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Sync with Todoist

2Do can sync through your Todoist account. Your Todoist projects appear as 2Do lists, and your tasks stay in step across every device signed in to the same Todoist account. Signing in happens on Todoist's own page, and 2Do never sees or stores your Todoist password.

Connect

  1. Open Settings > Sync and stay on the Setup tab.
  2. Open Account Type and choose Todoist.
  3. Tap Set Up Sync. Todoist's sign-in page opens inside 2Do.
  4. Sign in to Todoist if needed and approve 2Do's request. The page closes and the account is linked.

There are no username or password fields. 2Do keeps only the access token Todoist hands back, in the device's keychain.

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The sign-in step times out after 180 seconds. If you do not finish signing in and approving within that window, tap Set Up Sync again to start over.

Once connected, the Account Type menu is locked; 2Do syncs one account at a time. To connect a different Todoist account, reset the current one with Change Account first. If you authorize a different Todoist login than the one already attached, 2Do refuses it with "Todoist account changed. Please reset Todoist sync before connecting a different account."

If a Previous Setup Did Not Finish

If an earlier Todoist setup was interrupted before its first sync completed, 2Do asks to clear it before continuing. The confirmation is titled Reset Incomplete Todoist Setup and explains "The previous Todoist sync did not finish. Continuing will reset its incomplete sync information. Your tasks in 2Do will not be deleted." Tap Continue to start the setup cleanly.

What Syncs

When you sync with Todoist, your tasks, projects, tags, due dates, durations and starred status sync across your devices. Todoist sections, deadlines, comments, attachments and standalone locations are not synced by 2Do, and Replace Server is not available for Todoist.

In practice:

  • Projects become lists, and each 2Do list becomes a Todoist project.
  • Tasks, with their tags, due dates, durations, and starred state.
  • Sub-tasks and hierarchy are preserved between your own 2Do devices.

What Stays on This Device

Some 2Do features are not carried by Todoist sync and stay on this device:

  • Smart Lists
  • Tag groups
  • List groups
  • Unused tags
  • Attachments
  • Locations

A few Todoist-only concepts do not come into 2Do either: sections stay in Todoist, and deadlines, comments, and Todoist attachments are not imported.

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Replace Server Data is not available for Todoist. Because Todoist is a full app you also use directly, 2Do will not wipe the Todoist side wholesale. You can still choose Merge Sync or Replace Local Data from the Next sync action picker; see Merge vs Replace.

Todoist Options

With Todoist connected, the Setup tab shows these controls.

Sync completed tasks

A picker for how far back 2Do imports your completed Todoist history: 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months, with 12 months to start. Its description reads "Older completed Todoist tasks outside this window aren't imported into 2Do. A shorter period keeps sync fast."

A shorter window makes the first sync lighter and faster; a longer one pulls in more of your finished history. Completed tasks left outside the window are untouched and stay in your Todoist account.

Sync extra task properties in notes

A switch that is on to start. It stores 2Do start dates, starred state, actions, project/checklist type and repeat-from-completion in Todoist task descriptions. Duration is added here only if Todoist rejects native duration writes for this account.

Todoist has no native home for several 2Do fields, so with this switch on, 2Do records them as plain-text @tag:value lines inside each task's Todoist description. That is how those details survive the round trip between your own devices. Turn it off if you would rather keep Todoist descriptions completely clean, and accept that those fields are dropped as they pass through Todoist.

TagMeaning
@startdate:YYYY-MM-DD (plus optional @starttime:HH:MM)Start date and time
@starredThe task is starred
@action:<type> (plus @actionvalue:<value>)Task action (call, email, URL, and so on)
@tasktype:project / @tasktype:checklistWhether the item is a project or a checklist
@repeatfromcompletionRecurrence counts from the completion date
@duration:<seconds>Task duration, written only when Todoist rejects native duration writes for the account

It is a shorter list than Reminders uses because Todoist stores more natively: tags map to Todoist labels, and parent and sub-task structure travels through Todoist's own parent relationship. Inside 2Do these lines are parsed out and hidden; you only see your real note text. Avoid editing the @… lines by hand in Todoist, as they carry the information 2Do needs to rebuild your task.

Sync automatically

The shared device switch: "Turn this off to sync manually by pulling down on the task list." Leave it on for automatic sync, or turn it off on this device and sync on demand.

Daily Sync

Once connected, 2Do syncs when you open it, when iOS grants it background time, and whenever you pull down on the task list.

Troubleshooting

Sync seems stuck or slow

Todoist enforces its own API rate limits. During a very large first import, or when sync is triggered repeatedly, Todoist may briefly throttle requests. 2Do backs off and resumes on the next cycle; give it a moment rather than forcing sync again.

Sign-in does not complete

The sign-in window closes on its own after 180 seconds. Tap Set Up Sync again and finish signing in and approving without leaving the app.

One device shows different tasks

Sync the device with the correct data and let it finish, then choose Replace Local Data from Next sync action on the device that is behind. See One of my devices isn't syncing correctly.

Tips

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Keep Sync extra task properties in notes on if you use start dates, actions, or project and checklist structure. It is the only way those details survive a trip through Todoist and reappear intact on your other 2Do devices.

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Todoist suits you best when you want your tasks living inside Todoist too and can trade away attachments and standalone locations. If you rely on those, iCloud and Dropbox carry them in full.