I had the honor of being interviewed about Super Productivity by Felix from gnulinux.ch. Thank you very much for having me! <3
Interview is in german.
To celebrate the launch of plainspace.org I added a plainspace theme to Super Productivity. Hope you enjoy it! ❤️
Another huge month. 32 community contributors shipped 167 PRs in June – calendar and CalDAV improvements, deep sync and op-log cleanups, focus-mode and idle UX overhauls, a privacy/logging-hardening sweep, new issue-provider and plugin capabilities, and a long tail of bug fixes and translations. A massive thank you to everyone who pitched in.
@hajiboy95 had a phenomenal month with 24 PRs focused on calendar and UI polish: a recurring-task and general calendar redesign (#8017, #8227, #8246, #8258, #8390), a keyboard shortcut to set task deadlines (#8042) and optional scheduling shortcuts (#8189), global search that includes note content and folders (#8044), multi-select project selection on boards (#8069), parent-folder context in the menu tree (#7988), a macOS global-shortcut layout fix (#8381) plus correct handling of Meta/OS modifier keys during shortcut recording (#8376), a visible focus ring for subtasks (#8522), task-detail filled-form-field styling (#8292), and German translation updates (#8234). Thank you @hajiboy95!
@symonbaikov contributed 13 PRs across sync and integrations: caching the latest full-state op lookup for performance (#8427), a batch of sync/op-log cleanups and fixes (#8498, #8499, #8596, #8597), Vikunja project discovery for CalDAV (#8481), tree-ordered project/tag dropdowns (#8100), clipboard paste attachments (#7166), a task-widget global shortcut (#7099), preserving sections during legacy migration (#8503), and docs for Proton Drive via rclone/WebDAV and sync rate-limit layers (#8064, #8497). Thank you @symonbaikov!
@forge34 delivered 10 PRs of sync-core housekeeping – retiring dead ports, compat re-exports, and unused endpoints, and relocating the op-log compaction module (#8396, #8408, #8441, #8454, #8491, #8496, #8526, #8601) – plus markdown keyboard shortcuts and follow-ups (#8039, #8289). Thank you for the cleanup @forge34!
@costajohnt contributed 5 PRs: fixing double-counted done recurring tasks in the planner's remaining time (#8229), an optional WIQL override for Azure DevOps backlog import (#8516), preserving a task's schedule when moving between backlog and the regular list (#8603), looping the break-end sound until the break is dismissed (#8608), and continuing dated markdown bullets with today's date on Enter (#8610). Thank you @costajohnt!
@starter727 contributed 3 PRs hardening the sync/op-log persistence layer: locking snapshot saves to close a lost-update window (#8439), reducing duplication across the persistence paths (#8406), and removing unused error classes, a dialog, and constructor-time logging (#8510). Thank you @starter727!
@cocojojo5213 was extraordinarily prolific with 80 PRs, most notably a privacy/logging-hygiene sweep that keeps user content out of the exportable log across ~15 areas (#8118–#8140). Alongside it came a steady stream of smaller fixes and features – a completed-task search filter (#8168), overlapping same-time tasks in the schedule (#8170), Jira priority + paginated auto-import (#8180, #8161), a configurable GitHub API base URL (#8183), and more. Thank you @cocojojo5213!
file:// paths to blob URLs in Electron (#8455).Thank you to every single contributor – the prolific and the one-PR first-timers alike. See you next month! 🚀
There are only a very few people around me that are using Super Productivity. Many people don't need or want a sophisticated todo app. I haven't found a great way yet to coordinate with these type of persons :D Does that sound familiar to you?
I wanted to build a todo app to coordinate with people that don't much care for todo apps. Meet Plainspace: a shared Space you open with a link.
No app, no signup, no account.
It's dead simple:
It doesn't integrate with Super Productivity yet. That bridge is the next step – I wanted the standalone idea to be right first.
It's early and rough, but I'd love your honest feedback. And maybe even more important from the ones around you?
You can try it here: https://plainspace.org
— Johannes
I have been building an Android app called minded for a couple of years, and I just made the source public. Posting it here because this is the sub where I would actually go looking for something like it.
