ClearDesk

Adding and opening tasks

Add a task: type in Add a task… at the top and press Enter. The field is left and the new task is selected in the list, so Tab adds a subtask to it right away; press ↑ or N to go back and add another task. Shorthand sets fields as you type — !high !med !low (!! for high), #project, @tag and a date word (today, tomorrow, a weekday, next week, in 3 days, 2026-12-24). A preview under the bar shows what it understood; Shift+Enter adds the text exactly as typed.

Where it goes: a #project you type wins; otherwise the project you are viewing; otherwise the default project picked at the right end of the bar; otherwise Inbox. In My Day an undated task gets today's date.

Click selects, double-click opens. A single click only selects a task. A double-click anywhere on it (list row or board card) opens it in the side panel; a double-click on the title text renames it instead. Cards and rows behave the same.

Rename: double-click the title or a subtask’s text, or press F2 on the selected task. Enter saves, Esc cancels.

Selecting several tasks

Cmd/Ctrl+click adds or removes a task, Shift+click selects a range, Cmd/Ctrl+A selects every visible task. The title shows how many are selected.

The toolbar above the list — Complete, Priority, Due, Move to | Duplicate, Delete — acts on the whole selection (or on the one selected task) and is greyed out when nothing is selected. The right-click menu does the same.

The row menu

Right-click a task (or use its ⋯ button, or the Menu key / Shift+F10) for Open details, Mark complete, then Priority, Status, Due and Move to as submenus, then Add subtask, Duplicate and Delete. It acts on the whole selection when you right-click a selected task, and never changes the selection.

Due offers Today, Tomorrow, Next week, Clear — and a date field for any other date. The same menu (with the same field) opens from the toolbar’s calendar button and from the Due cell.

Undo: Cmd/Ctrl+Z takes back the last edit or delete, and the toast that appears offers Undo too.

Writing notes

Switch between Tasks, Notes and Prompts with the three icons at the top of the sidebar (a circled check, a note and curly braces; hover one for its name) or with Option+Cmd+1 / 2 / 3. Notes are kept in folders: the sidebar lists All Notes, Pinned (every pinned note, from any folder) and your folders, the middle column lists the notes (newest edit first) and the right side is the editor.

New note: the New button, or N. Give it a title and start typing — it saves as you type. A note you leave completely empty is removed again.

Formatting: the toolbar has a text style (Body, Title, Heading, Subheading, Quote, Code), bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, bulleted and numbered lists, checklists (click a circle to tick it), links (Cmd/Ctrl+K) and clear formatting. Cmd/Ctrl+B, Cmd/Ctrl+I and Cmd/Ctrl+U work as usual, and Tab indents a list item. Cmd/Ctrl+click opens a link.

Links, e-mail addresses and phone numbers (also the link button, ⌘K: type a web address, an e-mail address or a phone number; right-click a link to open, copy, edit or remove it) are recognised and linked: a web or e-mail address as soon as you type the space after it, and everything on a line (phone numbers too) when you finish it with ↵ or move to another line; also when a note opens. ⌘-click opens one (in a locked note a plain click does). Web addresses open in a new tab, e-mail addresses in your mail app, phone numbers in your phone app.

Pin a note: ⋯ → Pin Note (or right-click it in the list) keeps it at the top of its list under a Pinned heading. Unpin Note puts it back.

Recently Deleted: deleting a note moves it to Recently Deleted at the bottom of the sidebar, where it stays for 30 days. Open it there to Restore it or Delete Now; Delete All empties the list. Deleting a note that is already there removes it for good.

Text colour and highlight: select some text and use the A button in the toolbar. The first swatch of each row removes the colour. Colours adapt to light and dark mode.

The / menu: type / at the start of a line (or after a space) to insert a title, heading, checklist, list, quote, code block, table, divider or today's date. Keep typing to narrow the list (/ta finds Table), ↑ ↓ move, ↵ or Tab inserts, Esc closes it and leaves the slash as text. It stays out of code blocks and locked notes.

Markdown shortcuts: at the start of a line type # ## ### for a title, heading or subheading (#### to ###### make Heading 4 to 6; they are not in the style menu, but it names the one your cursor is in), [] for a checklist, > for a quote, - / 1. for lists; --- then ↵ makes a divider and ``` then ↵ a code block (```js then ↵ remembers the language and shows it above the code). Quote and Code are also in the text style menu. In a code block press ↵ twice at the end (or ⌘↵) to carry on below it, and ⌫ at its start turns it back into normal text.

