Free · Open source · macOS 13+

Your todos, in the menu bar.

QuickTodo is a native Mac todo app that lives where your clock already is. Hit ⌘⌥T, type, press Return. No window to manage, no account, no Electron. 

brew tap mdopeace/quicktodo
brew install --cask quicktodo

Install details and the no-Homebrew route below.

The QuickTodo menu with two todos under Today, two struck through under Completed, a collapsed older-completions row, and the progress bar at 2 of 4

Install

With Homebrew

Recommended — and the update path that just works.

brew tap mdopeace/quicktodo
brew install --cask quicktodo

You don't have to upgrade this yourself — QuickTodo checks for updates on launch and every few hours when you open the menu, then downloads, verifies and installs in place from its footer button.

Prefer brew? brew update && brew upgrade quicktodo does the same thing.

Without Homebrew

Grab the .app straight from Releases.

Download for macOS
  1. Unzip it and drag quicktodo.app into Applications
  2. Launch it — the icon appears in your menu bar
Not notarized, so the first launch may be blocked. macOS 15 and later removed right-click → Open, leaving only Done / Move to Bin. Run this once: 
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/quicktodo.app
Homebrew installs skip this.

Screens

Completed todos struck through, a collapsed older-completions row, and the progress bar at 2 of 4
A todo being renamed in place, its title swapped for a text field with a save checkmark and a cancel button
A row on hover showing the move-to-today arrow and an orange weekly repeat button
Bulk delete confirmation with a Check button and a Cancel button
Bulk move confirmation with a Check button and a Cancel button
Searching call in the add box, filtering five todos down to two matches
The empty state reading Nothing here yet

More than a checklist

⌘

Opens from anywhere

⌘⌥T brings the list up without touching the Dock.

↩

Add with Return

Type a task and press Return—no extra click.

Search as you type

Find tasks in the add field; search starts after three characters.

Rename in place

Edit an open task without changing its date or position.

Reorder your day

Drag open tasks to reorder within a day; VoiceOver has move actions too.

Move overdue tasks

Move one with a click, or move a day's tasks after confirming.

Repeat tasks

Choose daily or weekly; completing one schedules the next.

Clear completed tasks

Bulk-clear completed items with a confirmation first.

Stay up to date

Check for updates, then download and verify them from the menu.

Questions

Is it really free?

Yes — MIT licensed, and the source is on GitHub. No account, no trial, no upsell.

Where does my data go?

Nowhere. One JSON file in your own Application Support folder. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.

Why won't the downloaded app open?

It isn't notarized, and macOS 15 and later removed right-click → Open, so the popup only offers Done / Move to Bin. Run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/quicktodo.app once and it opens.

How do updates work?

It checks on launch, and at most once every few hours when you open the menu. The footer button then downloads, verifies and installs.

Does it start on its own?

Yes, release builds register as a login item. Turn it off in System Settings → General → Login Items.

What do I need?

macOS 13 or newer, Apple Silicon or Intel. Nothing else.