What it does: you pick the apps you tend to open on autopilot (Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, whatever yours are). When you open one, minded shows a short reflection prompt first, a question or a suggested alternative, and then lets you continue if you still want to. It is not a hard blocker. The goal is to turn an automatic reach into a conscious choice. Your answers stay on the device and build a small dashboard of when and why you reach for those apps.
Why it might fit this sub:
Honest about the rough edges:
Source: https://github.com/johannesjo/minded Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.minded.minded
Question for the sub: for those of you who have put a FOSS focus or wellbeing app on F-Droid, was the inclusion process worth it, and any gotchas with apps that rely on the accessibility service? Trying to decide whether to package it for F-Droid next.
I kept opening Instagram, Reddit, and TikTok on autopilot, thumb already moving before I had decided anything. Hard blockers did not work for me; I would override them or just uninstall them. So I built the opposite of a blocker.
What it does: you pick which apps should trigger a prompt. Before one of them opens, minded shows a short reflection question or an alternative-activity suggestion, then lets you continue if you still want to. Your answers build a dashboard so you can see your own patterns over time: when you reach for which app, and what you were feeling.
Why it might fit here:
What it does not try to do:
I am the developer. I also maintain Super Productivity (open-source task manager, ~19k GitHub stars), so the free and privacy-first stance is consistent with the rest of my work, not a marketing line.
Honest caveats: it is still young, with lots to improve. The accessibility permission deters some people even though no data is collected, and that is a fair concern. It is not on F-Droid yet, and there is no iOS version.
If you have tried similar apps (one sec, ScreenZen, AppBlock, Opal) and bounced off them, what made them not stick? That is the failure mode I most want to design around.
I just open-sourced a project I've been working on for the last two-plus years.
minded sits between you and the apps/sites that pull you in (social media, news, infinite feeds). Rather than blocking them outright, it interrupts the compulsive open with a short intervention – a breath, a check-in, a "what did you actually come here to do?" prompt – then gets out of your way. Stack / notable bits:
dataInterface pattern so the same UI talks to extension storage or Android storageRepo: https://github.com/johannesjo/minded Website: https://minded.today
Feedback and PRs welcome – happy to go into the architecture if anyone's curious.
Hey all!
For the past couple of years I've also been quietly building a second project, and I just made it fully open source (MIT).
It's called minded. The idea: a mindfulness layer that sits between you and the apps and websites that pull you in. Instead of a hard block, it interrupts doom-scrolling and compulsive app-opening with a short intervention – a breath, a check-in, a moment to ask "did I actually mean to open this?"
While Super Productivity helps you organize what you want to do. minded is about the in-the-moment impulse that quietly derails it.
Repo: https://github.com/johannesjo/minded
Website: https://minded.today
Chrome Web Store / Google Play links in the repo.
I'd love your feedback – what works, what feels naggy, what you'd want it to do. And I'm happy to answer any of your questions!
One of our biggest months yet! 34 community contributors shipped 66 PRs in May - a brand-new sync provider, focus-mode upgrades, scheduler improvements, plugin APIs, translations, and a long list of bug fixes. A massive thank you to everyone who pitched in.
@Hetsavani had a phenomenal month with 11 PRs spanning focus mode, settings, and tasks: configurable dynamic breaks for Flowtime (#7402), auto-start break after a manually completed session (#7681), Pomodoro and Flowtime timers in the browser tab title (#7579, #7640), a "repeat after completion" option for repeating tasks (#7524), auto-adding tasks with a deadline today to the Today view (#7650), a background-image picker in settings (#7564), switching the start-of-day setting to an hours:minutes format (#7483), Ctrl+Enter / Escape shortcuts for keyboard-first subtask creation (#7472), persisting collapsed section state across project switches (#7600), and a notes header fix (#7443). Incredible output - thank you @Hetsavani!
@zenoprax kept the docs and project infrastructure humming with 7 PRs: a README/wiki refresh (#7450), housekeeping across docs, templates, and actions (#7451), trimming overly prescriptive structure from the DeepWiki config (#7501), fixing the stale DeepWiki status (#7608), tidying the discussion-pruning workflow (#7610), scoping "resolved" actions to the right categories (#7679), and - importantly - adding install cooldowns for npm and GitHub Actions to reduce supply-chain attack risk (#7685). Thank you for keeping everything running smoothly!
