How-to

How to sync tasks between Macs without iCloud

In TodoCity, open Settings → Your other Macs on both Macs. Show a code on one, type it on the other, and check that both show the same six digits. From then on your tasks stay the same on both — end-to-end encrypted, with no iCloud and no account. It works even on a work Mac that can't sign in to iCloud.

Updated

Pair your Macs

  1. Show a code. On one Mac, choose Show a code. It shows a code like K7MX-4QRB for 10 minutes.
  2. Type it on the other Mac. Choose I have a code and type it in.
  3. Compare six digits. Both Macs show six digits. If they match, confirm on both — that's how you know nothing got between your Macs.

Changes show up on the other Mac within about 30 seconds while both are open. A Mac that was asleep catches up within a minute of coming back. Add more Macs the same way.

How it stays private

  • Your Macs share a key made on your Mac, handed over only inside the pairing and kept in your Keychain.
  • Every change is locked with it (ChaCha20-Poly1305) before it leaves your Mac.
  • A small relay holds the sealed boxes until your other Macs pick them up, then deletes them — after 30 days at the latest. It never has the key, so it can't read titles, notes, projects or Mac names.
  • There's no account behind it.

Good to know

  • Edits on two Macs at once? Each detail keeps its newest edit, so renaming on one Mac and ticking off on the other both stick.
  • Keep a project on one Mac only, if you like.
  • Lost a Mac? Turn sync off on your other Macs and pair them again: that makes a new key the lost Mac doesn't have.

Try TodoCity — free for Mac

macOS 11 or later · Apple silicon and Intel · no account

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