Introduction to Firetask 5
Firetask 5 represents the next generation of Firetask and is redesigned and rewritten from the ground up using Apple's latest software technologies. Firetask 5 requires iOS 17 and macOS 14 or later.
As Firetask 5 uses a more native iCloud-based syncing mechanism than Firetask 4 we had to release Firetask 5 as a new, separate app. Nonetheless, Firetask 5 is a free update for everyone owning an App Store license for Firetask 4.
As Firetask 5 also uses a different data model as Firetask 4 your data must be migrated in order to use it with the new apps.
What Data is Migrated?
The data migration procedure migrates basically all data with only two exceptions:
- Inbox and Someday tasks that have a project set will loose this bit of information, as Inbox and Someday are now lists and no longer task statuses
- Scratchpad tasks will be migrated to the Inbox list
- Deleted tasks will not be migrated as "Canceled"
If you no longer need your deleted tasks we suggest physically deleting all deleted tasks in Firetask 4 before migrating.
How Do You Migrate Data?
In order to migrate data from Firetask 4 to Firetask 5 you will have to complete the following steps:
- Update to the latest Firetask 4 update (iOS version 4.8.1 and macOS version 4.8.4 or later)
- Install the Firetask 5 TestFlight beta apps
- Start the Firetask 5 TestFlight beta at least once before trying to provision migrated data using the Firetask 4 update
- Select "Export to Firetask 5" from the "Database" settings view and wait for the export to complete
- In Firetask 5 go to "Backups" (accessible from the "Window" menu on macOS and via the list navigation "..." menu on iOS) and select the "Firetask 4" backup to restore
Note that you should only do this on a single device, as otherwise you might end up with duplicate tasks. We also recommend to switch on syncing only after you migrated your data.
What has Changed?
Our design philosophy for Firetask 5 was to keep the "good stuff" while trying to eliminate common traps and pitfalls that we have seen users of Firetask 4 to encounter sometimes. We also tried to simplify the user interface while at the same time adding a number of new features on the way:
- Navigation has been simplified into a single sidebar tree -- both on Mac and iOS. The sidebar can be hidden on the Mac
- Inbox and Someday are now lists, rather than task statuses
- There is no Scratchpad anymore -- use the extended focus concepts instead (see below)
- Task status has been simplified to just Not Started (!), In-Progress, On-Hold, Completed and Canceled; to-do status has been extended to match task status values
- Deleted tasks are now moved to a special "Recently Deleted" view where they are automatically cleaned up after 30 days
- Categories is no separate view anymore, but instead a global filter that is available across all views
- Kanban and Calendar are also no views anymore, but implemented as view types that are available for all relevant views (All Tasks, portfolios and project lists) beside the usual List view type
- Also the Archive has evolved into a new view type called "Journal" that lists completed and canceled tasks in chronological order in the form of a timeline
- Projects have now a dedicated "Short Notes" field that can be used to add a descriptive subtitle for their overview title bars (in Firetask 4 we used the first few lines of the Notes field)
- Checklists are now called "Templates"
- More consistent, Finder-like inline editing on macOS by first selecting a task in order to activate it and then editing it with a second click
- More logical keyboard shortcuts such as CMD+. for toggling the inspector on the Mac, CMD+T for adding new to-dos or CMD+D for adding a due date
- We are now using the "/" for command tagging in task title fields. "#" is now only used for real tags in notes and search. Command tagging now also provides auto-completion support for more usability
- Syncing is now fully transparent and uses Apple's native CloudKit-based iCloud syncing. Enable syncing as usually in the Settings view.
- Finally, we have consolidated configuration options that sync across devices such as Categories, Tags and Contributors into a new view called "Organizer" (in order to clearly differentiate them from "Settings" that are configured locally for each device). The Organizer can be accessed from the "Window" menu on the Mac and from the "..." menu in the list navigation on iOS
In addition we have also simplified some detail concepts that we thought to be over-engineered, e.g., the calendar events utilization does no longer use colors, but only levels of gray and we got rid of a number of settings that we think are no longer relevant for Firetask 5.
What is New?
Firetask 5 comes with a number of new features and improvements:
- Tags. Tags can be provided using the "#tag" syntax as part of task notes -- they can then in turn be used for searching
- File Attachments. Attachments now also support file attachments in addition to link attachments
- Extended Focus. Instead of just "In Focus" we now support four dedicated Focus values: Today (comparable to Firetask 4's In Focus), Next (explicitly adds task on the top of the Next list together with upcoming due and scheduled tasks), Agenda and Waiting (same as Next for the Waiting For list)
- Agenda View. An explicit new Focus area where you can collect and manage tasks that need discussing
- Sorted Lists. All views provide now also sorted list view types "By Due", "By Start" and "By Priority"
- Journal. The Journal view type not only replaces the Archive, but also allows you to add simple journal entries. It also shows status notes
- Status Notes. You can augment the status of a task with a status note. You can add, edit and view status notes via the task status context menu
- Portfolio Overviews. You can now also select a portfolio in the navigation sidebar and you will get a list of all tasks in that portfolio grouped by project
- Context Menu on iOS. Tasks now also feature a context menu on iOS which is streamlined, but consistent to the context menu on the Mac
- Shortcuts App & Siri. Firetask 5 provides integrated support for Siri and the Shortcuts app.
We have prepared even more new features internally for future updates, but this is what is already available today. Most of these improvements were requested by Firetask users such as yourself. Some of these are our own ideas such as the extended Focus views (Next, Agenda, Waiting), status notes and the Journal. We hope you like them as much as we do!
What is Missing?
Rewriting a more complex app such as Firetask from scratch is no small task, so we wanted to focus on the two platforms where Firetask is used most extensively for the initial launch: iOS and macOS.
However, we will provide support for at least two additional platforms over time:
- While there will be no Apple Watch app at launch time, we are still committed to Apple Watch as a platform. But as we know that only a small number of users actively use the watchOS app we will release this one at a later point in time.
- There will also be no Vision OS app at Launch. While we believe that Vision OS has great potential, we want to wait for the next iteration of the operating system until deciding how we will bring Firetask to visionOS.
How Should You Test?
We believe that the app is already pretty stable, so we do not expect any major data loss. However, it is still a beta test, so you should be prepared that data loss can occur. We recommend that at least for the early beta stages you use Firetask 4 and Firetask 5 in parallel in order that you do not loose any important data.
In general there are two things that are most important to us regarding testing:
(1) Your daily task management routine -- how does Firetask 5 work for you / do you see improvements or are there problem / did we miss anything important?
(2) Did your data migrate correctly? Compare the number of lists, tasks and to-dos you see in the Firetask 5 "Database" info vs. the same info in Firetask 4 (higher numbers of open tasks in Firetask 5 are OK due to the changes regarding status values und lists).
If your data did not migrate correctly it would be great if you could share a Firetask 4 backup of this data with us for debugging -- we will of course keep it confidential and delete it as soon as we have found and corrected the migration issue.
How to Provide Feedback?
We are super eager for your feedback -- especially regarding the new user interface concepts and overall look & feel.
Please provide feedback simply via email to firetask@gmail.com. We will thoroughly read every email and we will try to respond as quickly as possible.