# Super Productivity: a local-first todo list with timeboxing and time tracking

> Super Productivity is an MIT-licensed TypeScript app that combines a todo list, a Pomodoro timer and time tracking, then syncs work logs back to Jira, GitHub, GitLab and similar trackers. Here is how it installs, how its sync and storage model works, and where it stops being the right tool.

**super-productivity/super-productivity** — Super Productivity is an advanced todo list app with integrated Timeboxing and time tracking capabilities. It also comes with integrations for Jira, GitLab, GitHub and Open Project.

- Repository: https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity
- Website: http://super-productivity.com?ref=github
- Stars: 22,279 · Forks: 2,074
- Language: TypeScript
- License: MIT
- Published: 2026-09-21 · Updated: 2026-09-21 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/super-productivity-super-productivity

## Who Super Productivity is built for

The README describes an advanced todo list app with timeboxing and time tracking that imports tasks from a calendar, Jira, GitHub and others. That sentence is the whole product thesis. It is not a team project manager and it does not try to be one. It is a personal client that sits in front of trackers you already use at work.

The audience follows from that. A developer who is assigned issues in Jira or GitHub, who needs to estimate how long the work takes, and who has to report those hours somewhere, is the person this fits. The README lists Jira, Trello, GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, OpenProject, Linear, ClickUp and Azure DevOps as integrations, which is a wide net for a single-user tool. The other audience is someone who wants a Pomodoro timer, a break reminder and a habit tracker in the same window as the task list, rather than three separate apps.

The privacy stance is stated plainly: no account or registration is required, and the README says the app does not collect any data and that you decide where your data is stored. That is a real design constraint, not marketing, and it shapes everything in the next section.

## How tasks, time and sync actually move

The repository is a TypeScript monorepo with an Angular frontend, an Electron shell and a Capacitor configuration that produces the Android and iOS builds. The top level holds electron/, android/, ios/, nginx/, and a packages/ directory containing sync-core, sync-providers, shared-schema and plugin-api. Those package names tell you where the interesting boundaries are: the sync logic is a library, the providers are pluggable, and the schema is shared between client and server.

The data flow is local first. Tasks are planned locally, and the integrations pull assigned items in and push work logs back out. The README describes the loop as auto import tasks assigned to you, plan the details locally, automatically create work logs, and get notified when something changes. So the app is a client of your issue tracker, not a replacement for it. If your team changes an issue, you get told; if you spend forty minutes on it, a work log appears on the other side.

Storage is the part worth reading carefully. SuperSync is the project's own end-to-end encrypted sync service, and the README links to packages/super-sync-server for self hosting. Dropbox and WebDAV are also supported as sync backends, and plain backup is available. That is four different answers to where your data lives, and they are not equivalent in operational cost, which is the trade-off the documentation does not fully resolve for you.

## Installing Super Productivity and running a first timed task

The README's install section is a row of store badges: Flathub, Snapcraft, the Microsoft Store, Google Play, F-Droid, Obtainium and the App Store. It also links to the open web app at app.super-productivity.com and points to a wiki page titled Downloads and Install for all current downloads, package links and platform-specific notes. There is no npm install line in the README for end users, because this is a packaged application, not a library you import.

The quickest path with no install at all is the hosted web app. Open it, and you land in the task view with a default project. Add a task, then use the timer control on that task to start tracking. The README's feature list names the Pomodoro timer and the break reminder as built-in, so a first session is: create a task, start the timer, let the break reminder fire.

If you want the desktop build from a package manager on Linux, the Flathub and Snap badges are the two documented options. For a self-hosted sync server, the repository ships compose files. The Supersync stack is described in docker-compose.supersync.yaml, and the general compose file defines the database service:

```yaml
services:
  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: supersync
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: superpassword
      POSTGRES_DB: supersync_db
```

Note what the compose comments say about that database: the credentials are committed to a public repository, the port is loopback-bound, and the file describes itself as a throwaway E2E database rather than a production deployment. Treat these compose files as development and testing scaffolding, and read packages/super-sync-server before exposing anything.

For building from source, package.json defines the entry points. The install step is npm ci or npm i with --ignore-scripts, and the prepare script then builds sync-core, sync-providers, shared-schema and plugin-api. The production build script is buildAllElectron:noTests:prod, which runs lint, the frontend production build and the Electron build in sequence:

```bash
npm ci --ignore-scripts
npm run buildAllElectron:noTests:prod
```

The .env.example file shows the optional keys you may need, all commented out by default, including GOOGLE_DRIVE_TOKEN, DROPBOX_API_KEY, UNSPLASH_KEY, WEBDAV_URL, WEBDAV_USERNAME and WEBDAV_PASSWORD. Copy it to .env only if you are using one of those backends.

## The web build is not the desktop build

The README carries a note that the web version has some limitations and links to a wiki page comparing the web app against the desktop build. That is the single most important caveat in the document, and it is easy to miss because it sits below the feature list rather than inside the install instructions.

