Your Tasks. Your Files. Your Rules.

What It Is

Daylight is a task management app where your tasks are plain Markdown files with YAML frontmatter. No cloud service. No account. No subscription. Just files in a folder you control.

• Tasks are Markdown files — Open them in VS Code, Obsidian, or any text editor
• Metadata lives in YAML frontmatter — Status, dates, tags, recurrence—all readable text
• Sync happens via tools you control — Syncthing, Dropbox, iCloud—whatever you trust

---
title: Weekly team review
status: active
scheduled: 2026-01-28
recurrence:
  rule: FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=TU
tags:
  - work
  - meetings
---

## Agenda
- Sprint retrospective
- Roadmap check-in

That’s a real task file. You can read it, edit it, version-control it, or process it with scripts. It’s yours.

Why Markdown Tasks Matter

Portability

Your tasks work without Daylight. Open them in any text editor on any platform. Move them to a new app. Process them with grep. They’re just files.

Cloud apps hold your data hostage. Even with “export,” you get lossy JSON or proprietary formats. Daylight’s export is instant—it’s already done. Your tasks are already portable.

Transparency

When something seems wrong, you can open the file and see exactly what Daylight sees. No hidden sync state. No mysterious database corruption. The file is the truth.

recurrence:
  instances:
    - date: 2026-01-21
      status: completed
    - date: 2026-01-28
      status: active

That’s why Tuesday’s task shows as done and next Tuesday’s doesn’t. You can see it.

Longevity

Apps come and go. Todoist might pivot. Notion might get acquired. Your Markdown files will still work in 10 years because plaintext outlives every proprietary format.

If Daylight disappeared tomorrow, your tasks would keep working in any text editor. That’s the point.

Who It’s For

The Linux Power User

You run Syncthing already. You want a task app that stores data in files you can grep and script against. You’re tired of Electron apps and cloud dependencies. Daylight is native, file-based, and respects your setup.

The Obsidian Organizer

Your knowledge lives in Markdown. You want tasks in the same format, in the same folder, synced the same way. Daylight files work alongside your vault—Obsidian can see them, and so can Daylight.

The Android-First Planner

You manage life from your phone, but you’re tired of apps that work offline “sometimes.” Daylight works fully offline because there’s nothing to connect to. Sync happens through Syncthing when you’re ready.

The Privacy-Conscious Skeptic

You’ve read the privacy policies. You know “we take your privacy seriously” means nothing. Daylight has no server. Your tasks never leave your devices. We can’t read your data because it never passes through anything we control.

Who It’s NOT For

Daylight isn’t for everyone. If you need:

• Team collaboration — Daylight is single-user. File sync doesn’t support real-time collaboration.
• Zero-setup cloud sync — You’ll need to set up Syncthing or similar. There’s no “just works” cloud option.
• Timer-based time tracking — Daylight only has manual time entry. No stopwatch, no Pomodoro.
• Natural language dates — “Next Friday” doesn’t parse. Use the date picker.

These are deliberate choices, not missing features. Daylight trades convenience for data ownership.

How It Differs From Cloud Apps

Core Features

Smart Grouping

Tasks organize automatically by their relationship to today:

• Past — Scheduled before today, not yet completed
• Now — Scheduled today (or no date set)
• Upcoming — Scheduled for future dates
• Wrapped — Completed today

No manual sorting. No priority flags to manage. Just: what needs attention now?

Instance-Based Recurrence

Most apps track recurring tasks as “next date.” Complete Friday’s weekly review, and next Friday’s might disappear.

Daylight tracks each instance separately. Complete today without affecting tomorrow. Skip one occurrence without breaking the series. See your completion history in the file.

Manual Time Tracking

Log time spent on tasks with 15-minute snapping. No timers to babysit—enter what actually happened at the end of a work session.

Calendar Overlay

See your Google Calendar or ICS events while planning. Context without complexity—Daylight shows your schedule but doesn’t try to manage it.

Get Started

1. Download Daylight for Linux or Android
2. Pick a folder for your tasks (Syncthing folder recommended)
3. Create your first task

Your tasks. Your files. Your rules.

Read the docs →