Focus Pad

Focus Pad is a Markdown checklist in a small window that stays on top of your other windows. Use it for the tasks you work on now, not for long-term plans.

To show or hide Focus Pad from any app, press ⌃ + ⌥ + ⌘ + T on macOS, or Ctrl + Alt + Shift + T on Windows and Linux. The shortcut needs an active license. If the license is not active, the shortcut opens the main window, where you can activate the license.

When you hide Focus Pad, it closes after some time to save memory. Your tasks stay saved. Press the shortcut to open it again. Pesky notifications continue while Focus Pad is closed.

Focus Pad keeps your tasks on your computer. To keep a copy in your DevWorkspace Pro account, turn on Cloud Save.

To share a to-do board with an AI agent such as Claude Code, turn on the Focus Pad MCP server. The agent can add tasks and set their priority, deadline and Pesky interval.

Collections

A collection is a separate task list, for example one for each project. The collection button in the top right corner shows the name of the current collection.

• Move the pointer over the collection button to see all collections. Each row shows the number of tasks and the number of priority 5 and priority 4 tasks.
• Click the button or press ⌘ + K to open the list with the cursor in the search field. Type part of a name and press Enter to go to that collection.
• To make a collection, type a name that does not exist and press Enter.
• To rename or delete a collection, move the pointer over its row and click the pencil (✎) or the trash can (🗑). You must confirm a delete. A delete also deletes the tasks of the collection.

You cannot rename or delete the General collection.

Complete a Task

Hold ⌘ (macOS) or Ctrl (Windows and Linux) and click the checkbox of the task. Focus Pad removes the task from the list.

A normal click on a checkbox selects the task. It does not complete it. See Work With Several Tasks.

In Preferences, Dissolve Checked Items and Confetti on Check-Off add effects when you complete a task.

Task Toolbox

Move the pointer over a task to show a toolbox at its right side. Use it to:

• Set the priority.
• Set or change the deadline with the alarm clock.
• Turn on Pesky, a reminder that repeats until you complete the task.
• Send the task to your AI tool with the sparkle icon (✦). See AI Tasks.

The toolbox closes when you type.

Work With Several Tasks

Checked Tasks

Click the checkbox of each task that you want to change. A toolbox shows the number of selected tasks and these actions:

Action	Result
Color dots	Set the text color of the selected tasks
⊘	Remove the text color
↑ / ↓	Move the selected tasks up or down
Priority bars	Set the priority of the selected tasks
⏰	Set the deadline of the selected tasks
Pesky	Set the Pesky interval of the selected tasks
✦	Send the task to your AI tool (only when one task is selected)
✕	Clear the selection

Press Esc to clear the selection. Checked tasks stay selected after you restart DevWorkspace Pro.

Text Selection

Select text across two or more tasks. The text toolbox shows above the selection and a task toolbox shows below it. The task toolbox changes all tasks in the selection:

Action	Result
Color dots	Set the text color of the tasks
↑ / ↓	Move the tasks up or down
Priority bars	Set the priority of the tasks
⏰	Set the deadline of the tasks
Pesky	Set the Pesky interval of the tasks
Check these items	Check the tasks, so that they stay selected

A selection inside one task shows only the text toolbox.

Priority

Each task can have a priority from 1 to 5. Priority 5 is the most urgent.

The priority shows as five short bars. Click a bar to set the priority. Click the lit bar at the current priority again to remove the priority. When the bars have focus, you can also use the arrow keys.

• Priority 5 tasks have a red mark at their left side.
• Priority 4 tasks have an amber mark at their left side.
• The top right corner shows the number of priority 5 and priority 4 tasks. Click a number to go to the next task with that priority.

Move the pointer over a task to see its priority.

Deadlines

Set a Deadline

1. Move the pointer over the task and click the alarm clock in the toolbox.
2. Click a preset:

Preset	Deadline
In 1 hour	One hour from now, rounded up to the next 15 minutes
End of today	Today at 17:00. Shows only when more than one hour is left.
Tomorrow morning	Tomorrow at 09:00
Tomorrow evening	Tomorrow at 17:00
End of week	Friday at 17:00
Next week	Monday at 09:00

For a different date and time, use the field below the presets.

To change a deadline, click the deadline in the toolbox. To remove it, click Remove deadline. To set one deadline for many tasks, use the task toolbox.

