Tasks · checked 2026-10-14Can I vibecode Todoist?
YES· one-shottable
The heart of Todoist is a list with a clever text box: type "pay rent every 1st at 9am #Home p1" and it becomes a recurring task in a project with a priority. A personal copy needs a parser (chrono-node plus a small recurrence grammar over rrule), projects, labels, saved filters and a Today view, which an agent can write in one sitting as a web app you add to your phone's home screen. The gap is the phone: push reminders need HTTPS and web push, and native widgets, share sheets and the email and calendar integrations don't come with the copy.
$7/moprice per seat
$84you'd save a year
one sittingbuild time
—people replaced it
What you need on hand.
DifficultyIntermediate · Some system setup or keys.
TimeAbout an hour for the first version, an evening to tune the parser
- Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
- Node.js 22better-sqlite3 compiles a native module, so build tools must be installed.
- A way to reach it from your phoneA home server on Tailscale, a tunnel or a small VPS; web push needs HTTPS.
- A Todoist backupSettings > Backups > Download gives a ZIP of CSV files, one per project.
Before you buildTodoist Beginner is free with 5 personal projects and 3 filters. If you stay inside that, you may not need to pay.
- 1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
- 2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
- 3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.
The prompt
Build me a personal task manager to replace Todoist. Requirements:
- Node.js 22 + TypeScript: a Fastify API and a React front end built with Vite, installable as a
PWA. `npm start` serves http://localhost:4800.
- Storage: better-sqlite3 in ./data/tasks.db: projects (with a parent for sub-projects), tasks
(title, notes, project, parent task, priority 1-4, due date or datetime, recurrence rule,
done_at), labels with task_labels, filters (name, query) and reminders.
- Quick add: one text box. Parse the sentence with `chrono-node`, so "call Sam tomorrow 3pm #Work
@phone p1" becomes a due time, project, label and priority, and "every other friday" becomes a
recurrence stored as an `rrule` string. Show the parsed pieces as chips before saving.
Unit-test at least 25 sentences.
- Recurring tasks: completing one creates the next occurrence, counted from the due date
("every friday") or from the completion date ("every! friday").
- Views: Inbox, Today (overdue first), Upcoming (the next 14 days grouped by day), and every
project as a list or a board, with sub-tasks and progress, drag to reorder, and shortcuts
(q quick add, e edit, 1-4 priority, t today).
- Filters: a small query language ("today | overdue & @phone & !p4") parsed into SQL and saved
as named views in the sidebar.
- Reminders: web push (`web-push`, VAPID keys generated on first run into .env) at the due time
or a set number of minutes before; a worker checks every 30 seconds.
- Import Todoist CSV project backups; export everything as JSON plus one CSV per project.
- Single user, one password from .env. No accounts, no telemetry, local-first.
- Out of scope: shared projects, comments, file attachments, calendar sync, location reminders.
- README: reaching it from a phone over HTTPS (Tailscale or a tunnel), adding it to the home
screen, and where ./data lives.Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.
Then keep going
Next prompts, same folder.
The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own Todoist.
Add a calendar feed to the task manager in this folder. Requirements: - GET /calendar/<secret>.ics returns an iCalendar feed (`ical-generator`) of open tasks that have a due date, with duration 30 minutes when only a date is set, all-day when no time. - The secret is a random 32-character token created in settings and revocable there. - Recurring tasks appear as their next 10 occurrences. - Update the README with how to subscribe from Apple Calendar and Google Calendar.
Add email capture to the task manager in this folder. Requirements: - Poll one IMAP folder named Tasks every 2 minutes (`imapflow`; host, user and app password in .env). - Each unread message becomes a task in Inbox: the subject is the title and the first 2,000 characters of the text go into the notes, plus the sender; then mark the message read. - Skip mail from senders that are not in an ALLOWED_SENDERS list. - Update the README.
Add a Telegram bot to the task manager in this folder. Requirements: - TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN and TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID in .env; use long polling with `grammy`. - A message from that chat id is run through the quick-add parser and saved; the bot replies with the parsed due date, project and priority. - /today and /overdue list tasks; ignore every other chat. - Update the README with how to create a bot with BotFather.
Add a weekly review to the task manager in this folder. Requirements: - A Review page with tasks completed this week by project, tasks overdue for more than 7 days, and projects with no open task. - Each overdue task has buttons to reschedule to tomorrow, next Monday, or drop. - A sparkline of completions per day for the last 8 weeks. - Update the README.