@baflo delivered 5 PRs focused on calendar and integrations: a reference calendar and work-log events in the scheduler view (#7497), CalDAV subtask import (#7409), support for self-hosted Jira instances without the web extension (#7628), a fix for plugin config storage that also accepts a config schema for uploaded plugins (#7414), and a CORS fix for the CalDAV error on Android (#7491, closes #6957).
@davidvornholt contributed 4 PRs across schedule, UI, and Electron: week-view scaling in the Schedule (#7530), improved task-selector project filtering (#7529), clamped schedule event titles (#7356), and a retry for the Wayland idle helper startup (#7527).
onReady() plugin API with an IPC ping, plus a fix for the consent write delay, by @b0x42 (#7578).#<n> prefix on imported issue tasks (#7772).Thank you all so much for making Super Productivity better!!!
Poll: https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity/discussions/7660
You can check it out for yourself here with the preview link: https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity/pull/7594
Haven't really decided if we should add this (and in what form) since it will make the app more intimidating to new users and add quite a bit of complexity.
But I wanted to show you how it would work.
Link to Demo (might change on changes):
https://d1890494.super-productivity-preview.pages.dev/#/tag/TODAY/tasks
WIP PR:
https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity/pull/7589
I am the maintainer of Super Productivity, a free open source task manager and time tracker for desktop, web, and mobile.
It is available on Linux via Flatpak, Snap, AppImage, AUR, and other package formats. It works offline by default, has no account requirement, no telemetry, and supports optional sync via WebDAV, Dropbox, or Super Sync.
v18.5.0 just shipped with:
Ctrl+Enter and Escape task shortcutsDownloads and Linux package notes: https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity/wiki/2.01-Downloads-and-Install
GitHub: https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity
Full changelog: https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity/compare/v18.4.4...v18.5.0
If you use task/time-tracking apps on Linux, I would be especially interested in what package format and desktop workflow you prefer.
Super Productivity is an open source task manager and time tracker I have been maintaining for years.
GitHub: https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity
It combines:
v18.5.0 just shipped with a major Focus Mode rework, scheduler/calendar improvements, user-installable themes, task shortcuts, UI fixes, translation updates, and new optional community-plugin work.
Downloads: https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity/wiki/2.01-Downloads-and-Install
Changelog: https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity/compare/v18.4.4...v18.5.0
I am the maintainer of Super Productivity, an open source task manager and time tracker. It works offline by default, needs no account, has no telemetry, and can sync via WebDAV, Dropbox, or Super Sync. There is also a Docker/web version for people who want to self-host it.
v18.5.0 is out, and these are the parts most relevant here:
Focus Mode rework - Focus Mode got a larger internal and UX rework. The goal is to make focused work sessions feel less bolted-on and more like a natural part of planning and execution.
Scheduler and planner improvements - The schedule view now has better week scaling, reference calendar/work-log events, improved task filtering, and estimated time in iCal/ICS planner entries.
Task interaction improvements - Ctrl+Enter and Escape shortcuts were added for task interactions, and subtask title focus behavior was improved.
Organization & customization - Super Productivity also supports project sections for structuring larger task lists, plus custom/user-installable themes where supported.
Sync/calendar polish - iCal URLs are sanitized in tooltips, and schedule chip filtering is stricter.
There is also an optional community plugin added in this release; it is not part of the core workflow.
Downloads and platform notes: https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity/wiki/2.01-Downloads-and-Install
Full changelog: https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity/compare/v18.4.4...v18.5.0
Curious especially about the scheduler/planner side: if you self-host or sync task data across devices, what still feels too awkward in Super Productivity?
For all current downloads, package links, and platform-specific notes: check the wiki.
This release includes a major rework of Focus Mode, improvements to the scheduler and calendar/planner views, new task shortcuts, better filtering behavior, and several UI fixes. It also adds an AI Assistant community plugin and includes multiple translation updates.
Ctrl+Enter and Escape shortcuts for task interactions by @Hetsavani in https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity/pull/7472zod from 4.3.6 to 4.4.3 by @dependabot[bot] in https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity/pull/7431Full Changelog: https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity/compare/v18.4.4...v18.5.0
What do you think? Do you like it?
Hey everyone!
I spent quite some time thinking about this througout the years. This is the vision document I came up with (with the help of our friendly AI overlords of course 🤖).
