How can I sync a plain text file (todo.txt) between platforms?

February 28, 2024 3:34 PM

I want to just dump random tasks into a todo.txt file and be able to edit that file on my android phone, iPad, and Macbook. I also have a Linux laptop. Ideally this would not require a subscription service.

I have a free Dropbox account, Google drive and Icloud (only for the Apple products).

In a perfect world I would be able to use a client (like todour for OSX) on each device but have all of them access that same text file.

Also, I feel like I'm asking a very specific question, and perhaps I should ask "how can I share a todo list across multiple platforms without paying anything" although I am very fond of the whole todo.txt plain text thing.

posted by craniac to Computers & Internet (24 answers total)

If it doesn't absolutely need to be a pure plaintext .txt file, Apple's Notes app works perfectly for this. There's no Notes app for Linux but you could access your note on the web via icloud.com if you really needed to.
posted by mekily at 3:45 PM on February 28

how can I share a todo list across multiple platforms without paying anything

I use Google Docs for this exact thing, and I don't pay anything. The free tier there is 15GB IIRC, so you've got room for a beeeeeg notes.txt file. Downsides: your shit will probably be harvested to train AIs, if your'e sensitive to that, and also Google may alter the deal at any time.

Also I have never used google docs on a iDevice so I don't know the score there.
posted by Sauce Trough at 3:50 PM on February 28 [2 favorites]

You mention you already have Dropbox - how is that not meeting your needs?
posted by kickingtheground at 3:51 PM on February 28 [7 favorites]

I have a todo.txt hosted in an online git repository, I can sync it with normal coding tools, or the service (GitHub) has an online editor.
posted by nickggully at 3:52 PM on February 28 [3 favorites]

Google Drive will convert the txt into some Google Docs format but Dropbox doesn't seem to do that. I made a blank txt file on my Windows computer. Copied it into my Dropbox folder. Accessed it from my Android phone and entered a line of text within the Dropbox app and closed the file. Opened it up on my computer in Notepad and the text was there. Added another line. Refreshed the app and opened the file and the second line was there too.

As long as your Macbook can open the file from the Dropbox folder and leave it there you should be fine.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 3:57 PM on February 28 [2 favorites]

The upside of Google Docs over dropbox is that with Google Docs, you don't have to remember to save the file when you're done editing it, tho there may be ways to tool that away with whatever file editors you're using.

(I only harp on this because I used to use dropbox for shared notes and would *always* forget to save a crucial edit, and would wind up standing in the freezer aisle stunned because I couldn't remember what last-minute items I had added to grocery-shopping.txt from my work computer.)

The git online editor sounds like a good suggestion too.
posted by Sauce Trough at 5:27 PM on February 28 [2 favorites]

I'd use Google Docs in this case as well as it works fine on iPads.

I don't know that Dropbox's iPad app will let you edit text, but if it does, then it would be pretty similar to Google Docs.
posted by soelo at 6:48 PM on February 28 [1 favorite]

I have often also hoped for a simple service that does this across platforms like you ask but have never really found one. I like my to do lists and note apps to be as simple as possible and too many bells and whistles, or slow loading, annoys me when i just want to open a file, add one thing and close it. The service i've found that is best for that need is Simplenote. It's owned by Wordpress so they aren't trying to sell you things all the time, its free, you can use it across platforms, and it loads in a flash.
posted by Jungo at 7:10 PM on February 28 [1 favorite]

I use Simplenote for easy cross-platform syncing of text files like this.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:14 PM on February 28 [4 favorites]

Oh look, another thread where the answer is "use SimpleNote".

(thanks to jon1270 for suggesting it to me here literally ten years ago)
posted by intermod at 7:54 PM on February 28 [3 favorites]

You could use the free version of Standard Notes, and as a bonus it's end-to-end encrypted.
posted by jaden at 7:57 PM on February 28

Google Keep is designed for lists and to-do notes, and it's easy to sync among devices. It has an app and also works on browsers where you're signed into a Google account.

