webstonehq/tuxedo

Tuxedo is a fast, keyboard-driven to-do list app that lives in your computer's terminal. Instead of using a mouse to click through menus and buttons, you navigate and manage your tasks entirely with quick keyboard shortcuts. It works with a popular plain-text format called "todo.txt," which means your task list is just a simple text file. This keeps your data completely under your control, stored locally on your machine, with no cloud services or databases involved. At a high level, the app gives you two ways to interact with your tasks: a full-screen visual interface and a standard command-line tool. In the visual interface, you use keyboard shortcuts inspired by a well-known text editor called Vim, such as pressing "j" to move down and "dd" to delete a task. You can also type out tasks in plain English, and the app will automatically format the dates and tags into the standard todo.txt structure. If you prefer automation, the command-line side lets you add, list, or complete tasks using quick text commands that can be easily scripted. This tool is designed for people who spend a lot of time in the terminal, such as software developers, system administrators, or writers who prefer a distraction-free environment. A concrete use case is a programmer who wants to quickly capture a task like "Pay rent monthly on the first" without lifting their hands from the keyboard to open a separate app. They can also press a single key to generate a QR code, allowing them to snap a photo with their smartphone and instantly add tasks to the list from across the room. A notable design choice is how the app handles file saving and synchronization. Every time you make a change, it safely writes to a temporary file before replacing your main list, which prevents data corruption if your computer crashes. If you use a cloud syncing service like Dropbox on that same file, or if another program edits it, the app automatically detects the external change within a fraction of a second and seamlessly reloads your list. This makes it a highly reliable centerpiece for a custom, multi-device productivity setup.