You use Super Productivity. You love it. But your customers don't. Your partner doesn't care about productivity software. Your NGO volunteers just want a simple list. Your team doesn't understand the fuss.
Right now, when you need to collaborate with these people, you end up in WhatsApp groups, shared Apple Notes, or Google Docs – none of which connect back to your SP workflow. Your tasks live in one place, your team's tasks live in another, and things fall through the cracks.
You shouldn't have to choose between your personal system and your team's ability to stay aligned.
Spaces is the simplest way to stay aligned with people who don't use your tools.
It lives at spaces.super-productivity.com. It's the place where SP users collaborate with people who don't use SP – and don't need to.
Think of it this way: SP is your private cockpit. Spaces is the shared table.
The core principle: when your group chat isn't enough but project management software is too much, Spaces fills the gap. Things stop falling through the cracks – without asking anyone to adopt your system.
The common thread: small groups of people who don't have (or don't want) "a tool" but still need to get organized together.
You create a Space -- maybe from inside SP with a "Collaborate on XYZ" button, maybe directly on the web. You get a link. You share it. Anyone who clicks the link is immediately in -- no signup, no download, no account required. They pick a display name and start contributing.
It should feel instant -- like opening something that's already alive. If there's a loading spinner, a cookie banner, or anything that feels like "software," I've failed.
Shared Lists -- the foundation. Create a list, add items, check things off, assign them to people. Works for groceries, works for volunteer task assignments, works for sprint planning. Lists can optionally be viewed as a kanban board -- same data, just dragged between columns.
Scratchpads -- a shared notepad per project. The place for meeting notes, research links, plans, context. Replaces the pinned message in the group chat. Basic markdown, nothing fancy.
Projects -- the container that holds lists and scratchpads together with a group of people. Each project has a name and a short purpose line ("Planning our two weeks in Tuscany") so everyone knows what the space is for at a glance.
One of the biggest reasons people fall back to group chats is the question: "Did anything change?" Spaces solves this with two lightweight features:
Activity Feed -- every project has a simple stream of what happened. "Anna added 'book flights'" / "Max completed 'research hotels'" / "Lisa updated the scratchpad." No notification overload -- just a clear timeline you can glance at.
Presence -- when you open a Space, you see who else is there right now. "Johannes and Anna are here." It makes the tool feel alive and gives you confidence that your team is actually using it.
Nudge Button -- your team's conversation still happens in WhatsApp or Signal. Spaces doesn't try to replace that. Instead, a simple "Share update" button generates a ready-to-paste message like: "Updated our Italy Trip space -- added 3 tasks, completed 2. Check it out: [link]". No notification system needed -- just a clipboard copy that rides on whatever messaging app your group already uses.
Every task also has its own shareable link -- so you can point someone to a specific item in a chat message and they land right on it.
That's it. No visible settings, no admin overhead, no integrations screen.
Open link -- anyone with the link can join and participate. Perfect for casual use: grocery lists, trip planning, study groups. No email required -- you pick a display name and get an auto-assigned color and avatar so people can tell each other apart, even without accounts. Your identity sticks to your device, so you're recognized when you come back.
Every action can be undone -- accidental deletions don't destroy the shared space.
Private -- members are verified via email (magic link, no password). You can see who's in the project and manage access. For NGOs, agencies, teams -- anyone who needs to know who's who.
An open project can be upgraded to private later when things get more serious.
For SP users, Spaces tasks assigned to you flow back into your SP workflow as an issue provider. You never have to leave SP to stay on top of what your team needs from you.
Later, I want to make this richer: status syncing both ways, handing off tasks from SP to the shared Space, seeing team activity on your tasks inside SP. But the first version keeps it simple -- a clean one-way sync of your assigned tasks.
Spaces should stay simple. The moment it feels like "enterprise software," it's lost its purpose.
Create a project, get a link, open the link, see a shared list, add items, see updates in real-time. Includes a simple activity feed ("Anna added a task"), presence indicators ("3 people are here"), deep links to individual tasks, and a nudge button to share updates back into your group chat. This alone is a usable product.
Add simple scratchpads for shared context and planning notes. Add the kanban board view toggle on lists. Support basic file/image attachments on tasks and scratchpads -- because trip planning involves flight screenshots and event coordination involves flyers. The product now covers planning, not just task tracking.
