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Settings

2Do's settings are grouped the way you use the app. Open them from 2Do > Settings... — the sidebar lists, in order: General, Appearance, Tasks, Today & Lists, Calendar, Alerts, Mail to 2Do (shown for eligible licenses), Sync, Security, Backups, Updates (direct-download builds only), and Diagnostics.

This page walks the settings window pane by pane, in the same order, covering every option.

General​

General settings cover startup, language and region, Quick Entry, sounds, and warnings.

The General settings pane

Startup​

  • Launch 2Do on System Startup — opens the main app when you sign in. Turning it on also enables the 2Do Alarm Helper below.
  • Launch 2Do Alarm Helper on System Startup — the 2Do Alarm Helper is 2Do's alarm and Quick Entry engine: it registers and shows your alarms and keeps the global Quick Entry shortcut alive, even when 2Do itself is not open. If it hasn't been allowed yet, this row shows an Allow 2Do Alarm Helper button instead; if it's allowed but not running, 2Do points you to System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions › App Background Activity (on macOS 13 and 14 the path is System Settings › General › Login Items › Allow in the Background). Its login item appears there as 2Do Quick Entry & Alarms. Turning the helper off also turns off Launch 2Do on System Startup.
important

The 2Do Alarm Helper is required for alarms and Quick Entry to work — alarms are delivered by the helper, not the main app. Keep it enabled. If alarms stop firing, see Alarms Not Working?

Language & Region​

  • Language — changes 2Do's interface language from a long list of built-in translations, or Default to follow macOS. Changing it asks you to relaunch 2Do (Quit now or Later).
  • Week Starts — Automatic (follow macOS) or a fixed first day of the week.

Quick Entry​

Quick Entry is the fast capture window you can call from anywhere on your Mac.

  • Shortcut — record the system-wide hotkey that opens Quick Entry. It works even when 2Do isn't running, provided Launch 2Do Alarm Helper on System Startup is enabled. If your chosen combination is already taken, 2Do beeps and asks for another.
  • Auto-fill notes with text from clipboard — puts the current clipboard text into the new task's notes. On by default.
  • Display above currently focused application — shows Quick Entry over the app you're already using, which is helpful on multi-monitor setups. On by default.

Sounds​

  • Play task completion sounds — plays a short sound when you mark tasks done or undone from the task list. Completing a task also triggers a brief haptic on supported hardware.

Warnings​

  • Confirmation warnings — Clear — restores the prompts you previously hid with "Don't Ask Me" choices, such as project-completion and archive warnings.

Appearance​

Appearance settings control the theme and how the task list looks.

The Appearance settings pane with the theme cards

Theme​

At the top, a Light / Dark switcher (sun and moon) sits above the theme cards. It does not force a look on the whole app — instead it selects which slot you are editing: the theme used when macOS is in Light mode, and the theme used when macOS is in Dark mode. 2Do follows your Mac's current appearance automatically and applies the matching slot.

  • To let 2Do switch looks with the system, assign a light theme to the Light slot and a dark theme to the Dark slot.
  • To force one look everywhere, assign the same theme to both the Light and Dark slots.
note

Your theme choice is stored per device and is not synced over iCloud. The active theme applies to the whole app, not to individual windows.

Display​

  • Text Size — a slider from a compact small-"A" size up to very large task text.
  • Content Width — a slider from Full to Compact; narrower settings add padding around your tasks for easier reading.

Task List​

  • Always show list names — shows the source list next to tasks when several lists are visible together.
  • Always show tag names — keeps tag bubbles visible on task rows. When turned off, hold Option to reveal them at any time. See Tags.
  • Show notes under tasks — shows note previews in the task list.
  • Use friendly dates — tasks overdue or due in the next few days show a relative date such as Today or Tomorrow.
  • Show overdue tasks in red — makes overdue tasks easier to spot.

Tasks​

The Tasks pane follows a task's life from top to bottom: where new tasks land, the due date and time they receive, when they count as overdue, what happens to them once completed, and finally the keyboard behaviors used while working with them.

