Migrate from Todoist
You have decided to leave Todoist. This page gets your data across in about fifteen minutes, and tells you upfront what will not come with it, so there are no surprises after the fact.
If you are still deciding, read Conatus as a self-hosted Todoist alternative first. It lays out what Conatus does not have yet.
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”You need a running Conatus instance. If you do not have one, the install guide takes three commands and five minutes. Do the migration against a fresh instance the first time, so you can look at the result before you commit to it.
Have your Todoist account open in another tab. That is all.
Step 1. Get your data out of Todoist
Section titled “Step 1. Get your data out of Todoist”Two paths. The API token is the better one.
API token (recommended). In Todoist, open Settings → Integrations → Developer and copy the API token. Conatus calls the Todoist Sync API with it, which means your recurring tasks arrive with their next dates already worked out. No manual review of repeat rules afterwards.
The token is used for a single request and is never stored.
Backup file. In Todoist, export your data and download the .zip. Conatus
also accepts individual .csv files. This path carries recurring rules as text
rather than resolved dates, so those tasks land flagged for you to check.
Step 2. Run the importer
Section titled “Step 2. Run the importer”In Conatus, go to Settings → Data → Import from Todoist, or use the importer on the first-run onboarding page. Paste the token, or drag in the backup.
You then get a per-project preview: how many sections, tasks, subtasks and comments each project holds, plus any warnings. Tick only the projects you want. Nothing is written to your account until you confirm this step. The preview is read-only, and neither the token nor the uploaded files are kept.
Projects whose name matches one you already have are flagged. Per project, you
choose to rename it (imported as Name (copy)) or skip it.
Confirm, and the result line reports exactly what was created, renamed and skipped.
What comes across
Section titled “What comes across”Most of what you think of as your task list transfers:
| Transfers | Stays behind |
|---|---|
| Projects and their nesting | Completed tasks |
| Sections | Filters |
| Tasks, descriptions, hierarchy | Attachments |
| Priorities, remapped to P1 to P4 | Reminders |
| Due dates and times | Karma and activity history |
| Deadlines | Todoist collaborators |
| Durations | |
| Labels | |
| Task and project comments | |
| Recurring rules that map onto Conatus rules |
A word on recurrence, since it trips people up. every day, every monday,
every 2 weeks and every weekday translate directly. Rules Conatus has no
equivalent for, such as every 3rd friday, import as an ordinary dated task and
show up in the preview warnings, so you can fix them by hand. The
recurring tasks page lists
what exists and what does not.
Filters do not transfer because the two query languages differ. Rebuilding them is quick once your labels and projects are in place. See the filter language.
After the import
Section titled “After the import”Attachments, reminders and filters are the three things you rebuild by hand. None of them takes long, and none of them blocks you from working.
Move around your imported projects in list, board or calendar view. When it looks right, point your real instance at it and run the same import for real, or keep the one you just built. Either way your tasks now live on hardware you control, with a daily database backup running from the first boot.