The Best To-Do Apps for Developers in 2025

For developers, the constant juggling of coding, debugging, team meetings, and feature requests can quickly become overwhelming. Generic task lists often fall short, failing to grasp the unique complexities of a developer’s workflow. The right productivity app can transform your work. It helps you track tasks, manage deadlines, and set priorities, but the best tools do more—they integrate with your environment, understand your processes, and actively reduce friction. A simple to-do list isn’t enough; you need a powerful personal task manager or a full-fledged project management system built for the technical mind.

This guide moves beyond generic recommendations to compare the best to-do list apps specifically for developers. We’ll analyze tools that connect with your IDE, handle code snippets, support Agile methodologies, and increasingly leverage AI to streamline your process. We’ll also be explicit about where plugins or configuration are required.

1. Super Productivity

Super Productivity centralizes tasks from issue trackers like Jira, GitHub, and GitLab, with built-in time tracking.

Super Productivity blends task management with developer integrations (Jira, GitHub, GitLab) and integrated time tracking to create a cohesive workflow. It’s open-source and works offline-first, keeping your data local and private while remaining usable without a constant internet connection.

Overview: Super Productivity is a focused, developer-oriented to-do app. It can mirror work from your issue trackers into a unified view where you add personal notes, track time, and manage sub-tasks—without altering the original ticket.

Key Features for Developers:

• Issue Tracker Integrations: Connect tasks to issues and pull requests, create tasks from tickets, track time against them, and stay in context—without bouncing between tools.
• Built-in Time Tracking & Pomodoro: Track time automatically or manually and use a Pomodoro timer for focused sessions. Export timesheets and reports as needed.
• Plugin System for Extensibility: Extend Super Productivity with community or custom-built plugins. Developers can add new panels, automations, or integrations using a safe, JavaScript-based plugin API—without modifying the core app.
• Offline-First & Private: Data is stored locally for full control and privacy; syncing can be added when needed.
• Community-Driven Development: The project evolves through active contributions from its open-source community. New features, bug fixes, and integrations are regularly proposed, reviewed, and merged by developers worldwide.

Best For: Solo developers or small teams who want a free, open-source hub to manage tasks from Jira/GitHub/GitLab while meticulously tracking time.

2. Obsidian

Overview: More than a note-taking app, Obsidian is a Markdown-based knowledge base built around local-first files. It can be turned into a capable task system—but that capability comes primarily via community plugins and your own configuration.

Key Features for Developers:

• Bidirectional Linking: Connect system-design notes, retro minutes, and tasks into an interconnected graph that preserves context.
• Plugin Ecosystem: Add Kanban views, calendars, habit trackers, and task tooling. The “Tasks” plugin, for example, lets you query and manage checkboxes across your vault from a central dashboard.
• Code-Friendly Markdown: Capture snippets, document processes, and keep a developer journal alongside tasks with syntax-highlighted code blocks.
• Deep Customization: Control folder structure, installed plugins, and CSS to tailor the system to your workflow.

Best For: Developers who are meticulous note-takers and want a private, customizable “second brain” that can also handle tasks (with plugins).

3. Taskwarrior

Overview: For terminal-first developers, Taskwarrior is a fast, powerful, open-source CLI task manager. No GUI, minimal overhead, maximum speed.

Key Features for Developers:

• Pure CLI: Add, modify, query, and complete tasks with chainable commands that fit directly into shell workflows.
• Advanced Filtering & Reports: Use a rich query language to slice by project, tag, due date, dependency, and custom attributes.
• Extensible & Scriptable: Hooks and scripts integrate Taskwarrior with other tools; pairs well with Timewarrior for time tracking.
• Metadata & Dependencies: Add annotations and model “depends” relationships to manage complex work.

Best For: Command-line purists who value speed, control, and automation via scripts.

4. Linear

Linear is a modern issue-tracking and project management tool built for high-performance software teams. It emphasizes speed, a keyboard-centric UX, and clean integrations.

Overview: Linear is opinionated: it guides teams toward streamlined software delivery with fast UI and minimal bloat. Issue tracking becomes a smooth part of daily work for developers, product managers, and engineering managers.

