Sync with Apple Reminders
Apple Reminders is a full, integrated sync method in 2Do for Mac. It's built on Apple's native EventKit, the same framework the Reminders app itself uses, so your 2Do tasks show up right inside Apple Reminders while 2Do keeps your projects and sub-tasks intact across your own 2Do devices.
This page covers the Reminders sync method, which talks to Apple Reminders through EventKit on this Mac. It is a different account type from iCloud CalDAV, which syncs iCloud's CalDAV task lists over the network and does not show your tasks in the Reminders app. Pick one method and use it on every device; see Choosing a sync method.
What Stays on This Mac
Some 2Do-only features stay on this Mac and are not carried by Apple Reminders sync:
- Smart Lists
- Tag groups
- List groups
- Unused tags
- Attachments
- Locations
For a comparison of what each method carries, see Choosing a sync method.
How Your Data Looks in the Reminders App
- Across your 2Do devices — projects and sub-tasks keep their full structure.
- In the Reminders app — they appear as a flat list; Reminders doesn't reconstruct 2Do's hierarchy in its own interface.
Hierarchy is also one-way: projects and sub-tasks created directly in Reminders are not shared with other apps, including 2Do, so structure you build in Reminders won't come across.
Extended Properties in Notes
Apple Reminders can't natively store everything 2Do tracks. To preserve those extra 2Do properties, 2Do encodes them as plain-text @tag:value lines and appends them to the bottom of the reminder's Notes. This includes things like start dates, starred state, actions, project/checklist type, sub-task hierarchy identity, duration, and repeat-from-completion.
The tags 2Do writes include:
| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
@taskid:<uuid> | Stable identity for the task |
@parenttaskid:<uuid> | Which project/parent the task belongs to |
@tasktype:project / @tasktype:checklist | Whether the item is a project or a checklist |
@startdate:YYYY-MM-DD (+ optional @starttime:HH:MM) | Start date/time |
@duration:<seconds> | Task duration |
@starred | The task is starred |
@tags:tag1, tag2 | Assigned tags |
@action:<type> (+ @actionvalue:<value>) | Task action (call, email, URL, etc.) |
@repeatfromcompletion | Recurrence counts from the completion date |
This encoding is always on for Reminders sync; there's no setting to turn it off. Between 2Do installs, these lines are parsed out and hidden, so 2Do users see clean notes with just their actual text.
@… lines if you open the note in RemindersBecause these tags live in the reminder's Notes, they're visible at the bottom of the note in Reminders (and any app that reads the raw note text). That's expected. Inside 2Do those lines never appear; you only see your real note. Avoid hand-editing the @… lines in Reminders, as they carry the information 2Do needs to rebuild your task.
Setup
- Open 2Do > Settings > Sync and stay on the Setup tab.
- Open the Account Type pop-up and choose Reminders.
- Click Connect. There are no username or password fields; Reminders sync uses your Mac's own Reminders access, not an online login.
- macOS asks whether to let 2Do access your Reminders. Grant Full Access.
- Repeat on each of your devices to keep your 2Do data in sync everywhere.
2Do needs Full Access to Reminders. If access is write-only or denied, 2Do can't sync; it shows a Reminders Access Required alert with an Open System Settings button that takes you to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Reminders. Turn Full Access on for 2Do there, then connect again.
Once connected, the Account Type pop-up is locked. To move to a different method later, use Change Account first (this resets the current sync setup), then pick a new Account Type. The master Enable Sync switch turns syncing on and off without disconnecting.
Sync Options
On the Setup tab, Reminders sync offers:
- Keep completed tasks — how far back completed tasks are imported and kept in 2Do: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 18, or 24 months (12 months by default). Older completed tasks are removed from 2Do only and left in Apple Reminders. Nothing is deleted from Reminders by this setting. If Auto-delete completed tasks (Settings > Tasks) is on, 2Do also skips importing completed reminders that are already older than the auto-delete window — there's no point downloading history it would delete again moments later. The import reaches back only as far as the shorter of the two windows; skipped reminders stay untouched in Apple Reminders, and the first sync stays light and fast.
- Sync automatically — leave this on for continuous background sync; turn it off to sync only when you trigger it manually.
The Setup footer shows Last Sync (a time or "Never") and, if something went wrong, a red Last Error line.
Next Sync Action
After your first sync, a Next Sync Action picker appears under 2Do > Settings > Sync > Setup. It applies once to the next sync, then returns to Sync Normally. For Reminders, the available choices are:
- Sync Normally
- Merge Sync — reconciles this device with the synced data, matching existing items where it can and keeping both copies when an item was created separately on each side and can't be matched confidently.
- Replace Local Data — replaces the syncable tasks and lists on this Mac with what's currently synced.
Reminders sync does not offer Replace Server Data: Reminders is an app you also use directly, so 2Do won't overwrite it wholesale. Your options are Sync Normally, Merge Sync, and Replace Local Data.
Before choosing Replace Local Data, read Merge vs Replace; the wrong choice can overwrite good data.
Tips
Choose Reminders if you want your 2Do tasks to appear inside the Apple Reminders app. Choose iCloud CalDAV if you want Apple-hosted task lists that sync across your 2Do devices but don't show up in Reminders. They're separate account types; you can't run both at once.
Sync isn't a backup. Use Settings > Backups (a backup's ⋯ menu > Save a Copy…) to keep milestone backups somewhere safe, independent of whichever sync method you use.