Dooit vs Taskwarrior

Dooit

• People who manage their tasks from a terminal
• Vim users who want familiar keybindings
• Tinkerers who like configuring tools in Python

Taskwarrior

• People who work in a terminal and want to manage tasks by typing
• Keeping task data in a local database, with sync as an option
• Scripting a personal workflow with hooks and custom fields

Dooit

• It runs in a terminal only; there is no graphical, web or mobile app.
• Customizing it means writing a Python config file.
• The documentation has no section on syncing tasks between devices.
• The docs list install methods (PyPI, Arch Linux, NixOS, Conda) rather than supported operating systems; the changelog includes fixes for Windows but does not mention macOS.

Taskwarrior

• The project ships only a command-line program. Graphical, web and mobile front ends are separate community tools.
• On Windows it runs through the Windows Subsystem for Linux or MSYS2; Cygwin is no longer supported.
• No hosted sync service is included: you run a TaskChampion sync server or configure a cloud storage bucket yourself.
• Since version 3.0 the docs warn that file-sync tools such as Syncthing or rsync can corrupt task data and are unsupported.

Dooit

Terminal interface with Vim-like keys

The app runs as a text interface in the terminal and uses Vim-like keybindings. Pressing ? opens a help menu listing every key currently bound.

Workspaces and nested todos

Todos are grouped into workspaces by topic. Workspaces can contain child workspaces, and a todo can hold sub-todos.

Due dates, urgency and status

A todo has a due date that accepts forms such as "1 jan 2025", one of four urgency levels, and a status of completed, pending or overdue. Words starting with @ act as tags.

Recurrence and effort

Recurrence is entered as an interval such as 1d or 1w, in minutes, hours, days or weeks. Effort is a plain number that can stand for points, time or a streak.

Python configuration

A Python config file sets keybindings, layout, the status bar, the dashboard, column formatters and themes, and custom CSS is supported.

Plugins and a Python backend

The separate Dooit Extras package adds utilities for customizing a setup, and the Workspace and Todo tables can be queried or changed from Python through SQLAlchemy.

Taskwarrior

Task commands in the terminal

Tasks are added, modified and completed with short task commands, and carry attributes such as project, tags, priority and due date out of more than 20 standard ones.

Filters, reports and contexts

Reports list tasks through filters you combine on the command line. A context is a named filter that stays active, for example to show only work tasks.

Urgency score

Each task gets a numeric urgency score summed from a dozen or more factors such as priority, and the next report sorts tasks by it.

Sync between replicas

The task sync command exchanges changes with a TaskChampion sync server, an AWS or Google Cloud storage bucket, a local file or a git repository.

Hooks and user defined attributes

Hook scripts in any language run at set events in the program, and user defined attributes add your own fields that can be stored, sorted and shown in reports.

JSON import and export

Task data moves in and out through a documented JSON format, which the community tools listed on the project's Tools page build on.

Dooit

• Free$0

  The complete terminal app and the optional Dooit Extras package, installed with pip, Conda, yay on Arch Linux or Nix.

Taskwarrior

• Free$0

  The full command-line program under the MIT license. Sync needs your own server or a cloud storage bucket, which the docs say carries a small cost.