNonsense Notes [Link] | Says it has sync but only syncs with Google. |
| Mirakel [Link] | Wants permission to modify system settings, find accounts on device, record audio, and modify/delete contents of SD card. Begs for a donation. Finally, when going in to the sync settings this appears: "Due to our lack of time we are not able to fix the remaining sync issues in a reasonable amount of time. Please do not any bugs regarding the sync. If you are a developer please help us fixing these bugs.". Last update was over 5 years ago. |
| crushr [Link] | Widget only, no sync, and no subitems. |
| Notify [Link] | Local only. |
| SimpleDo [Link] | Requests permission to: "add or modify calendar events and send email to guests without owners' knowledge, and read calendar events plus confidential information". That doesn't sound right at all. |
| Simply Do [Link] | Local only. |
| MobileOrg [Link] | Requires same permissions as SimpleDo, does WebDAV but only over http and not https. Fail. |
| Budoist [Link] | Works with todoist.com only. |
| Maniana [Link] | Uses comical fonts by default and only syncs with Google. |
| WikiAndPad [Link] | Right in the description it says "WikidAndPad uses text files indexed by a database stored on your sdcard, but it is currently not possible to create the database from within the app." |
What an awful mess. If anyone knows of an application that suits my needs I would love to hear about it. Note that Trello clones or any kind of kanoban design is totally not useful. Those are not todo lists, they are post it notes.