See Deadlines

A label at the end of the task shows its deadline. The label updates while the time passes.

Label color	Meaning	Example
Grey	More than 24 hours left	Fri 17:00, Oct 9
Amber	24 hours or less left	Today 17:00, in 25m
Red	The deadline is past	2h overdue

The top right corner shows the number of overdue tasks next to an alarm clock. Click it to go to the next overdue task.

Next to it, a clock shows the number of tasks that have a deadline. Click it to go to each of these tasks in turn, from the nearest deadline. Each click highlights the task for a short time.

Pesky

Pesky is a small fly that does not go away. Give a task to Pesky, and Pesky sends a desktop notification about the task at a fixed interval, for example every 20 minutes. The notifications continue until you complete the task or turn off Pesky.

A deadline tells you when a task is due. Pesky makes sure that you do not forget it. You can use both on one task.

Turn On Pesky

1. Move the pointer over the task. In the toolbox, click the sleeping Pesky. Pesky wakes up when you move the pointer over it.
2. Click an interval: 5m, 10m, 15m, 20m, 30m, 45m, 1h or 2h.

For a different interval, type the number of minutes in Custom and press Enter, or click Set. The interval can be from 1 minute to 24 hours.

The first notification comes one interval after you turn on Pesky. To set Pesky for many tasks, use the task toolbox.

See Pesky

• A Pesky label at the end of the task shows the interval, for example 20m. Move the pointer over the label to see when the next notification comes and how many Pesky sent.
• Click the Pesky button in the toolbox to see the same data at the top of the menu.
• The top right corner shows Pesky with the number of tasks that have Pesky. Click it to go to each of these tasks in turn, from the next notification. Each click highlights the task for a short time.
• When Pesky sends a notification, the Pesky label of the task and the Pesky number in the top right corner buzz.

Notifications

Each notification shows the task text. If the task is not in the General collection, the notification also shows the name of the collection. Click the notification to open Focus Pad at the task: Focus Pad goes to the correct collection and highlights the task.

• When two or more tasks are due at the same time, Pesky sends one notification with a list of the tasks.
• A new notification replaces the last Pesky notification, so old notifications do not collect in the notification center.
• Pesky does not send notifications while your screen is locked. When you unlock the screen, Pesky sends one notification for each task that is due, not one for each interval that you missed. This also applies after your computer sleeps.
• Pesky uses the notification settings of your operating system. Do Not Disturb and Focus modes stop Pesky notifications too.

If your system blocks notifications from DevWorkspace Pro, Focus Pad tells you after the first blocked notification. On macOS and Windows, click Open notification settings and allow notifications for DevWorkspace Pro.

Change or Turn Off Pesky

Click the Pesky label in the toolbox, then click a different interval. A new interval starts a new count from now.

To turn off Pesky, click Call off Pesky. When you complete the task, Pesky stops too.

TIP

A normal click on a checkbox only selects the task. Pesky continues to send notifications for selected tasks. To stop Pesky, complete the task with ⌘ + click (Ctrl + click on Windows and Linux).

NOTE

Pesky works when Focus Pad is closed, but DevWorkspace Pro must be open. If you change the text of a task, Pesky starts a new count from the change. When you restart DevWorkspace Pro, each count starts again.

Colors

A task can have one of eight text colors: red, orange, brown, green, teal, blue, purple and magenta. To set a color, select the tasks and click a color dot in the task toolbox.

Color Names

Give a color a name, for example "Deep work" for red. Each collection has its own color names.

The row below the top bar shows each color that the collection uses, with its name and its number of tasks:

• Double-click a color to rename it. Press Enter to save. To go back to the default name, clear the name and press Enter.
• Click a color to show only the tasks with that color. The other tasks become dim. Click the color again or press Esc to show all tasks.

The color name also shows:

• In the hover toolbox of a task with a color.
• In the tooltips of the color dots in the task toolbox.
• When you move the pointer over a task that is next to other tasks with the same color. The group gets a light background in that color.

Sorting

Move the pointer over the sort button in the top right corner, then check one or more options:

Option	Order
Priority	Most urgent tasks first
Color	Tasks with the same color together, in the order red, orange, brown, green, teal, blue, purple, magenta. Tasks without a color go last.
Deadline	Soonest deadline first. Tasks without a deadline go last.