Copy, export and print: ⋯ → Copy Note puts the note on the clipboard for pasting into Mail; Copy As puts it there as Rich Text, Plain Text, Markdown or HTML (the HTML is the same inline-styled markup Mail gets, as source text). With text selected in the note, Copy Selection As does the same for just that text. Export saves it as a .txt, .md or .html file, as a Note File (.json) that ClearDesk can import again, or opens Print / Save as PDF (⌘P) for this note only. Plain Cmd/Ctrl+C on selected text also gives Mail readable formatting (dark text, no background), even when ClearDesk is in dark mode.

Search: while you search, the matches are highlighted in the open note and the first one is scrolled into view.

List styles: the list button opens a menu to pick the bullet (• ▪ – —) or the numbering (1. a. i.) for the list you are in. The current style is ticked; pick it again to turn the list off.

Sorting: the ⋯ button above the note list sorts by date edited, date created or title, newest or oldest first (A to Z for titles). The choice is remembered on this device, and the date on each row follows it.

Tables: the table button opens a size grid: move over it (or use the arrow keys) to light up the rows and columns you want, then click (or press Enter) to insert it with a header row. The grid grows up to 10×10. While your cursor is in a table, a small ··· tab appears above its column and a ⋮ tab beside its row (as in Apple Notes): click one to select that column or row, drag the round handles on its outline to take in neighbouring columns or rows, then right-click inside the selection (or on its tab) for its options — add before/after, delete, header row, delete table. The options act on everything selected. The arrow keys move between cells in every direction. The options are Insert row above / below, Insert column left / right, Header row and Header column (on the first row or column), Align Left / Center / Right for the column, Delete and Delete table. A Markdown table's :---: markers set each column's alignment when you import it. Point at a table for a + on its right and bottom edge to add a column or row. Inside a table the toolbar table button offers the same actions. Tab moves to the next cell (and adds a row after the last one). Tables pasted from the web or a spreadsheet are kept, without their colours or merged cells. All of it works with Undo. Increase Width and Decrease Width (in the table menu, and the whole-table menu) change how wide the table is, in steps: a new two-column table is about 44% of the note, then 66%, 88% and the full width, and back down to 35%.

Lock: the lock button at the right of a note's toolbar (next to ⋯) locks and unlocks it, and the note list's right-click menu has Lock too: a locked note is read-only (the lock button turns amber and closes while it is locked). You cannot type, format, tick checklists, move or delete it until you unlock it. Cloning a locked note works and keeps the lock.

Import notes: Data → Import… (or drop files on the notes list, or right-click a folder → Import Notes Here…) reads .md, .txt and .html files, several at once, and ClearDesk notes files (Export Notes in the Data menu, Export → Note File on a note, Export Folder on a folder), which keep the folders, pinned, locked and dates; a note that is already here is skipped, so importing twice changes nothing. Each file becomes a note in the folder you are looking at; a first # Heading (or the HTML title) is the note's title, otherwise the file name. Markdown headings, bold, italic, code, links (also reference-style [text][ref] with its [ref]: address line), lists, - [ ] checklists, quotes, code blocks and tables come across; images become a link to the picture, headings keep all six levels, a code block keeps its language, ==highlight== and simple tags like <b> and <br> are read, and a table's :---: markers set each column's alignment. One Undo takes the whole import back.

Markdown as you type: **bold** or __bold__, _italic_ or *italic*, `code`, ~~strike~~, ==highlight== and [text](address) turn into formatting the moment you type the closing character; Cmd/Ctrl+Z brings the characters back. Nothing changes inside a code block or a link.

Paste Markdown: text you copy from a Markdown file or editor and paste into a note is formatted when it clearly is Markdown (a heading, a list, a code fence, a table, **bold**, a link): headings, lists, tables, code blocks and links come out as in an imported file, and Cmd/Ctrl+Z takes it back. Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+V pastes the text exactly as it is. A web page or another notes app keeps its own formatting, and pasting inside a code block or a table cell never converts.

Find and replace in the open note with Cmd/Ctrl+F (Option+Cmd+F also shows the Replace row): every match is tinted and the current one is stronger, Cmd/Ctrl+G and Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+G (or the arrows) move between them, and the magnifier menu sets Ignore Case and Whole Words. Replace changes the current match, Replace All every match in one undo step; formatting around a match is kept. A match never runs across two paragraphs. A locked note can be searched only. Esc or Done closes the bar and leaves the current match selected.

