A simple text-file task list can fit a Mac mini server setup
An AI agent can lose old tasks when it stores a to-do list inside its own . That file may be trimmed automatically so it does not grow forever, which is reasonable for preferences but risky for task tracking. worked on a Mac, but it failed after the assistant moved to the cloud and no longer had access to the local machine.
Putting Apple account credentials on a server was not acceptable. Todoist would work for people who already use it, but it required a new account just to hold a list. Plain Markdown files were closer, but each file ended up with a slightly different format.
The working approach was todo.txt, a plain-text format from 2006. It keeps one task per line in one file on disk and uses a small . The agent can add and edit lines, and a person can run cat to see exactly what changed.
Key points
- AI may be trimmed, so old tasks can disappear.
- can break when the assistant moves away from the local Mac.
- todo.txt stores tasks as plain text, with one task per line.
- A lets the agent update the list while the owner can inspect it directly.
- For a , a local file avoids extra accounts and reduces hidden .