Forge
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Forge Local project and task management for macOS

Kanban board, GTD-style workflows, and plain-text markdown — with optional two-way sync to Apple Reminders. No servers; your files stay on your Mac.

Quick start Download CLI Full readme Repository

Pre-built forge (zip) for macOS 14+ on Apple Silicon. Intel: build from source. All releases · Unsigned; see README-BINARY.txt in the zip if Gatekeeper complains.

Kanban & GTD

Project columns driven by Finder tags, plus inbox, next actions, contexts, waiting-for, and weekly review — all in markdown.

Plain-text first

Tasks and areas live in normal .md files. Edit in Neovim, VS Code, or any editor; use git like any other project.

Apple Reminders

Optional sync surfaces contexts as Reminders lists on iPhone and iPad, while your canonical task text remains in markdown on the Mac.

CLI & apps

The forge CLI for terminals, a menu bar companion for capture and sync, and a native board window for the big picture.

Finder integration

Kanban state lives in Finder tags; people-tags like #Alice support assignees and metadata you can see outside Forge.

Local-first privacy

No Forge cloud. A small local cache holds paths and timestamps — not your task bodies. See PRIVACY.md for detail.

CLI at a glance

Common commands for boards, tasks, and sync. Full reference in the CLI documentation.

bash 
forge board                 # Kanban overview
forge next                  # Next actions
forge inbox                 # GTD inbox
forge sync                  # Two-way Reminders sync
forge review                # Weekly review checklist
forge due                   # Overdue and upcoming

Requirements

Essential

Optional

Quick start

For the CLI only on Apple Silicon, you can download the latest arm64 zip (no Xcode required to run the pre-built binary). For Forge.app, the board, and a full local install, use the build script below.

After cloning or syncing the repository to your Mac, run the build script once per machine. It compiles the Swift package, installs the binary, creates Forge.app, and registers a launch agent for the menu bar app.

bash 
# From your Forge source directory (e.g. after iCloud or git sync)
zsh ~/Documents/Forge/build.sh

Configure config.yaml from config.sample.yaml, set your workspace path, and adjust board columns and contexts. See the configuration section in the readme.

Components

Component Description
forge CLI · source Boards, tasks, inbox, sync, review, and lint from the terminal.
Forge.app · source Menu bar companion — background sync, quick capture, overdue badges.
Neovim plugin · source Keymaps, commands, and dashboard integration via forge-nvim.lua.

Design principles

  1. Files first — durable markdown you can search, diff, and move without a proprietary database.
  2. Composability — CLI, GUI, and editor integrations share the same on-disk format.
  3. GTD + kanban — visual project flow alongside next actions, contexts, and reviews.
  4. Transparency — clear configuration, documented privacy model, and open-source code.

Documentation

Full guides and the changelog are published as pages below (generated from the same markdown as the repository). Each page links to its source file on GitHub for edits.

  1. Project readme (source) — overview, layout, configuration, task format
  2. CLI reference (source) — commands and options
  3. Forge.app (source) — menu bar app setup and behaviour
  4. Neovim integration (source)
  5. Privacy (source) — data model and sync
  6. Forge manual (source) — longer-form guide
  7. Changelog (source) — version history