A task manager is software which enables users to compile a list of tasks to be completed. This list is also known as a to-do list or things-to-do. For the purposes of this article, the term ‘task manager’ should not be confused with monitoring software which provides information about programs and processes running on a computer.
The list of activities that may form a to-do list include chores, grocery lists, reminders for important events (such as purchasing wedding presents or birthday gifts), self management, software development, project / business management, and so on. Task managers help to organise your day, ensuring that you know in an instant what you need to do.
Linux has a large range of open source task managers, in part because many of them have a limited feature set and hence are relatively quick to code. This feature selects our personal favorites, including both console based applications and software sporting an attractive graphical user interface.
To be productive, you may need more than a task manager. Our features on Productivity Tools and Personal Information Managers help to organize your day in other ways.
To provide an insight into the quality of software that is available, we have compiled a list of 6 proficient task managers. Hopefully, there will be something of interest here for anyone who wants to avoid that sinking feeling of remembering (albeit too late) something important that needs to be actioned. And this Group Test would not be complete without our legendary rating chart.
Let’s explore the 17 task managers at hand. For each title we have compiled its own portal page, a full description with an in-depth analysis of its features, screenshots, together with links to relevant resources.
| Task Managers | |
|---|---|
| Taskwarrior | Manages your TODO list from the command line |
| Makagiga | To-do manager, RSS reader, notepad, widgets, image viewer |
| TreeSheets | Free form data organizer |
| Planner | Keep track of all your tasks, projects, and goals |
| Task Coach | A friendly and extremely useful todo manager with composite tasks support |
| Org Mode | Emacs major mode for keeping notes, maintaining to-do lists, and more |
| GTG | Personal tasks and TODO list items organizer |
| Taskell | Command-line Kanban board/task manager |
| Todoman | Simple, cli, standards-based task manager |
| Zanshin | KDE software to manage your day to day actions |
| Yokadi | SQLite powered TODO list tool |
| Todoist | TODO list web application |
| OpenTodoList | Simple todo and task management |
| Endeavour | Personal task manager for GNOME |
| FromScratch | Auto-saving scratchpad built with Electron |
| sleek | todo manager based on the todo.txt syntax |
| todo | Lightweight and fast CLI-based todo program |
 Read our complete collection of recommended free and open source software. Our curated compilation covers all categories of software. The software collection forms part of our series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. There are hundreds of in-depth reviews, open source alternatives to proprietary software from large corporations like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. There are also fun things to try, hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. |