Key Features for Developers:

• Cycles & Sprints: Plan and execute time-boxed work with clear visibility into workload and velocity.
• GitHub Integration: Link pull requests to issues and reflect PR activity in issue workflows with the right setup. Exact automations depend on your configuration.
• Keyboard-First: Nearly every action has a shortcut; navigating and editing is extremely fast.
• Projects & Roadmaps: Track milestones and communicate progress at a higher level, not just at the issue level.

Best For: Agile teams that value speed, a refined UX, and an opinionated workflow that helps them ship.

5. Todoist

Overview: Todoist is a popular, polished cross-platform task manager that balances simplicity with power. It’s excellent for organizing both personal and professional tasks, though it’s not developer-specific.

Key Features for Developers:

• Natural Language Input: Type “Review CI/CD pipeline #backend tomorrow p1” and Todoist parses the project, date, and priority.
• Filters & Smart Views: Build custom lists for what matters now (e.g., P1 bugs this week, items waiting for review).
• Integrations: Connect via native integrations, IFTTT, Zapier, and API to capture tasks from chats, email, or alerts.
• Sub-tasks & Sections: Break down work and structure projects. An AI Assistant (on paid plans) can help with task breakdown and planning.

Best For: Individuals who want a reliable, everywhere-available task manager with strong input and filtering, not necessarily tied to dev tooling.

6. Trello

Overview: Trello popularized the visual Kanban board. It’s intuitive and flexible for personal projects and small teams. For full Agile metrics (sprint velocity, backlogs), you’ll typically add Power-Ups or pair it with other tools.

Key Features for Developers:

• Visual Flow: Track work across columns (To Do → In Progress → In Review → Done) with clear, drag-and-drop boards.
• Power-Ups: Integrate GitHub, Jira, Slack, Google Drive and more; link PRs, issues, and documents to cards.
• Automation (Butler): Create rules and buttons to move cards, add checklists, assign members, and set due dates based on triggers.
• Flexible by Design: Quick to start and easy to adapt; deeper Agile workflows require configuration and/or Power-Ups.

Best For: Visual thinkers and small teams who want simple, low-friction project tracking with optional add-ons.

7. Asana

Overview: Asana is a comprehensive project management platform that excels at team coordination and visibility across complex work. It suits larger teams that need structured collaboration.

Key Features for Developers:

• Multiple Views: Switch between lists, Kanban boards, timelines (Gantt-style), and calendars.
• Advanced Task Modeling: Subtasks, dependencies, custom fields, and detailed descriptions help ensure the right order of work.
• Automation & Rules: Automate assignments, status moves, and notifications; integrate with chat and dev tools.
• Portfolios & Goals: Give leadership program-level visibility and alignment across projects.

Best For: Medium to large teams that need centralized coordination across functions and projects.

🧩 Feature Comparison Table

To help you choose, here’s a breakdown of how these apps stack up on key features for developers. While ecosystem apps like Microsoft To Do offer simplicity with My Day and Outlook integration, and Apple Reminders fits users deep in the Apple ecosystem, the tools below provide more specialized power. For Mac-only users, Things 3 (an Apple Design Award winner) is another premium option.

Note: Google Tasks is simple for basic lists, but lacks the deeper developer integrations many teams require.

Conclusion

Choosing the best to-do app depends on your workflow, team structure, and preferences. There is no single “best” tool—only the right tool for you. Start by clarifying the problem you need to solve.

• All-in-One Solo Developer: Super Productivity combines developer integrations, time tracking, and open-source transparency.
• Knowledge-Driven Developer: Obsidian is ideal for a private, integrated system for notes + tasks (via plugins).
• Command-Line Purist: Taskwarrior remains the CLI king for speed and scriptability.
• Modern Agile Team: Linear offers a fast, opinionated workflow that helps teams ship.
• Versatile Organizer: Todoist is a reliable all-rounder with strong input and filters.
• Visual Planner: Trello (simplicity) and Asana (enterprise-grade coordination) cover visual and structured needs.

The future of developer productivity lies in tools that reduce cognitive load through smart automation, relevant integrations, and practical AI. The right tool won’t just track your work—it will help you do it better.