# Capture text from any app

> Turn an email, a message or a web page into a task. Press ⌘C twice, use the capture shortcut, right-click, or type it with Quick Add.

Source: https://todocity.app/docs/capture

Capture turns text from any app into a task. The model on your Mac reads the text and writes the task and its date, then TodoCity shows you a card so you can check it before it's saved.

![A capture card under the menu-bar icon: the task Send Q3 numbers to Priya, read as Friday at 3:00 PM, with Discard and Add task](https://todocity.app/docs/img/capture-card.webp "The card that drops down after a capture.")

## Press ⌘C twice

1. **Copy the text** with <kbd>⌘C</kbd>, like you normally would.
2. **Press <kbd>⌘C</kbd> again** straight after.
3. **Check the card** and press <kbd>Return</kbd>.

This works in every app and doesn't need any permission. TodoCity only reacts when the same text is copied twice in a row, so <kbd>⌘C</kbd> carries on working normally everywhere else. Anything you copy inside TodoCity itself doesn't count.

You can turn this on or off in **Settings → Capture & shortcuts → Press ⌘C twice to capture**.

## Use the capture shortcut

Select some text and press <kbd>⇧⌘S</kbd>. You don't have to copy anything.

- The shortcut reads your selection through macOS Accessibility, so you'll need to allow that once in **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility**. [Install](https://todocity.app/docs/install#allow-accessibility) shows you how.
- To use a different key, go to **Settings → Capture & shortcuts**, click **Change shortcut** and press the keys you want.
- Password fields always stay private.

## Right-click → Add to TodoCity

Select some text, right-click it and choose **Add to TodoCity**. In some apps, you'll find it under **Services**.

If it isn't there yet, open TodoCity from **Applications** once, then log out and back in. You can also switch it on in **System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Services → Text**.

## Quick Add

Press <kbd>⇧⌘Space</kbd> from anywhere and type the task, with its date in everyday words:

```text
pay rent friday 5pm every month #home
```

As you type, TodoCity shows how it's reading the date, then adds the task. This part doesn't use AI at all. Code on your Mac reads the date, as [Dates and times](https://todocity.app/docs/dates-and-times) explains.

![Quick Add with “pay rent friday 5pm every month #home” typed, read as Friday at 5:00 PM](https://todocity.app/docs/img/quick-add.webp "Quick Add reads the date as you type.")

In the app's own add field, you can type `@Name` to put the task straight into a project.

## What happens to your clipboard

- **<kbd>⌘C</kbd> twice** uses the text you copied. It stays on your clipboard afterwards, just like after any other copy.
- **The shortcut** reads your selection directly. If an app won't share its selection, TodoCity copies it for you and then puts your clipboard back the way it was. It won't touch the clipboard if something else changed it in the meantime, or if it holds images or files.
- **Add to TodoCity** gets the text straight from macOS and leaves your clipboard alone.

> [!PRIVATE]
> Whatever you capture goes to the model running on your Mac, and nowhere else.

## Lists become sub-tasks

If you capture a bulleted or numbered list with two or more items, each line becomes one of the task's sub-tasks.

## Where the card shows

The card drops down from the TodoCity icon in the menu bar. If you'd rather review captures in the side panel, turn off **Settings → Capture & shortcuts → Review captures in the menu bar**.

Next up: [Review a capture](https://todocity.app/docs/capture/review).