The order in which you check the options sets the sort levels. For example, check Color and then Priority: the tasks are grouped by color, and in each color group the most urgent tasks are first. When you check two or more options, a number shows the level of each option. The sort button shows the first level and the number of other levels, for example Color +1. In the default order, the sort button shows only an icon.

Tasks move to their new places with an animation.

Sorting keeps nested tasks with their parent task.

Default order

Default order is the order in which you added the tasks. To go back to it, click Default order at the top of the menu, or clear all options.

While a sort is on, the app keeps the order in which you added each task. A task that you add while a sort is on goes last when you go back to the default order. In the default order, you can move tasks to set a new default order.

Automatic sorting

While a sort is on, the list stays sorted:

• When you change the priority, color or deadline of a task, the list sorts again immediately.
• When you type, tasks do not move. The list sorts again when the cursor leaves the task, for example when you press Enter.
• The task where the cursor is stays in its place, so the cursor does not jump. Only the task that you left moves.
• When you undo with ⌘ + Z, the list does not sort again.
• When you move a task yourself, with ⌥ + ↑, ⌥ + ↓ or the move buttons, the sort turns off. The tasks stay where you put them. Click Default order to go back to the order in which you added them.

The app keeps the sort for each collection on this computer.

You can also use the keyboard in the sort menu. Press Enter on the sort button to open it, ↑ and ↓ to move, Space or Enter to check an option, and Esc to close it.

Moving Tasks

Put the cursor in a task, or select text across several tasks. Then press ⌥ + ↑ or ⌥ + ↓ (Alt on Windows and Linux). The selection stays on the moved tasks, so you can press the keys again.

You can also use the ↑ and ↓ buttons in the task toolbox. Nested tasks move with their parent task.

To move one task with the mouse, drag the handle at its left side.

Cloud Save

Cloud Save keeps an end-to-end encrypted copy of your Focus Pad in your DevWorkspace Pro account. Use it to get your tasks on a new computer, or to keep two computers up to date. Cloud Save is off by default.

Turn On Cloud Save

Do one of these steps:

• In Focus Pad, click the cloud icon in the top right corner. The Turn on cloud save step opens and tells you what Cloud Save does. Click Turn on. To close the step and keep Cloud Save off, click Not now.
• In Preferences > Focus Pad, select Cloud Save and click Save.

The cloud icon always shows in the top bar, also when Cloud Save is off.

Cloud Save uses your license. It does not need a separate account. If the license is not active, the cloud icon stays gray and the cloud menu shows Cloud save needs an active licence. Cloud Save does not try again and again. Your tasks stay on this computer. When the license is active again, Cloud Save continues the next time you open the Focus Pad window.

When you turn it on, DevWorkspace Pro first gets the cloud copy:

This computer	Cloud copy	Result
Empty or only the starter task	Has tasks	Focus Pad shows the cloud copy.
Has tasks	None	DevWorkspace Pro saves this computer's tasks to the cloud.
Same as the cloud	Same	Nothing changes.
Has tasks	Different tasks	Focus Pad asks you which version to keep.

Encryption

Cloud Save is end-to-end encrypted. DevWorkspace Pro encrypts your tasks on your computer (AES-256-GCM) before it sends them. The key comes from a recovery key that only you have. The server never gets the recovery key, so it cannot read your tasks.

On each computer, DevWorkspace Pro keeps the recovery key in the secure storage of the operating system (for example the macOS Keychain), when it is available.

Recovery Key

The first time a computer saves to the cloud, it makes a new recovery key. When the save is complete, the cloud menu opens at the Your recovery key step. The key has 32 letters and numbers, in groups of four, for example XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX.

1. Click Copy, or click Save as file… to save a text file.
2. Keep the key in a password manager or another safe place.
3. Select I saved my recovery key, and click Done.

If you click Remind me later, Cloud Save continues to work on this computer. Until you complete the steps above:

• The cloud icon shows an orange dot.
• The cloud menu shows Save your recovery key.
• The Your recovery key step opens one time each time you start DevWorkspace Pro.

To see the key again, do one of these steps:

• Click the cloud icon, and then click Show recovery key…. Click Reveal key to show the key.
• In Preferences > Focus Pad, click Show recovery key. The same step opens below the row. Click Hide to close it.