Some of this is inherent. A browser tab cannot attach arbitrary local files or run project-level commands the way an Electron app can, and the README lists attaching files and creating project-level bookmarks for links, files and even commands as features. Command bookmarks in particular are a desktop capability by nature. The honest reading is that the web app is a convenience for trying the product, and the desktop or mobile builds are where the full feature set lives.

The second limitation is scope. This is a personal tool. There is no mention of shared boards, roles, permissions or review workflows anywhere in the README. If two people need to see the same task list and hand work between them, the issue tracker on the other end is your shared surface, not Super Productivity. It is the wrong tool for that job, and no amount of integration changes it.

The third is sync. Four storage options means four failure modes, and the repository's own compose comments show how much care goes into making the test database not collide with itself on fixed host ports. Self-hosting SuperSync is a real server you now operate, with Postgres behind it. If you do not want that, Dropbox or WebDAV moves the problem to someone else's server, and plain backup means you reconcile devices yourself.

## Super Productivity compared with a plain todo app

The obvious alternative is a general-purpose todo app, and the difference is not the checklist. It is the work log.

A plain todo app stores tasks and maybe a due date. Super Productivity stores tasks plus the time you spent on them, and it knows which issue tracker each task came from. That is why the integrations matter more than the list view. When you finish a task that originated in Jira, the app can create the work log on the Jira side. A generic todo app has no concept of a work log, because it has no concept of a tracker to write back to.

The second difference is the local-first storage model. A hosted todo app keeps your tasks on its servers and gives you an account. Super Productivity has no account and no registration, and the README says you decide where your data is stored. For anyone who cannot put client project names on a third-party server, that is the deciding factor, and it is not a feature you can bolt onto a hosted tool.

The cost is real too. A hosted todo app syncs by default and you never think about it. Here, sync is a configuration decision you make once and then maintain, whether that is a self-hosted SuperSync instance, a Dropbox key or a WebDAV endpoint.

## Licence, maintenance and upgrade cost

The project is MIT licensed, and the README states it is free and open source and always will be. MIT is permissive: you can use, modify and redistribute the code, including in commercial settings, provided the licence notice is preserved. That is the general shape of the licence and not legal advice; read LICENSE in the repository root for the binding text.

The release cadence is visible in the repository. v19.1.0 was published on 2026-09-19, v19.0.1 on 2026-09-12, and v18.21.1 on 2026-08-29. The last push to the default branch was on 2026-09-20. Those dates sit next to each other, so this is a project that ships frequently.

Frequent releases have a cost on the operator side. If you self-host SuperSync, you are running a server component from a repository that also ships an Electron app, an Angular frontend, a Capacitor mobile build and several internal packages. The packages/ directory includes shared-schema, which implies client and server versions are coupled through a schema. Before upgrading the server, check whether the client version you run matches. The repository does not document a rollback procedure for a self-hosted SuperSync deployment, so back up the Postgres volume defined in the compose file before you pull a new image.

## Conclusion

Adopt Super Productivity if you already live inside Jira, GitHub, GitLab or OpenProject and want the planning and timing to happen on your own machine, with work logs pushed back rather than a browser tab holding your day. Skip it if you need a shared team board with permissions and review states, because this is a single-user client. Before committing, verify two things: which storage and sync option you will actually run (SuperSync self hosted, Dropbox, WebDAV or plain file backup), and whether the web build covers the integrations you need, since the README points to a separate wiki page comparing the web app against the desktop build.

## FAQ

### What is Super Productivity?

It is an advanced todo list app with timeboxing and time tracking, according to the README, and it imports tasks from calendars, Jira, GitHub and other trackers. The repository describes it as a TypeScript project with an Angular frontend, an Electron desktop shell and Capacitor builds for Android and iOS.

### Is Super Productivity free?

Yes. The repository is MIT licensed and the README states the app is free and open source and always will be. No account or registration is required to use it.

### Is Super Productivity open source?

Yes, the repository is public and carries an MIT licence, with the source split across an Angular frontend, an Electron shell, mobile builds and several packages including sync-core and sync-providers.

### How do I install Super Productivity?

The README offers store badges for Flathub, Snapcraft, the Microsoft Store, Google Play, F-Droid, Obtainium and the App Store, plus a hosted web app. It points to a wiki page called Downloads and Install for current package links and platform-specific notes.

### Is Super Productivity safe?

The README states the app does not collect any data, requires no account or registration, and lets you decide where your data is stored. Sync options include SuperSync, Dropbox and WebDAV, and the README links to packages/super-sync-server for self hosting.

## Sources

- [License: MIT](https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity/blob/master/LICENSE)
- [Project website](http://super-productivity.com?ref=github)
- [README](https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity/blob/master/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity/releases)
- [super-productivity/super-productivity on GitHub](https://github.com/super-productivity/super-productivity)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/super-productivity-super-productivity