TaskSnap — Zero-Friction Todoist Task Capture for iOS
Your Todoist inbox should take one tap, not six. TaskSnap is a single-screen iOS SwiftUI app — one text field, one voice button, tasks posted to Todoist API in under 500ms. No login screen theater, just paste your token and go.
Difficulty
beginner
Category
Productivity
Market Demand
High
Revenue Score
6/10
Platform
Mobile App
Vibe Code Friendly
⚡ YesHackathon Score
6/10
Validated by Real Pain
— sourced from real community discussions
iOS Todoist users consistently report that the official app requires too many taps and too much load time to capture a quick task, asking for a minimal widget-based capture alternative.
What is it?
Every Todoist power user has the same complaint: the official app takes 4 seconds and 3 taps to capture a fleeting thought. TaskSnap is a SwiftUI app that lives on your home screen as a widget shortcut — open it, type or dictate, and the task is in your inbox before you forget why you opened your phone. OAuth token is pasted once into settings, stored in Keychain, and never touched again. The app does exactly one thing: POST to Todoist REST API with optional project, label, and due date parsed from natural language. Why buildable right now: Todoist REST API v2 is stable, SwiftUI widget extensions are mature in Xcode 15, and the Todoist subreddit has active threads begging for a lightweight capture client every month.
Why now?
WidgetKit interactive widgets (iOS 17+) now allow text input directly from the home screen — a feature that made this UX possible only in the last 12 months.
- ▸Single-screen capture with natural language due date parsing via lightweight regex (Implementation note: parse 'tomorrow 3pm' client-side, no external NLP needed)
- ▸Home screen WidgetKit widget that opens directly to text field in one tap
- ▸Voice input via iOS SpeechRecognizer posted directly to Todoist on silence detection
- ▸Token-only auth stored in Keychain — no accounts, no email, no onboarding
Target Audience
Todoist power users on iOS — estimated 2M+ active Todoist users, ~15% on iOS who complain about capture friction on Reddit and App Store reviews.
Example Use Case
Marcus, a GTD-obsessed product manager, captures 20 tasks per day during meetings. TaskSnap shaves 8 seconds per capture, saving him 2 minutes daily and keeping his inbox clean without breaking flow.
User Stories
- ▸As a GTD practitioner, I want to capture a task from my home screen in under 3 seconds, so that I never lose a fleeting thought mid-meeting.
- ▸As a Todoist power user, I want to dictate tasks hands-free, so that I can capture while driving without unlocking my phone.
- ▸As a busy professional, I want my task to land in a specific Todoist project automatically, so that I skip the triage step entirely.
Done When
- ✓Capture speed: done when task appears in Todoist web within 1 second of tapping send on a real iPhone.
- ✓Widget: done when tapping the home screen widget opens the capture field instantly without showing a splash screen.
- ✓Voice input: done when dictating a task and pausing for 1 second auto-submits it to Todoist.
- ✓Settings: done when user pastes token, selects default project from a dropdown, and both persist after app restart.
Is it worth building?
$3.99 one-time × 500 downloads month 1 = $2,000. $3.99 × 2,000 downloads by month 6 = $8,000 cumulative. Realistic with App Store featuring or Todoist subreddit traction.
Unit Economics
CAC: $0.50 via Reddit organic (no paid ads). LTV: $3.99 one-time. Payback: immediate. Gross margin: 70% after Apple 30% cut.
Business Model
One-time purchase
Monetization Path
$3.99 App Store one-time purchase. Optional $1.99/year for widget themes and Siri Shortcuts integration.
Revenue Timeline
First dollar: day 1 of App Store launch. $1k total: month 1. $5k total: month 5.
Estimated Monthly Cost
Apple Developer Program: $99/year ($8/month), no backend needed, no API costs. Total: ~$8/month.
Profit Potential
Side income $500–$2k/month at App Store scale. Not full-time alone but pairs well with a productivity app portfolio.
Scalability
Medium — add Obsidian capture, Things 3 support, or Notion as paid add-ons.
Success Metrics
Week 1: 200 App Store downloads. Month 1: 500 purchases. Month 3: 4.5+ star rating with 50+ reviews.
Launch & Validation Plan
Post in r/todoist asking if anyone wants a faster capture app — gauge upvotes. DM 10 App Store reviewers who complained about capture speed. Build landing page, collect 50 emails before App Store submission.
Customer Acquisition Strategy
First customer: post a 15-second screen recording in r/todoist showing the speed difference vs. official app — no sales pitch, just the demo. Ongoing: App Store search ads targeting 'todoist widget', Twitter/X GTD community, ProductHunt launch on release day.
What's the competition?
Competition Level
Low
Similar Products
Official Todoist iOS app (too heavy), Drafts app (powerful but $20/year and generic), Quick Todo (exists but no WidgetKit support and abandoned). TaskSnap fills the speed-first niche with a widget-native UX.
Competitive Advantage
Faster than the official app by 4 seconds per capture, no account required, home screen widget native to iOS — nothing else does all three.