What you lose
- Native iOS and Android apps, widgets and watch apps
- Time-based, location-based and recurring reminders on every device
- Shared projects and comments with other people
- Todoist Assist and Ramble, its AI helpers for capturing tasks
- Email, calendar and other integrations built by Todoist
Why people still pay
Capture is fast everywhere: the same list on phone, watch, browser and email, with reminders that fire. The free plan's five projects and three filters push heavier users to Pro, and years of labelled tasks and recurring habits are tedious to move. Teams add shared projects and comments.
Todoist or your own copy?
Seats
Over
Your usage
3h ×$/h
Todoist, 1 yr$84
Your own copy, 1 yr$44running + build session
You keep$41pays for itself in 2 months
Estimate · Runs on your machine or a $5 VPS, and web push is free. The build is token usage on your agent plan.
Take your data, then cancel.
1 · Take your data out of Todoist
- 1Open your avatar > Settings > Backups and click Download next to a backup (web and desktop apps only; with two-factor on you need a one-time code). You get a ZIP with one CSV per active project.
- 2The CSVs hold tasks, dates and times, descriptions, durations, deadlines, recurring dates (without start dates), up to 500 comments per task and links to attachments.
- 3To bring a CSV back into Todoist: create a project, open its menu, choose Manage data, then Import from CSV.
2 · Cancel Todoist
- 1On the web: avatar > Settings > Subscription > Cancel plan, pick a reason and click Cancel subscription.
- 2Monthly plans end at the close of the billing period. Within 30 days of buying a yearly plan you can instead end it at once and get a refund.
- 3Subscribed through the App Store or Google Play? Cancel in that store's subscription settings.
- Download a backup first: automatic backups stop on Beginner, and only the ones made before cancelling stay available.
- On Beginner you keep tasks, projects and comments, but active projects drop from 300 to 5 (extras become view-only, oldest first), filters from 150 to 3, and activity history to a week.
- Custom reminders, deadlines, task durations and the calendar layout stop working; values already on tasks stay but can't be edited.
- Pro Legacy subscribers cancel through Todoist support.
The escape hatch
Don't feel like building it? These are already free.
VikunjaOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 self-hosted task manager with list, kanban, Gantt and table views; the maker also sells hosting and a Pro edition.★ 5.7k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
Web, Windows, macOS, LinuxVisit ↗Super ProductivityOpen sourceMIT-licensed to-do list with time tracking and timeboxing; data stays local unless you add a sync backend.★ 23k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, AndroidVisit ↗Tasks.orgOpen sourceGPL-3.0 Android to-do app (the revived Astrid) that syncs through CalDAV, Google Tasks or Microsoft To Do. A desktop build is in alpha.★ 5.7k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
AndroidVisit ↗
Web, Windows, macOS, LinuxVisit ↗Super ProductivityOpen sourceMIT-licensed to-do list with time tracking and timeboxing; data stays local unless you add a sync backend.★ 23k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, AndroidVisit ↗Tasks.orgOpen sourceGPL-3.0 Android to-do app (the revived Astrid) that syncs through CalDAV, Google Tasks or Microsoft To Do. A desktop build is in alpha.★ 5.7k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
AndroidVisit ↗
The numbers
Todoist pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual, per month | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | $0/user | $0/user | 5 personal projects, 3 filter views, 1 week of activity history, 5 MB uploads, 5 people per project, 4 themes, limited Todoist Assist and Ramble sessions. |
| Pro | $7/user | $5/user | 300 personal projects, 150 filter views, full activity history, calendar layout, task duration, custom reminders, deadlines, larger uploads, unlimited Todoist Assist and Ramble, automatic backups. |
| Business | $10/user | $8/user | Everything in Pro for each member plus a shared team workspace, up to 500 team projects, 1,000 members and 1,000 guests, roles and permissions, central billing. |
- Free tier
- 5 personal projects, 3 filter views and one week of activity history; reminders, deadlines and the calendar layout need Pro.
- Billing
- Monthly or yearly. Pro Legacy subscribers (continuously subscribed since before June 2022, or through the App Store) were not moved to the new prices. Yearly subscribers within 30 days of buying can end the plan at once and get a refund; subscriptions bought in the App Store or on Google Play are cancelled there.
- Hidden costs
- None found for one person. Business is billed per member, plus local tax.
- Source
- www.todoist.com
Also on the list
Related apps
Beginner is free with 5 personal projects and 3 filter views.
Yes. An AI coding agent such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor can build a usable personal version in one session with the prompt on this page, running on your own machine.
About $7 a month on the Pro plan per seat, $84 a year (checked 2026-10-14).
Native iOS and Android apps, widgets and watch apps; Time-based, location-based and recurring reminders on every device; Shared projects and comments with other people; Todoist Assist and Ramble, its AI helpers for capturing tasks; Email, calendar and other integrations built by Todoist. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.
Yes: Vikunja (open source), Super Productivity (open source), Tasks.org (open source).