On Linux without a system keyring (Secret Service), DevWorkspace Pro cannot encrypt the recovery key on this computer. It saves the key in its settings file without extra protection. The recovery key step shows This computer has no secure key storage. The key is saved without extra protection.

In the cloud menu, press Esc to go back one step or to close the menu.

Keep your recovery key

DevWorkspace Pro does not keep a copy of your recovery key and cannot recover it. If you lose the key and all your computers lose it, nobody can read the cloud copy. Your tasks on each computer are safe, because they do not need the key.

Use Cloud Save on Another Computer

When you turn on Cloud Save on a new computer, the computer does not have the recovery key yet. The cloud icon shows Recovery key needed, and the cloud menu opens at the Enter your recovery key step. Cloud Save is paused until you enter the key. Your tasks on this computer do not change.

1. Get the key from a computer where Cloud Save works: click the cloud icon, and then click Show recovery key….
2. On the new computer, type or paste the key, and click Unlock or press Enter. Letters can be uppercase or lowercase.

Focus Pad then gets the cloud copy, as in Turn On Cloud Save. If the key is not correct, a message shows below the field, and you can try again.

Press Esc to close the step. To open it again, click the cloud icon.

Start Over With a New Key

If you lost the recovery key, click Lost your key? Start over… in the Enter your recovery key step. Read the text that shows, and click Start over. Then:

• This computer makes a new recovery key, and the Your recovery key step opens.
• The cloud copy is replaced with this computer's Focus Pad. Nobody can read the old cloud copy after this.
• Your other computers show Recovery key needed until you enter the new key on them. When you enter the new key on another computer and its tasks are different from the new cloud copy, Focus Pad asks you which version to keep. It does not replace the tasks without asking.
• Your tasks on this computer do not change.

Older Cloud Copies

Earlier versions of DevWorkspace Pro encrypted the cloud copy with a key that came from your license key. When a computer reads an old copy, it encrypts the copy again with its recovery key automatically. You do not have to do anything.

Saving

After you turn it on, each change is saved to the cloud a few seconds after you stop typing. Your tasks are always saved on your computer first. If the network is down, Focus Pad keeps working, and it sends your newest tasks when the connection comes back.

The cloud copy holds up to about 500 KB of text.

Several Computers

Each save tells the server which cloud version it is based on. If another computer saved a newer version first, the server refuses the save, and Focus Pad asks you which version to keep. One computer never overwrites the work of another computer without asking you.

Focus Pad checks for a newer cloud version when DevWorkspace Pro starts and when you open the Focus Pad window. If this computer has no unsaved changes, Focus Pad shows the newer version and tells you. If both computers have changes, Focus Pad asks you which version to keep.

Cloud Icon

The cloud icon in the top right corner shows the state. Move the pointer over it to see the details and the last time it saved.

Icon	Meaning	Click to
Gray cloud with a line	Cloud Save is off	Open the Turn on cloud save step
Gray cloud with a line, Cloud save paused	The license is not active	Open the menu
Blue cloud with an arrow up	Saving	Open the menu
Green cloud with a check	Saved	Open the menu
Blue cloud with an arrow down	Checking the cloud copy	Open the menu
Orange cloud with !	Offline. Focus Pad tries again	Try now
Orange cloud with ! and a dot	The cloud copy is different or cannot be read. Cloud Save is paused	Choose a version
Orange cloud with ! and a dot, Recovery key needed	This computer does not have the key of the cloud copy. Cloud Save is paused	Enter the recovery key
Green cloud with a check and an orange dot	Saved, but you did not save your recovery key yet	Open the menu
Red cloud with ! and a dot	Cloud Save failed, for example because the server returned an error	Try now

Right-click the icon to open the menu in all states. The menu has these items, when they apply:

• Turn on cloud save or Turn off cloud save. Turning on opens the Turn on cloud save step. Turning off asks you to confirm. The last cloud copy stays in your account.
• Check licence again: only when the license is not active.
• Save now.
• Check for changes: gets the cloud copy now. If it is different, Focus Pad updates or asks you.
• Choose a version…: opens the dialog below.
• Enter recovery key…: only when the recovery key is needed. See Use Cloud Save on Another Computer.
• Show recovery key…, or Save your recovery key if you did not save it yet. See Recovery Key.
• Restore previous local copy…: see Previous Local Copy.