Regulatory Risks
Low regulatory risk. App Store guidelines compliance required — no third-party data collection, no tracking.
What's the roadmap?
Feature Roadmap
V1 (launch): capture, voice, widget, token auth. V2 (month 2-3): Siri Shortcut, label picker. V3 (month 4+): Things 3 and Notion targets.
Milestone Plan
Phase 1 (Week 1): API contract + Keychain + POST flow working on device. Phase 2 (Week 2): Widget + voice + App Store submission. Phase 3 (Month 2): 500 downloads + first review response loop.
How do you build it?
Tech Stack
SwiftUI, Todoist REST API v2, Keychain for token storage, WidgetKit for home screen widget — build logic with Cursor, UI with v0 for SwiftUI component reference
Suggested Frameworks
SwiftUI, WidgetKit, Todoist REST API v2
Time to Ship
1 week
Required Skills
SwiftUI, REST API integration, Keychain, WidgetKit basics.
Resources
Todoist REST API v2 docs, Apple SwiftUI WidgetKit docs, App Store Connect setup guide.
MVP Scope
TaskApp.swift (SwiftUI app entry point), ContentView.swift (single capture screen with text + voice), TodoistAPI.swift (REST POST wrapper), KeychainHelper.swift (token storage), TaskWidget.swift (WidgetKit extension), SettingsView.swift (token paste + project picker), .env.example (no env needed — Keychain only)
Core User Journey
Install -> paste Todoist token -> tap home screen widget -> type task -> task appears in Todoist inbox in under 1 second.
Architecture Pattern
User taps widget -> ContentView opens -> text or voice input -> TodoistAPI.swift POST -> Todoist REST API -> success haptic feedback -> app closes.
Data Model
No backend. Local: KeychainToken (string), CachedProjects (UserDefaults array), RecentTasks (UserDefaults last 10 for undo).
Integration Points
Todoist REST API v2 for task creation, iOS SpeechRecognizer for voice input, Keychain for token storage, WidgetKit for home screen widget.
V1 Scope Boundaries
V1 excludes: team sharing, Todoist sync/read, task editing, multiple accounts, Android version.
Success Definition
A stranger downloads the app, pastes their token, and captures their first task in under 30 seconds without reading any instructions.
Challenges
App Store review can take 1–2 weeks and reject for trivial reasons — build a rock-solid first submission. The hardest non-technical problem is discoverability: the App Store search for 'Todoist' is dominated by the official app, so Reddit and Twitter are the only real launch channels.
Avoid These Pitfalls
Do not build project/label browsing in v1 — it adds 3 weeks and kills the speed premise. Do not submit without testing Keychain on a real device (simulator behaves differently). Finding first 200 downloads takes longer than building the app — budget 2x time for Reddit promotion.
Security Requirements
Token stored in iOS Keychain with kSecAttrAccessibleWhenUnlocked. No backend, no user data transmitted except to Todoist API directly. No analytics SDK.
Infrastructure Plan
No backend infrastructure. App Store distribution only. CI/CD via Xcode Cloud free tier. Monitoring: App Store Connect crash reports.
Performance Targets
API POST must complete under 500ms on LTE. App launch to keyboard visible under 300ms. Widget tap to app open under 200ms. No caching needed.
Go-Live Checklist
- ☐Keychain tested on physical device.
- ☐Todoist POST verified with real token.
- ☐WidgetKit approved in TestFlight.
- ☐App Store screenshots created (3 sizes).
- ☐Privacy policy published (no data collected).
- ☐r/todoist post drafted with demo GIF.
- ☐App Store listing copy reviewed.
- ☐Rollback plan: previous build in Xcode archive.
- ☐ProductHunt launch post scheduled.
First Run Experience
On first run: app shows a single screen with a large text field, a microphone icon, and a settings gear. User can immediately: type a task and tap send — they get an error prompt to paste their Todoist token. No manual config required: token paste takes 10 seconds, then the full flow works instantly.
How to build it, step by step
1. Define Todoist REST API contract: POST /tasks endpoint, required fields, auth header format. 2. Create new Xcode SwiftUI project with WidgetKit extension target enabled. 3. Build KeychainHelper.swift with get/set/delete for token string. 4. Build TodoistAPI.swift with async POST function returning Result type. 5. Build ContentView.swift with TextField, voice button using SpeechRecognizer, and send button. 6. Build SettingsView.swift with SecureField for token paste and project picker via GET /projects. 7. Build TaskWidget.swift as a WidgetKit timeline entry that deep-links to ContentView. 8. Add natural language date parsing with regex for 'today', 'tomorrow', and weekday names. 9. Test full flow on physical iPhone — paste token, capture task, verify in Todoist web app. 10. Verify: install fresh on a second device, paste token, capture a task end-to-end without any instructions.
Generated
May 5, 2026
Model
claude-sonnet-4-6
Disclaimer: Ideas on this site are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies. Revenue estimates, market demand figures, and financial projections are illustrative assumptions only — not financial advice. Do your own research before making any business or investment decisions. Technology availability, pricing, and market conditions change rapidly; always verify details independently.