The Tasks settings pane

New Tasks​

  • Getting Things Done® Inbox — shows a special Inbox list that becomes your main collection list for GTD-style triage. Enabling it asks for confirmation and switches Always Use Default List on; disabling it deletes the Inbox list and its tasks, so 2Do double-checks first.
  • Default list — the list new tasks land in when you create them from a Focus List or Quick Entry. Pick any list, or Last used. Locked while the GTD Inbox is on (the Inbox is the default then).
  • Always Use Default List — sends every new task to the default list, regardless of the list you're viewing. Forced on while the GTD Inbox is enabled.

Default Due Date​

  • Default due date for new tasks — a switch paired with a picker: turn it on, then choose Same Day, Day After, 2 Days Later, 3 Days Later, 1 Week Later, 2 Weeks Later, or Next Month. The options below unlock when it's on.
  • Only use in Quick Entry — apply the default due date only to Quick Entry captures.
  • Do not use in Quick Entry — use the default due date everywhere except Quick Entry.
  • Use today's date in the Today list — new tasks added while viewing the Today list are due today instead of the default due date, so they stay in the list you're looking at. On by default; turn it off to have your default due date apply in Today too.

Default Due Time​

  • Default due time — a switch paired with a time picker: the time of day tasks without a due time default to when you set their due date (9:00 AM until you change it).
note

Due time gives a dated task a specific time of day. If you prefer date-only tasks with no visible clock time, leave the default due time off.

Overdue​

  • Due Time taken into account when marking a task Overdue — with this on, a task turns overdue the moment its due time passes, not just its due date.

Completed Tasks​

  • Show completed tasks for — how long completed tasks stay visible: Never, Always, or a window from 1 minute up to 1 month.
  • Apply rule to sub-tasks — applies the same hiding rule to completed sub-tasks.
  • Auto-delete completed tasks — removes older completed tasks automatically (Never, or from 1 day up to 1 year) to keep 2Do, sync, and your connected services running smoothly. The deletion syncs like any other change, so the task is removed from your connected service as well. This setting also trims what sync imports in the first place: completed tasks already older than this window are skipped when Reminders or Todoist history is imported, rather than downloaded and deleted again — which keeps first syncs fast and, with Todoist, avoids wasting its limited API quota.
  • Delay sub-tasks by 3 weeks — gives completed sub-tasks a three-week grace period before auto-delete touches them.
note

The Today Focus List never shows completed tasks, even if other lists are configured to keep completed items visible.

Keyboard​

  • Hit ⏎ to create a new task, ⌘+⏎ to edit — swaps what plain Return does in the task list.
  • Hit ⏎ when editing sub-task titles to create a new sub-task — keeps you in flow when typing out a checklist.
  • Enable Quick Look for Tasks — press Spacebar on a task to see a zoomed-in Quick Look window with additional information.

Today & Lists​

Everything about what your Today list includes, how lists sort, and the counts they show.

The Today & Lists settings pane

Today List​

Calendar events can appear above Today or across supported lists. Choose where they appear under Calendar.

  • Include overdue items — whether Today also shows what's overdue.
  • Include starred items — whether Today shows starred tasks, including starred tasks from lists otherwise excluded from Today (right-click a list to edit its exclusion options).
  • Include 'Still Working On' tasks — turn this off to hide tasks with past start dates unless they're due today.

Focus & Smart Lists​

  • Always list matched sub-tasks separately — uncheck to hide sub-tasks when their parent task is also visible in the list.
  • Inherit Search — opening a project or checklist keeps the search keywords you typed outside it, so the project view stays filtered by the active search. Turn it off to see every sub-task while inside a project. See Smart Lists.

Sorting​

  • Sorting by due date uses grouped dates — tasks appear under grouped headings (Today, Tomorrow, Next 7 Days, Future) instead of individual dates.
  • Sort starred items above hi-priority — changes priority sorting when stars and priorities overlap.