Email-based magic link verification. Private sharing mode. Member management. This unlocks the "serious" use cases.
Connect your SP account. See your Spaces tasks as an issue provider. The bridge between your personal workflow and your team's shared space.
This is an early plan and I'd love to hear from you:
For the technically curious, here's a brief overview of the architecture.
Stack: TypeScript end-to-end, PostgreSQL, SolidJS frontend.
Real-time: Server-Sent Events (SSE) for live updates on lists and scratchpads. Clients send mutations via HTTP, the server broadcasts changes to all participants. WebSockets may be introduced later for richer collaborative editing.
Auth: Anonymous users get a random token stored in the browser -- no cookies, no tracking. Verified users authenticate via email magic links (no passwords). SP-connected users link via an API token. All three are the same identity model, just progressively enhanced.
Scratchpads: V1 uses a simple shared textarea with last-write-wins and live updates. Later versions will use Yjs (a mature CRDT library) for true simultaneous editing.
Data model: Projects contain lists and scratchpads. Lists contain items. Items can be assigned to members and organized into board columns. Members can be anonymous (display name only) or verified (email-linked).
Hosting: Single VPS, Node.js backend, PostgreSQL, Nginx, TLS. Simple, cheap, fully controlled.
Privacy: No tracking, no analytics cookies, no third-party scripts. Functional cookies only (session tokens), so no cookie banner needed. Server is EU-based. GDPR compliant by design.
Mobile-first: The UI is designed for phones first, desktop second. Most real-world usage (grocery lists, quick check-ins, volunteer coordination) happens on mobile. SolidJS keeps the bundle small and performance snappy on lower-end devices.
Another huge month for Super Productivity! 31 community contributors shipped roughly 51 PRs in April - features, bug fixes, translations, and brand-new community plugins. Massive thank you to everyone involved.
@aakhter had an incredible month with 7 PRs, with major impact across plugins, search, archive validation, and Electron hardening: a new reInitData plugin API (#7305), a taskUpdate hook for project moves (#7302), substring match in tag/project/date autocomplete (#7376), search scroll-to-selected fix (#7283), hardened simple store writes (#7297), and hardened archive payload repair and validation (#7248).
@costajohnt (John Costa) kept up his prolific bug-fix streak with 5 fixes that polished a lot of rough edges: a much larger IndexedDB retry window for session-restart locks (#7220), special-character handling in task ID querySelectors (#7222), preserving time estimates while typing in the add-task bar (#7211), wrapping (instead of truncating) long task titles in the planner (#7143), and preventing overlapping search results on narrow screens (#7237).
@sespiros (Spyros Seimenis) delivered 4 PRs improving the Gitea and GitHub issue providers: label-based include/exclude filters for Gitea (#7359), an "Include pull requests" option for GitHub (#7358), Gitea issue id and done-sync fixes (#7288), and a fix to pass issueNumber into plugin field mapping context (#7360).
@zenoprax (Corey Newton) continued the docs and infrastructure work that keeps the project running smoothly with 4 PRs: wiki content v0.8 and v0.9 (#7068, #7116), bumping the stale-discussions workflow frequency (#7080), and another LF/CRLF SCSS fix (#7117). The wiki keeps getting better month after month - thank you @zenoprax!
ext-idle-notify backend so idle detection works properly on modern Wayland desktops.Every PR, plugin, translation, and bug report makes Super Productivity better. Whether it's a major feature, a one-line typo fix, or a well-written issue - thank you all so much!!!
If you'd like to contribute, check out the GitHub repo. We're always happy to help new contributors get started!
Super Productivity is a free open source task manager and time tracker I've been maintaining for 9 years. It's been on F-Droid since 2019, MIT licensed, zero telemetry, no account required.
Core features:
Sync is opt-in and additionally allows BYO-provider: WebDAV (Nextcloud works great) or Dropbox. Your data is a local file unless you choose otherwise. No account, no analytics, no tracking.
Available on Android (F-Droid + Play Store), desktop (Windows/macOS/Linux via Snap/Flatpak/AppImage/AUR), iOS, web, and Docker for self-hosting.
F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.superproductivity.superproductivity/ GitHub: https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity
Would love feedback from anyone using it, and especially from people who tried it and bounced - curious what pushed you away.