Duplicate (in the same ⋯ menu, with Move to and Delete) makes a copy named “… (copy)” in the same folder, and opens it. The toast has an Undo.

Right-click a note for Lock, Duplicate, Move to and Delete, or a folder for New note here, Rename and Delete.

Pasting keeps headings, bold, italic, lists and links from other apps and cleans everything else to plain text. Images and attachments are not supported yet.

Folders & finding notes

Folders: + beside Folders adds one; hover a folder to edit or delete it. Deleting a folder moves its notes to Notes. Move a note with ⋯ → Move to, the list’s right-click menu, or by dragging it onto a folder. Deleting, moving or renaming shows an Undo toast, and ⌘Z does the same while you are not typing; inside a note, ⌘Z undoes your typing.

Subfolders: right-click a folder and choose New subfolder, or pick a location when you create or edit a folder. Folders nest one level. A folder shows only the notes directly in it, and so does its count; each subfolder has its own list. Deleting a folder deletes its subfolders too and moves all their notes to Notes (with Undo).

Reordering folders: drag a folder up or down within its level, or right-click it and choose Move up / Move down. The order, renames and moves sync between devices like note edits.

Search (/) in the sidebar looks through the titles and text of every note, whatever folder you are in, and opens the first result.

Delete a note with the trash button, or Delete while the note list has focus. ↑ ↓ move through the list and Enter jumps into the note.

Notes are part of your data: they are saved in this browser, included in Export and Import, and kept in the linked file. When two copies of a note differ, the newer edit wins.

Reusable prompts

Switch to Prompts with the curly-braces icon at the top of the sidebar. A prompt is a template you reuse: write it once, put variables in it, choose their values and copy the finished text. Prompts live in folders (one level of subfolders, like Notes), and the sidebar also has Favorites and Recently Deleted. N makes a new prompt.

The template is the monospace field: write the prompt and add placeholders. {{name}} is a choice (one option), [[name]] is a checklist (any number of items, copied as a bullet list) and ((name)) is text you type each time. The three buttons above the template insert one at the caret (select a word first to use it as the name). Put a backslash in front (\{{name}}) to keep a placeholder as plain text. The field also colours Markdown lightly (headings, bold and italic, code and code blocks, lists, quotes, links) and <tags>, with the punctuation dimmed; your variables always stay the strongest highlight, even inside a code block. It is only colour, so the text is exactly what you typed and what gets copied.

Variables are on the right, in a panel that slides in and out (the panel button above it, or Option+Cmd+I). Each placeholder in the template gets a row: click an option to choose it (click it again to clear it), tick checklist items, or type the text. + adds an option or an item; to remove one, click the × that appears inside it when you point at it, select it and press Delete, or right-click it and choose Remove. To rename an option, item, preset or variable, double-click it (or select it and press F2, or right-click → Rename); Return keeps the new name and Esc leaves it. Renaming a variable renames its placeholder in the template too. Presets save a combination of choices and checklists under a name (typed text is never part of a preset); Clear empties every variable.

Reorder options, checklist items and presets by dragging them, with Option+← / → (↑ / ↓ in a checklist) on the one you have selected, or Move in its right-click menu. Values in the Global Variables dialog drag and move the same way. The order of a checklist is the order it is copied in.

Global variables are choices shared by every prompt: {{@Language}}. Their values live in one place, so changing them updates every prompt that uses them. Add one from the {{@}} button above the template (or the globe button in the Variables panel, or Manage Global Variables… at the foot of the panel); the dialog adds, renames and removes variables and their values. Each prompt keeps its own choice. Renaming a variable rewrites the placeholder in your prompts; removing one leaves the placeholder empty.

Find and replace in the template with Cmd/Ctrl+F (Option+Cmd+F also shows the Replace row): every match is tinted and the current one is stronger, Cmd/Ctrl+G and Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+G (or the arrows) move between them, and the magnifier menu sets Ignore Case and Whole Words. Replace changes the current match, Replace All every match in one undo step; it changes text inside a variable ({{…}}, [[…]], ((…))) too, which makes a new variable (to rename one and keep its options, use the Variables panel). A locked prompt can be searched only. Esc or Done closes the bar and leaves the current match selected.

Choosing a prompt to include: type {{> in the template and a menu of your prompts opens at the caret and narrows as you type (↑ ↓ choose, Return or Tab insert the whole {{>Name}}, Esc keeps what you typed). The {{>}} button (or Include Prompt… in the Insert menu) opens a search field with your Favorites first, then the prompts by folder. A prompt this one already includes is not offered again.

