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Forge Local project and task management for macOS

Kanban board backed by Finder tags. No servers; your project folders stay on your Mac. Use any assistant you like: privacy-first local models (for example Hermes with Ollama) or more capable cloud tools — the choice is yours.

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

Project columns driven by Finder tags, with quick filtering and a Radar view to surface stale or urgent work.

Folders first

Projects are normal folders. State is visible in Finder, searchable via Spotlight, and version-controllable if you keep your workspace under git.

Finder tags

Column state and project metadata live in Finder tags, not a hosted database.

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 the privacy overview for detail.

Assistants & LLMs

Forge does not lock you into one AI stack. Prefer local inference (Hermes and Ollama) when task text should stay on your Mac, or use cloud models when you need more capability — adapt the pairing to your risk and workflow. Hermes setup guide.

CLI at a glance

Common commands for boards and project tagging. Full reference in the CLI documentation.

bash 
forge board                 # Kanban overview
forge board --json          # Machine-readable board
forge move                  # Move project between columns
forge project-tag list      # Inspect Finder tags
forge project-tag add       # Add meta/assignee tags

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 and project tagging from the terminal.
Forge.app · source Menu bar companion and board window.
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. Finder-tagged kanban — visual project flow driven by Finder tags.
  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
  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 assistant / LLM options
  6. Forge manual (source) — longer-form guide
  7. Changelog (source) — version history