Skip to main content

Check out a video walkthrough showing the basics of Sonto

Get introduced to the basic functionality of Sonto.
A task is the atomic unit of work in Sonto. Everything you do flows through tasks — capturing them, scheduling them, and checking them off.

​
Adding tasks

Click or tap the purple + button to add a task. On Mac you can also press Cmd + N. The new task appears at the top of the list, ready for you to type.
Adding a new task with the purple plus button

Adding a new task

​
Drop a task exactly where you want it

If the top of the list isn’t where the task belongs, don’t add it and then move it — place it as you create it. Press and hold the +, drag it into the list, and the list opens a gap to show you where the task will land. Let go, and the task appears there with its name field already active. You can drop into a group as well as the main list. On iPhone, either drag the + or hold it still for a moment to pick it up. Dragging back onto the + cancels — it turns into a ✕. This works on the inbox, day, week, project, area and tag screens. It isn’t available on search, archive or repetitions, or on a day or week that has already passed.

​
Type tasks naturally

You can set a task up as you name it. Type a date, a time, a project or area, and tags right into the name, and Sonto files them for you — Prepare deck #Work @urgent tomorrow 3pm schedules the task for tomorrow at 3 pm, files it in Work, and tags it urgent, leaving the name as Prepare deck. See Natural language input for everything it understands.

​
Editing tasks

To begin editing a task, double-click it (or tap it on iPhone), or select it with the arrow keys and press Return. The buttons at the bottom-right let you take quick action — move it, schedule it, or reach many more actions through the … menu.
The quick-action buttons on a task, including move and schedule

Moving a task

You can do almost everything to a task from the keyboard. See Keyboard shortcuts.

​
Reordering tasks

Pick a task up and drag it where you want it. On Mac you can do the same from the keyboard: select a task and press Cmd + ↑ or Cmd + ↓ to move it one place at a time, or Cmd + Shift + ↑ / Cmd + Shift + ↓ to send it straight to the top or bottom. A multiple selection moves as one block, and a task can travel from one group into the next.
While you’re editing a task’s name, Cmd + ↑ and Cmd + ↓ belong to the text field instead. Press Return to finish editing first.
Reordering applies to the inbox, day, week, project, area and tag screens. Search, archive, repetitions and the plan screens sort themselves.

​
Copying and pasting tasks

Tasks go on the clipboard like anything else — copy one in a project and paste it into next week, or duplicate a task you set up carefully rather than building it again.
Select one or more tasks and press Cmd + C to copy, Cmd + X to cut, or Cmd + V to paste into the list you’re in.
A pasted task brings its name, notes, tags, priority and completed state with it. It does not bring its project, area or schedule — where it lands is decided entirely by where you paste it. You can also paste plain text from another app: Sonto makes one task per line, and strips list markers like -, * and 1. as it goes. A line starting [x] arrives already completed. Copying the other way gives you a Markdown checklist, one - [ ] Task name per line.

​
Deleting tasks

Select one or more tasks and press Backspace or Cmd + Backspace, or choose Delete from a task’s … menu.
Sonto doesn’t ask you to confirm — not for a task, and not for a group and everything inside it. Undo brings it back instead, along with any calendar event the task was linked to.

​
Undo and redo

Almost anything you do to your tasks can be undone: deleting, cutting and pasting, completing, scheduling, moving between lists, reordering, renaming, editing notes, tag changes, creating a project or an area — and the changes an AI assistant makes on your behalf.
Cmd + Z undoes and Cmd + Shift + Z redoes. You’ll also find Undo and Redo at the top of the Edit menu.
Undo is per-device and per-session. It doesn’t travel over sync, so it only ever reverses changes you made on the device you’re holding, and the history starts empty each time you open Sonto.
A few less common actions clear the undo history, so Undo is occasionally unavailable. That’s deliberate: Sonto would rather offer you nothing than undo the wrong thing.

​
Turning a task into a project

Some tasks grow. When one turns out to be a piece of work in its own right, select it and choose Convert to Project from its … menu. Sonto creates a project with the task’s name and notes, and opens it.
Converting keeps only the name and notes. The task’s tags, schedule, priority and any linked calendar events are discarded, and the task itself is deleted. If that isn’t what you wanted, undo puts the task back as it was.
The option appears only when you have exactly one task selected. A whole group can become a project too, and that route keeps much more — see Convert a group or task into a project.

​
What a task can hold

A single task can carry all of the following:
  • Priority — mark a task as priority so it stands out and surfaces on your day (Cmd + T). You can also type !!! in the name — see Natural language input.
  • Scheduling — assign a task to a day or a week, or place it on the calendar as a time block.
  • Notes & checklist — context, links, formatting, and sub-tasks. See Notes & Checklists.
  • Project or area — file a task in a project or area, or leave it in the inbox.
  • Tags — label a task so it shows up across tag filters (Cmd + Shift + T).
  • Deadline — a task inherits the deadline of its project, which Sonto surfaces as the date approaches.

​
Task states

A task moves through three states:
  • Open — not started.
  • In progress — currently being worked on. Toggle with Cmd + R, or long-press the checkbox.
  • Complete — done. Toggle by clicking the checkbox or pressing Cmd + E.

​
Repeating tasks

Any task can repeat — on a fixed schedule or when you complete it — and optionally add itself to your calendar. See Repeating tasks.
The Edit Repetition dialog for a task

Editing task repetition

​
Focus

To work on a task distraction-free, open it in Focus — full screen, with everything else out of the way (Cmd + . on Mac).

​
Availability

Tasks work on both Mac and iPhone & iPad. The keyboard shortcuts above are Mac-only.

Screens

Where tasks live: inbox, day, week, projects, areas.

Keyboard shortcuts

Every task action from the keyboard.