Choose a Version

Focus Pad never replaces your tasks without asking. A dialog shows both versions side by side: the time of the last change, the size, the collections and the first lines. Select one option and click the button:

• Keep both (recommended): adds the cloud collections to this computer. If a collection with the same name has different tasks, the cloud collection is added as Name (cloud). Nothing is lost.
• Use the cloud copy: replaces the tasks on this computer with the cloud copy. DevWorkspace Pro keeps a copy of this computer's tasks.
• Keep this computer's copy: replaces the cloud copy with the tasks on this computer.

If the cloud copy cannot be read (it is damaged, or an earlier version saved it with a different license), the only option is to replace the cloud copy with this computer's tasks. Your tasks on this computer do not change.

Click Decide later to close the dialog. Cloud Save stays paused, and the cloud icon shows an orange dot. Click the icon to open the dialog again.

Previous Local Copy

When Use the cloud copy or Keep both changes your tasks, DevWorkspace Pro keeps the tasks that were on this computer before. To get them back, click Restore previous local copy… in the cloud icon menu, or Restore previous copy in Preferences > Focus Pad, and confirm. Your current tasks then become the kept copy, so you can switch back.

Restore From the Cloud

To get the cloud copy at any time, click Check for changes in the cloud icon menu, or click Restore from cloud in Preferences > Focus Pad.

Keyboard and Mouse Reference

Action	macOS	Windows and Linux
Show or hide Focus Pad	⌃ + ⌥ + ⌘ + T	Ctrl + Alt + Shift + T
Complete a task	⌘ + click the checkbox	Ctrl + click the checkbox
Select a task	Click the checkbox	Click the checkbox
Clear the selection	Esc	Esc
Move tasks up	⌥ + ↑	Alt + ↑
Move tasks down	⌥ + ↓	Alt + ↓
Search	⌘ + F	Ctrl + F
Find, make or switch a collection	⌘ + K	Ctrl + K
Go to collection 1 to 9	⌘ + 1 … 9	Ctrl + 1 … 9
Next / previous collection	⌃ + Tab / ⌃ + ⇧ + Tab	Ctrl + Tab / Ctrl + Shift + Tab
Show all tasks after you focus on a color	Esc	Esc
Close the Pesky menu	Esc	Esc

NOTE

Focus Pad keeps the priority, color, deadline and Pesky interval of a task in a hidden comment at the end of its line, for example <!-- focuspad priority=5 color=red due=2026-09-30T1700 pesky=20 -->. The deadline is in your local time. The Pesky interval is in minutes. Markdown viewers such as GitHub do not show this comment. Color names are in one hidden comment at the top of the collection, for example <!-- focuspad-colors red=Deep%20work -->.

AI Tasks

Send a task to your AI CLI tool. The tool starts in a terminal in DevWorkspace Pro.

1. Click the sparkle icon (✦) in the hover toolbox, or in the selection toolbox when one task is checked.
2. Select the project to use as the working folder.
3. Optional: type more text in Additional details. DevWorkspace Pro adds it to the end of the prompt.
4. Click Send, or press ⌘+Enter (Ctrl+Enter on Windows and Linux).

To select the tool and its arguments, and to resume a session after a restart, see AI Sessions.

GitHub Issues

In Git › Issues of a project, select an issue, and then click Send to Focus Pad in the issue details panel. See Issue details.

When you complete a task that came from an issue, Focus Pad asks if you want to close the issue on GitHub.

AI Agents (MCP)

An AI agent can read and change your tasks through the Focus Pad MCP server. See Focus Pad MCP.

Telegram Integration

Send a message to the DevWorkspace Pro Telegram bot, and it becomes a task in Focus Pad.

Link Your Account

1. Sign in to your DevWorkspace Pro dashboard and open the Telegram Integration page. It shows a 6-digit code.
2. In Telegram, find @DevWorkspaceProBot and start a chat.
3. Send /link 123456. Use your code in place of 123456.

The code expires after 10 minutes. To get a new code, refresh the page.

Add Tasks

Each message to the bot becomes a new task. If DevWorkspace Pro is not running, the task shows the next time you start it.