How can I help?

Press ⌥ Space in any app, type the task and press Return. Write it the way you'd say it, such as "Call mum friday 6pm !high", and Alcove fills in the date, time and priority. ⌥ ⌘ N opens a quick note. Both shortcuts can be changed in Settings ▸ Shortcuts.

Sync goes through your iCloud, so check these in order:

• Every device is signed in to the same Apple Account with iCloud turned on.
• Sync with iCloud is on in Alcove's settings on each device.
• The device is online and your iCloud storage isn't full. Alcove shows the sync status and the reason if something is wrong.
• Still stuck? Use Force a resync in settings.

Attachment files stay on the device where you added them; only the task and its details sync.

Make sure notifications are allowed for Alcove in your device's Settings ▸ Notifications, then use Send a test reminder in Alcove's settings. It should arrive within five seconds. Quiet reminders go to the notification list without a banner or sound; choose Notification or Alarm if you want to be interrupted. A Focus mode can hold back any reminder, and your silent switch still applies.

That's how repeating tasks work: a tick moves it to its next date, and a note shows where it went with an Undo button. To finish a repeating task for good, right-click it (or press and hold on iPhone and iPad) and choose Complete and stop repeating.

Press ⌘ Z on the Mac. On iPhone and iPad, use the undo button, or just shake your iPhone. Alcove keeps up to 100 steps, typing included. Every task, note, list and tag also keeps a history of its changes.

Alcove lives in the menu bar and has no Dock icon. On a crowded menu bar, macOS can hide icons behind the camera notch. Quitting or rearranging another menu-bar app makes room. Holding ⌘ while dragging menu-bar icons lets you move Alcove's kite further right.

On the Mac, open Alcove's settings, turn on the AI assistants switch and use Copy MCP config to get the snippet for your assistant app. The first time the assistant connects it waits for your approval, and you choose what it may do. Every request is listed in the activity log.

Yes. Choose Export as Markdown in Settings ▸ Alcove Unlock to save every list, task and note as one Markdown file that any notes or writing app can open. To take a single note, use Copy as Markdown on it, and tables copy as Markdown tables with their totals. Both keep working after the free trial ends, whether or not you unlock.

Mac with macOS 14 or later, and iPhone and iPad with iOS or iPadOS 17.4 or later. Control Center controls need iOS 18.

Open Alcove's settings, choose Alcove Unlock, then Restore purchases. The same button is on the unlock screen. Make sure the device is signed in to the App Store with the Apple Account you bought Alcove with. One purchase covers your Mac, iPhone and iPad, so you can restore it on each of them.

Alcove is free to download. Start the free trial from inside the app when you're ready to add your first task, in Settings ▸ Alcove Unlock or on the unlock screen. It lasts 14 days, includes everything and runs on the same dates on every device signed in to your Apple Account. It never turns into a charge, and each Apple Account can start it once.

When the trial ends, your tasks and notes stay readable, you can still copy and export them, and iCloud keeps them in sync. Adding and editing, widgets, Siri and Shortcuts, and AI assistants pause until you unlock, which is a one-time purchase of $29.99 in the US. The App Store shows the price in your local currency.

Adding and editing need the free trial or the unlock. If you haven't started the trial yet, start it in Settings ▸ Alcove Unlock. If it has ended, unlock Alcove there to keep editing. Your tasks and notes stay readable and in sync in the meantime. Already bought Alcove, or have it through Family Sharing? Choose Restore purchases on the same screen.

Yes. When you buy the unlock, the people in your Family Sharing group get it too, on their own devices and with their own lists. If it hasn't appeared for someone, check that purchase sharing is turned on in your Family Sharing settings, then have them choose Restore purchases in Settings ▸ Alcove Unlock.

Alcove is sold through the App Store, so Apple handles refunds. Go to reportaproblem.apple.com, sign in with your Apple Account and choose Request a refund. After a refund, adding and editing pause again, unless your free trial still has days left. Your tasks and notes stay readable and in sync either way.