1. The Obsidian Power User
The Scenario
You already live in Obsidian. Your notes, projects, and reference material are all Markdown files in a vault synced across devices. But task management is a gap — Obsidian Tasks works for inline checkboxes, but you want structured scheduling, recurrence tracking, and time logging without leaving the Markdown ecosystem.
The Workflow
- Morning: Open Daylight to see today’s tasks grouped into Past (overdue), Now (due today), and Upcoming. Review what carried over from yesterday.
- During work: Complete tasks, log time entries, and reschedule anything that slips. New tasks go into the same Syncthing-synced folder your Obsidian vault uses.
- End of day: Check your task files in Obsidian alongside project notes. Everything is cross-referenceable because it’s all plain Markdown with YAML frontmatter in the same folder structure.
The Value
Your task data stays in the same format, same folder, and same sync pipeline as the rest of your knowledge base. No context-switching between ecosystems, no proprietary exports, no data living in two places with different sync rules.
2. The Syncthing Multi-Device User
The Scenario
You work across a Linux desktop, a laptop, and an Android phone. You already run Syncthing to keep documents in sync without cloud services. You want a task manager that rides the same sync layer — no new accounts, no new servers, no new trust decisions.
The Workflow
- On desktop: Create and manage tasks in Daylight. Files land in your Syncthing-shared folder as individual Markdown files.
- On phone: Open Daylight on Android. The same task files are already there via Syncthing. Review, complete, and reschedule tasks on the go.
- Sync happens: Syncthing propagates changes peer-to-peer. If both devices edit the same file before syncing, Syncthing creates a conflict file — both versions preserved, nothing silently lost.
The Value
Zero additional infrastructure. Daylight doesn’t introduce a new sync mechanism, a new account, or a new failure mode. It reads and writes plain files in a folder you already manage. If Syncthing works for your documents, it works for your tasks.
3. The Linux Desktop User
The Scenario
You run Linux as your daily driver and you’re tired of task apps that treat your platform as an afterthought — Electron wrappers with broken notifications, web apps that can’t access the filesystem, or no native client at all. You want something that feels native and respects how you work.
The Workflow
- Task creation: Open Daylight (Tauri-based, not Electron) and create tasks through the UI — or create Markdown files directly in your editor. Both work because the file is the source of truth.
- Terminal integration: Query your tasks with grep, awk, or any scripting tool. The YAML frontmatter is structured enough to parse, plain enough to read raw.
- Script automation: Write a shell script that creates tasks from CI failures, calendar events, or email digests. Drop a Markdown file in the folder and Daylight picks it up.
The Value
A task manager that treats the filesystem as the API. No proprietary database to reverse-engineer, no REST endpoints to authenticate against. Your tasks are files, and files are what Linux is good at.
4. The Android-First Mobile Worker
The Scenario
Your phone is your primary device for task management. You capture tasks on the go, review them on transit, and need something that works offline without worrying about spotty connectivity. But you also want your data accessible on desktop when you sit down to plan.
The Workflow
- Morning review: Open Daylight on Android. Today’s tasks are grouped and sorted — past due items surface first so nothing falls through the cracks.
- On the go: Complete tasks, add quick notes, log time. Everything saves to local storage immediately — no network dependency, no spinner, no “sync pending” anxiety.
- Evening sync: When your phone and desktop are on the same network, Syncthing pushes changes both ways. Your desktop view updates with everything you did on mobile.
The Value
True offline-first on mobile. Your tasks aren’t cached copies of cloud data — they’re the actual files, stored locally, synced when connectivity allows. The app works identically whether you’re online or in airplane mode.
5. The Local-First Privacy Advocate
The Scenario
You don’t want your daily task list on someone else’s server. Not because you’re doing anything secretive — because you believe personal productivity data shouldn’t be a business model. You’ve read the privacy policies, you’ve seen the acquisitions, and you’ve decided to keep your workflow data local.
The Workflow
- Setup: Install Daylight and point it at a folder on your filesystem. No account creation, no email verification, no “we’ll never share your data” promises to evaluate.
- Daily use: Create, schedule, complete, and track tasks. All data lives as Markdown files in the folder you chose. Nothing phones home, nothing gets telemetry-logged, nothing requires a network connection.
- Data control: Back up your tasks by copying a folder. Migrate to a different app by moving the files. Audit what’s stored by opening any file in a text editor.
The Value
Data sovereignty without complexity. You don’t need to self-host a server, configure encryption, or trust a third-party privacy policy. Your tasks are files on your disk, readable by any text editor, backed up by whatever method you already trust.
Which Use Case Fits You?
| If you… | Start with… |
|---|---|
| Use Obsidian daily | Getting Started |
| Sync multiple devices | Sync Guide |
| Live in the terminal | Schema Docs |
| Prioritize mobile | Android Setup |
| Value data ownership | Architecture |