You can paste a simple text file into a new note, and choose whether you want a list to have checkboxes. You can also nest items within a note if needed.
posted by lisa g at 9:22 PM on February 28 [1 favorite]

Installation may be a bit of a faff on some of these platforms (I think for Mac you need to use one of the *brew systems to install it), but SyncThing is basically the Free Software peer-to-peer dropbox-alike tool.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 11:52 PM on February 28 [2 favorites]

Another voice in the chorus of Simplenote fans.
posted by JonathanB at 12:25 PM on February 29

If you use Dropbox, you can edit text files directly on Android from within Dropbox client. That's what I'm doing with my Obsidian files.
posted by gakiko at 3:16 AM on March 1 [1 favorite]

I have a little bit of data I want available everywhere. It's a draft email in Gmail with a specific subject. Editing a draft puts it at the top. The To: field is empty so it can't be sent.
posted by theora55 at 9:51 AM on March 1 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: I was being precious and ideological about Dropbox, and the nagging to upgrade is tedious, and I wasn't confident that it would work with assorted todo.txt clients. I was wrong! I am using Todour for the macbook, todo.txt for Android (I think), and I forgot the iPad app and it's 4:00 a.m. and I'm too lazy to check. I like using the clients because it's easy to search and sort things. I started using todo.txt again after a long hiatus because I found an old file, it was readable, and the entries were almost like a journal, reminding me of stuff I had forgotten.

Thanks everyone. There is a lot of good advice in this discussion. I like peering into the workflows of strangers.

Also, thanks for the Obisdian/dropbox tip. I needed that as well.
posted by craniac at 3:13 AM on March 2

Response by poster: Update: it sort of syncs, and sort of doesn't sync. I've got files named:

todo (craniac's conflicted copy) (2).txt

Showing up in Dropbox. But eventually the Macbook syncs with the Android client, "todo.txt 5.0.8 hermione"
I'll keep playing around and report back.
Note to future todo.txt fans: Each client sorts the list slightly differently, so your new items may be synchronizing, but appearing in a different place in each respective client.
posted by craniac at 3:36 PM on March 19

The conflicted copies mean that you were editing the file before it had the chance to sync - there was a newer version on the Dropbox server which wasn't downloaded to your device before you started editing the file on the device, which was an older version, but you edited it and now it's newer than the one on the server and Dropbox keeps both and you have to merge them manually.

To resolve this issue, check your sync settings (if there is an option to sync files immediately after editing them, use it!), check your internet connection, make sure everything is synced before editing files.
posted by gakiko at 1:41 AM on March 20 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for this advice. I have inadvertently run into another problem--I now have two macbooks, an iPad, and an Android phone and I am too cheap to upgrade Dropbox to a plan that supports four devices.

I have an irrational fondness for a plain text, todo.txt solution that can exist outside of someone's proprietary system, and for having a single monster file that, unlike me, will last forever.
posted by craniac at 1:40 PM on March 26

Have you looked at SyncThing? It is usually recommended as a Dropbox alternative in these situations.
posted by gakiko at 3:05 AM on March 28 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I will check out Syncthing. I keep trying to figure it out and giving up. There is another wrinkle: based on my limited understanding of some posts on Github, Todo.txt has a bug of sorts that is responsible for the conflicted files in Android. I also think it is the only Todo.txt client for android.

My reasons for not wanting to use Google Keep are idiosyncratic. I am just enamored of that plain text file getting larger and holding all these random thoughts in one place, not scribbled on sheets of paper I can't bring myself to throw away.
posted by craniac at 2:23 PM on March 30

Response by poster: F-droid has Simpletask. I'll give that a shot.
posted by craniac at 2:31 PM on March 30

Response by poster: So I spent about five hours yesterday setting up Syncthing on my personal laptop, work iPad, phone and work Macbook. Still troubleshooting that. Installed f-droid but haven't spent significant time with SimpleTask. Based on error messages I'm getting in my Syncthing clients, it may be that the app Todo.txt for Android doesn't return the file to a state where it can be seen as closed and sync-able. Not sure.
posted by craniac at 12:30 PM on April 4