A file for today, already open
A daily note is one markdown file per day: what happened, what's next, the link you didn't want to lose. TaskForge opens today's note and creates it if it doesn't exist, using your template. Any checkbox you write in it becomes a task with a real due date.
- Free, no account, no subscription
- Three built-in templates, or your own
- Works with Obsidian's Daily Notes and Templater
You never have to check whether today's file exists
Open search and type today. One row takes you straight there: Go to today's note if the file is there, Create today's note if it isn't. No dialog, no confirmation. The same row sits under every date in the calendar agenda, so if you're already looking at Thursday you can start writing in Thursday's note without going anywhere. Nothing is ever created in the background; a day gets a file the moment you open it and not before.
The Daily planner template, filled in during an ordinary Tuesday.
What makes a daily-note habit survive past week two
Templates that are real files
Pick Simple (just a date heading), Daily planner (Schedule, Priorities, Notes), or Journal (Today, Gratitude, Notes). Choosing one copies it into your workspace under Templates as an ordinary markdown file you can edit. Nothing is generated from a hidden string at creation time, so what you see in that file is exactly what tomorrow's note will start as. Pick a different template later and TaskForge writes a fresh copy rather than overwriting the one you customized.
Your Obsidian setup keeps working
If your vault already has the Daily Notes or Templater plugins configured, TaskForge reads that config the way it always has. It only takes over if you deliberately pick one of the built-in templates, in which case the app-level choice wins.
Tasks written into today get today's date
A checkbox in 2026-08-23.md is a task dated the 23rd without you typing a date. It shows up in your Today list, on the widget, and on the calendar. Yesterday's unfinished items are still sitting in yesterday's file, findable, rather than silently rolled forward into a pile.
A widget that renders the note
The home screen widget shows today's note as it actually looks: headings as headings, checkboxes you can tick, quotes with their side bar, wikilinks as titles rather than brackets. Four sizes on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and a resizable Android widget with its own settings. There's a quick-add button on it too.
Your filename pattern, not ours
A new workspace gets a Daily Notes folder with the date as the filename, which is enough for most people. Change the pattern any time, including nested folders like 2026/08/2026-08-23.md. TaskForge parses whatever you set.
One switch turns it all off
Settings, then Notes, then Daily notes has an Enable Daily Notes switch. Turn it off and the search row, the agenda row, the task-detail shortcut, and the daily-note filter conditions all disappear together. