Guides
Get more from Alcove
Short, practical guides to a calmer day on your Mac, iPhone and iPad, written by Basil, who makes Alcove.
Guides
How to keep your to-do list in the Mac menu bar
Keep today's tasks one click away in the Mac menu bar. Open your list over any app, tick things off, check the month and read notes without switching windows.
Add a task from any app on your Mac with one shortcut
Press Option-Space anywhere, type the task the way you'd say it, and Alcove fills in the day, time, length, list, tag, priority and repeat. Here's the syntax.
Notes that do the maths: sums, tables and budgets
End a line with = and Alcove works it out. Tables total every row and column, and a budget row shows what's left. How calculations work in Alcove's notes.
A personal kanban board for your tasks on Mac, iPhone and iPad
Boards in Alcove turn tasks into cards you drag from To do to Done. Every card is a real task, so finishing one ticks it off in its list and in Today.
Finish tasks from your iPhone Home Screen with widgets
Alcove's eight widgets for the Home Screen, Lock Screen and Mac desktop. Tap a ring to finish a task without opening the app, and see today's count at a glance.
Connect Claude or another AI assistant to your to-do list with MCP
Alcove's Mac app runs a local MCP server, so AI assistants like Claude can read and add your tasks. It's off until you turn it on, and every request is logged.
Repeating tasks: daily, weekday, weekly and custom routines
Set a task to repeat every day, every weekday, every 3 days or every Tuesday and Thursday. How repeating tasks work in Alcove, from quick add to end dates.
Alcove keyboard shortcuts for Mac and iPad
Every Alcove keyboard shortcut in one place: quick add and quick note from any app, moving through lists, setting priority and dates, and iPad commands.
Siri and Alcove: every phrase that works
Add tasks, hear your day, tick things off and take notes with Siri. Every phrase Alcove understands, and why each one needs the app's name.
How Alcove compares
Honest comparisons with other to-do apps, with prices and features checked on their own websites.
Mac to-do apps compared: Alcove, Things 3, Todoist, TickTick and Reminders
How Alcove, Things 3, Todoist, TickTick and Apple Reminders compare on price, platforms, the menu bar, boards, notes and sharing. Checked September 2026.
Alcove vs Things 3: which to-do app fits your Mac?
Alcove and Things 3 are both calm, one-time-purchase to-do apps for Apple devices. How they differ on the menu bar, boards, notes, price and platforms.
Alcove vs Todoist: menu bar calm or everywhere teamwork?
Todoist runs everywhere and suits teams. Alcove lives in the Mac menu bar with notes that calculate and no subscription. How they compare on price and features.
Alcove vs TickTick: focused and calm, or everything in one app?
TickTick packs habits, a focus timer and many views into one app. Alcove keeps a calm day in the Mac menu bar with notes that calculate. How they compare.
Alcove vs Apple Reminders: when is the free app enough?
Apple Reminders is free, built in and shares lists. Alcove adds a menu bar popup, quick add from any app, boards and notes that calculate. How they compare.