Include another prompt with {{>Name}} (the {{>}} button lists your prompts): when you copy, that prompt's finished text goes in its place, so a shared block, such as a role description, is written and edited in one place. Names are matched ignoring case. Pass values down with {{>Role who=critic tone="very formal"}}: for that one use, they replace the included prompt's own choices (a checklist takes items split by |, a global variable is set as @Language=German); the included prompt itself stays as it is. The Variables panel lists what a prompt includes (with the values you pass, and which variables it can set) and, under Used In, which other prompts include it, so you can see what a change will affect; a click opens that prompt. Renaming a prompt updates the references in your other prompts. A name that cannot be found, or an include that would loop, shows in red and stays as written.

Compare two prompts the way VS Code does: choose Select for Compare in one prompt's ⋯ or right-click menu, then Compare with Selected in another's. The selected prompt is on the left, the other on the right; to compare a different pair, close the window and select again. The two texts line up row by row: changed lines are red on the left and green on the right with the changed words marked, and a hatched gap means the line is only on the other side. The sliders button's menu sets how closely changes are marked (Lines, Words or Characters), Ignore Whitespace skips spacing, and Hide Unchanged folds long stretches that did not change (click a fold to open it); the button is tinted while an option other than the default is on. Type in either side and the differences update as you go; the arrow beside a difference moves it across (the left text to the right, or the right to the left). The strip beside the scroll bar shows where every difference is, and clicking it jumps there. F7 and Shift+F7 step through the differences, Cmd/Ctrl+Z undoes (and Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+Z redoes) the last edit or move. Nothing is changed in your prompts until you choose Save Changes (Cmd/Ctrl+S); a locked prompt can be read but not changed.

Copy Prompt (or Cmd/Ctrl+Enter) puts the finished text on the clipboard (the copy button in the template box’s corner copies the template itself, placeholders and all) with every placeholder filled in. A variable you have not filled in (no choice, no checklist item, no text) stays in the text as its placeholder, for example {{tone}}, so the gap is visible; a toast tells you which ones.

Open in an AI app: the Open in button (the arrow leaving a square, next to ⋯; Open in is also in the ⋯ and right-click menus) copies the finished prompt and opens Claude, Copilot or another page in a new tab, ready to paste. Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Enter does it with the first one. Edit Apps… changes the list (a name and a web address each; kept on this device).

Export and import: Export Prompts in the Data menu (bottom of the sidebar) saves every prompt, its folders and the global variables it uses as a .json file; right-click a prompt or a folder for Export Prompt / Export Folder. Import… in the same menu reads such a file (it recognises a prompts file and merges it straight in; a full backup still asks Replace or Merge). Prompts that are already here (same id) are skipped, so importing a file twice changes nothing; folders are matched by name, and a global variable you already have keeps its own values. Recently Deleted prompts are not exported.

Favorite adds a prompt to the Favorites list. Lock makes it read-only (its template, name and options); you can still choose values and type text. Duplicate, Move to a folder and Delete are in the ⋯ menu and on right-click; you can also drag a prompt onto a folder. Delete goes to Recently Deleted for 30 days.

Where your tasks live

Everything is stored in this browser on this device (localStorage). There is no server and no account.

Link file (Chrome or Edge) saves every change to a real .json file on your disk, so your tasks survive a cleared browser and can be shared through a synced folder. The chip at the bottom of the sidebar shows Link file (not linked), Linked, or Reconnect when the browser needs your permission again.

If two copies changed, they are merged: the newer edit of a task wins, and something you deleted stays deleted even when an older copy elsewhere still has it.

Backups and moving data

The Data menu (bottom of the sidebar) has Export All Data (a full backup), Export Notes and Export Prompts (just that part, as a file you can share), and one Import… that recognises what a file is: a notes or prompts file is merged straight in (anything already here is skipped, and the toast has Undo), a full backup asks whether to merge with or replace what you have (a replace downloads a backup of your current data first).

Updates: when a newer copy of ClearDesk is available, a bar says so and Reload installs it. Help → Check for Updates checks at any time and tells you either way. If you run ClearDesk from its local server and the server is off, the app opens from its saved copy; start the server and check again.

Daily file backup: once a file is linked (by its folder), the first change each day also writes a copy to a Backup folder next to it, named with the date. Copies are kept; nothing is deleted. If the Data menu shows Enable daily file backup or Resume, click it once to give the folder permission.

Nothing leaves your machine. There is no server, no account and no admin rights are needed. Link a file to be safe against clearing browser data.

All Notes

All Prompts