Counts​

  • Counts on lists — choose which badge numbers each list shows in the sidebar: None, Overdue items, or Overdue + Undone.
  • Undone counts should include Overdue tasks — controls whether overdue items are included in list counters.

Widget​

  • Widget List — the list where tasks created from a widget's + button or New Task action are filed. Leave it on None to use your usual default-list rules.

Calendar​

The Calendar pane shows your Apple Calendar events as a read-only bar pinned above Today and other supported task lists.

The Calendar settings pane with per-calendar checkboxes
  • Show Calendar Events in Lists is off by default. It shows your Calendar events above built-in Focus Lists, including Today, and above your regular task lists. The day bar remains hidden in project and checklist views, Smart Lists, and search results.
  • Show Calendar Events in Today is on by default. It shows your Calendar events only above Today. Turning on the Lists setting turns this option off and disables it. To use Today-only display again, turn off the Lists setting and then turn this setting on. Leave both settings off to hide the day bar.
  • Calendars is a per-calendar checklist (color dot, title, and source). Calendars that are not disabled are included automatically, so newly added calendars appear by default. Uncheck a calendar to exclude it. The checklist is disabled only when both display settings are off.

If 2Do has not been granted access yet, this pane shows an Allow Calendar Access button; if access was denied, it shows Open System Settings instead. Write-only access gets its own row, Full Calendar Access Required — "2Do needs Full Calendar Access to read and show events" — again with an Open System Settings button.

Learn more about Calendar integration.

Alerts​

Alerts settings control automatic reminders, how alert windows appear, what the Dock badge counts, and which lists are allowed to alert you at all. The pane has two tabs: General and Exclusions.

The Alerts settings pane, General tab

Notifications​

The Notifications method picker chooses how 2Do delivers alarms:

  • 2Do — shows 2Do's own alert cards. They stack in the top-trailing corner of the display your pointer is on (the position is automatic, and you can drag the stack while it is visible) and unlock the repeat-sound and Focus options below. Alerts are delivered by the 2Do Alarm Helper, so they reach you even when the app isn't running.
  • Notification Center — hands the alert to macOS to deliver as a standard notification.
note

Alarms are registered and shown by the 2Do Alarm Helper, so Launch 2Do Alarm Helper on System Startup (under General) is required for alerts to fire. Location and "nearby" alerts always use Notification Center regardless of this setting.

2Do Notifications​

These options apply only when the notification method is set to 2Do; they are disabled for Notification Center.

  • Sound alerts repeat until dismissed — how often 2Do replays an unacknowledged alert's sound: Never, Every 2 mins, Every 5 mins, or Every 10 mins.
  • Silence custom alarms during any Focus — off by default. Turn it on to hide and silence 2Do's alarm cards whenever any macOS Focus is active. Leave it off if you only want alarms silenced in the specific Focus modes where you add the 2Do Focus Filter. See System Focus Filters and Alarms and Nagging.

Default Reminders​

2Do can add a reminder for you automatically when you give a task a due time or a due date. Each row pairs a reminder's timing picker with its own switch:

  • Remind me of tasks with a due time — automatically adds a reminder to every task that has a due time. The picker next to the switch chooses the timing: At due time, or 5 / 10 / 15 / 30 minutes, 1 / 2 / 6 / 12 hours, or 1 / 2 days before.
  • Remind me of tasks with a due date — the same, for tasks that have a due date but no due time. A due date without a time means midnight on that day, so the timings (On due date, or the same offsets before it) count back from midnight.
tip

Alarms and Quick Entry are handled by the 2Do Alarm Helper — keep Launch 2Do Alarm Helper on System Startup enabled under General, or alerts won't fire.

Dock Badge​

  • Count on Dock app icon — chooses what the red badge on 2Do's Dock icon counts: None, All items, Overdue, Today, Today + Overdue, Today + Tomorrow, Hi-Priority, Starred, Next 3 Days, Next Week, Next Month, Next 6 Months, or Next Year.

Today counts what the Today list shows for today — following its Starred and Still Working On rules — but never overdue tasks, even when the Today list is set to show them. Pick Today + Overdue when you want the badge to count both.

Exclusions​

The Exclusions tab decides which lists may alert you. Every list appears with a switch under List Alerts, grouped by list group. Alerts are enabled for all lists by default — turn a list off to silence alerts from its tasks, including lists shared with you.

The Alerts settings pane, Exclusions tab with per-list alert switches
  • Turning a list off cancels its pending and snoozed alerts immediately; turning it back on re-registers them.
  • The setting is local to this Mac and never syncs — mute a noisy list here while your other devices keep alerting.
  • Smart Lists and Focus Lists aren't listed; alerts belong to the real list a task lives in. Hidden lists appear here only while the Security settings are unlocked.

See Silencing Alerts for Specific Lists.

Mail to 2Do​

Mail to 2Do gives this Mac a private, receive-only email address — anything sent to it becomes a task. The pane appears when your license is eligible for the feature. This is the settings reference; the full guide, including subject filing instructions and troubleshooting, lives on Mail to 2Do.

The Mail to 2Do settings pane with the private address and destination list
  • Enable Mail to 2Do — the master switch: "Create tasks by sending email to your private 2Do address." Turning it on provisions your private address (a small spinner shows while 2Do sets it up). Turning it off asks for confirmation first, because the address is deleted permanently along with any pending mail — re-enabling later creates a completely new address. If something needs attention, a status line appears here (address expired, license paused, all address slots in use, and so on).
  • How Mail to 2Do works — an expandable summary of the feature with its limits shown as capsules: No attachments, Plain text only, Notes up to 10,000 characters, 50 emails per day — plus the privacy note: mail is encrypted for this Mac the moment it arrives, 2Do's service can't read it, and it's deleted the instant your task saves (or after 30 days, whichever comes first).
  • Your Address — shown once enabled: your private …@2doapp.email address in selectable monospaced text, with a one-click copy button.
  • Default destination list — under Delivery, the list emailed tasks land in when the email doesn't name a list itself (via list(...) in the subject). Defaults to the Inbox; grouped like your sidebar.
  • Fetch mail — also under Delivery: 2Do checks for new mail automatically in the background, and the Fetch Now button checks immediately whenever you don't feel like waiting.
  • Replace Address — under Manage: immediately and permanently retires the current address and issues a new one on the same license slot. 2Do confirms first; pending mail for the old address is deleted. Use it if your address has spread further than you'd like.

Two situations bring up extra choices:

  • Address ownership — after restoring or cloning a database, 2Do may ask whether to Move Address to This Mac (keep the address; the other Mac stops receiving, its undelivered mail is deleted) or Use a New Address (leave the other Mac untouched and give this copy its own address).
  • Address slots — a sheet lists the license's addresses (partially masked, with last-used dates) so you can permanently Release one you no longer need. It's titled Manage Addresses normally, and Free an Address Slot when every slot on your license is in use — in that case setup retries automatically once you release one. The footer reads "Using X of Y addresses for this license".

Sync​

Sync keeps your lists and tasks in step across your Macs and mobile devices. The pane has two tabs: Setup and Exclusions.

The Sync settings pane, Setup tab

Setup​

2Do syncs through a single account at a time. Under Setup, choose a provider from the Account Type pop-up and connect:

  • Account Type — pick one of None, Dropbox, Reminders, Todoist, Toodledo, iCloud CalDAV, Fastmail, Yahoo, Fruux, or Custom CalDAV — each linked to its own setup guide. Once an account is connected this pop-up is locked, so you can't silently add or switch to a second service. (WebDAV is coming soon and will appear here when it ships.)
  • Enable Sync — a master switch that turns all syncing on or off once a provider is configured.
  • Credentials — the fields depend on the provider. Dropbox signs in with a Link Account button (and shows your account name and email once linked, with Unlink to disconnect). Reminders and Todoist need no credentials here, just Connect (Todoist signs you in through your browser). iCloud CalDAV asks for your Apple Account and an App-Specific Password, and Fastmail asks for your Email and an App-Specific Password (in both cases your normal password won't work). Yahoo, Fruux, and Toodledo take a username and password. Custom CalDAV adds Server Address, Path, Port, and Use SSL (on by default).
  • Connect / Change Account — providers show Connect to sign in, then Change Account once connected. Changing the account resets the current sync setup (2Do confirms first) and lets you pick a different Account Type.

The footer shows Last Sync, and the Last Error if something went wrong. A small ? button at the bottom opens the online guide for the selected sync method. Use the same account on every device that runs 2Do.

note

The first time you connect to a self-hosted server with a private certificate, 2Do shows a "Can't Verify This Server" prompt with the server's fingerprint — confirm to trust it.

Learn more about Sync, or jump straight to the setup guide for Dropbox, Apple Reminders, Todoist, Toodledo, iCloud CalDAV, Fastmail, Custom CalDAV (Fruux, Yahoo, Nextcloud…), or WebDAV.

What Syncs​

Each connected account has an expandable What syncs across your devices summary. When a provider can't carry something, it shows a "Stays on this Mac" strip of capsules, plus a small help button with more detail. What syncs varies by service: Dropbox syncs everything, CalDAV leaves out 2Do's grouping features (Smart Lists, tag groups and list groups), and Todoist and Reminders leave attachments and standalone locations on this Mac.

Provider Options​

Below the summary, each provider adds its own switches:

  • Keep completed tasks (Reminders and Todoist) — how far back completed tasks are imported and kept in 2Do. Reminders offers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 18, or 24 months; Todoist offers 3, 6, or 12 months. 12 months is the default for both. With Reminders, completed tasks older than the window are removed from 2Do only and left untouched in Apple Reminders. With Todoist, completed tasks outside the window are simply never imported into 2Do. If Auto-delete completed tasks is on under Tasks, the import reaches back only as far as the shorter of the two windows — older completions are skipped entirely rather than imported and immediately deleted.
  • Sync extra task properties in notes (Todoist) — stores 2Do-only fields as text in Todoist task descriptions so they survive between your devices. See Sync with Todoist.
  • Sync 2Do lists as Toodledo Folders (Toodledo) — turn off to sync 2Do lists as Toodledo Contexts instead.
  • Sync list ordering (CalDAV, Dropbox, WebDAV) — keeps your sidebar's list order in sync.
  • Sync audio notes / Sync pictures (CalDAV, Dropbox, WebDAV) — whether a task's audio and picture attachments travel with it. Both on by default.
  • Sync app preferences (CalDAV, Toodledo, Dropbox, WebDAV) — syncs supported app preferences alongside your tasks.

Automatic Sync​

  • Sync automatically — leave it on for continuous background sync, or turn it off to sync manually (⌘S). This choice is local to each device.

Next Sync Action​

After the first sync, a Next sync action picker at the bottom of Setup changes what the next sync does — Merge Sync, Replace Local Data, or Replace Server Data (the picker names the service, e.g. Replace Server (Dropbox) Data) — then it returns to Sync Normally. It applies only to the next sync; 2Do asks you to confirm any destructive choice. Merge Sync is available for every provider; Replace Server Data is offered for every provider except Todoist and Reminders.

important

Use Replace Server Data only when this Mac has the data you want to keep. Use Replace Local Data when the sync service has the data you want to pull down. Merge reconciles both sides and keeps unmatched items from each.

Exclusions​

The Exclusions tab lets you switch on lists that should stay on this Mac. Selected lists, along with their tasks, are excluded from sync. Lists are grouped by their list group. (Lists subscribed over LAN sharing can't be excluded — they don't take part in account sync to begin with. The tab is also briefly unavailable while a sync is running.)

The Sync settings pane, Exclusions tab

Security​

Security settings control the master password, list privacy, and archived lists. The pane has three tabs: Protection, Privacy, and Archived. A lock button at the bottom of every tab guards these settings themselves: once a master password is set, click the lock to make changes and click it again to prevent them (it also relocks itself after a while).

The Security settings pane, Protection tab

Protection​

Master Password

  • Set Password… / Change Password… — creates or changes the master password used to unlock protected content. Passwords need at least 4 characters.
  • Remove Password — removes password protection (shown once a password exists).

Auto-Lock

  • Lock after a period of inactivity — relocks protected content when your Mac has been idle.
  • Lock after — the inactivity window: 1, 2, 5, 10, or 20 minutes (2 minutes by default).
  • Lock when the window is minimized — relocks as soon as the 2Do window is minimized.
  • Use Touch ID to unlock — unlocks with Touch ID; shown only on Macs that support it. Touch ID also works in the password dialogs themselves.

App Lock

  • Lock everything — requires the password to unlock the app's whole UI, instead of protecting individual lists. Turning it on replaces any per-list locks.

Password-Protected Lists

A per-list switch group: tasks from selected lists stay hidden from all places, including Smart Lists, until unlocked. See Password Protection.

Privacy​

The Security settings pane, Privacy tab

List Visibility — toggle the visibility of individual lists if you don't want certain lists shown in the side panel. The switch means "visible", so turn a list off to hide it; 2Do won't let you hide your last remaining list.

note

Hidden lists and their tasks are still included during sync. To keep a list off the server too, exclude it under Sync > Exclusions.

tip

Use Privacy when you do not want a list visible during normal browsing. Use Lock when the list can remain visible but should require the password before opening.

Archived Lists​

Archived lists stay out of your active sidebar without being deleted. Each row has an Unarchive button that makes the list visible again after a quick confirmation.

note

Archived lists stay hidden from active views, except Smart Lists and Done. They still sync unless you also exclude the list under Sync > Exclusions.

Backups​

Backups are local safety snapshots of your 2Do data.

The Backups settings pane
  • Create backups — choose None, Every 24 Hours, or Every 48 Hours. 2Do also makes a safety backup automatically before a Replace Local Data sync (this one is handled for you, not a toggle).
  • Keep at most — how many automatic backups 2Do keeps: 5, 10, 20, or 30.
  • The backup list — one row per backup with its size and creation date. Each row's ⋯ menu offers Restore…, Save a Copy… (save that backup somewhere else, such as iCloud Drive or Dropbox), and Delete.
  • Create Backup Now — takes a fresh backup on the spot.
  • Restore from File… — pick a saved backup file from disk and open it in the restore browser.

Choosing Restore… (from a backup row's ⋯ menu, or Restore from File…) opens the Restore Backup browser, where you can restore just the lists you need rather than everything:

  • Restore Selected is additive and non-destructive. It duplicates the lists you tick (regular lists and Smart Lists) into a new Restored group, leaving your existing lists and tasks untouched.
  • Restore Everything… is destructive. After a final confirmation it replaces your current 2Do database with the backup (2Do saves a fresh safety backup of your existing data first) and quits; relaunch it to continue with the restored data.

Learn more about Backups.

important

Restore Everything… replaces the current local data. If you're unsure, save a fresh backup first, or use Restore Selected to bring back individual lists safely.

Updates​

The Updates settings pane

This pane only appears in direct-download builds — Mac App Store and Setapp builds update through their own store apps.

  • Join 2Do Beta — opt in to beta releases. You're prompted automatically when the next beta is available to download, and you're still notified of stable releases so you always have the latest copy installed.

Diagnostics​

Diagnostics are for troubleshooting and support.

The Diagnostics settings pane
  • Show Logs — reveals 2Do's log folder in Finder.
  • Email Diagnostic Report — asks for confirmation first (Share Logs with Support?), then bundles the logs and a database summary into an email addressed to 2Do support.
  • Optimize Database — performs local database maintenance and cleans up auto-deletable completed tasks.
  • Reset Application Data… — wipes local app data and installs a fresh, empty database. 2Do warns you clearly first, and quits for a relaunch once done.
important

Reset Application Data is destructive — everything stored in 2Do on this Mac is removed. Save a backup first unless you are deliberately starting over.

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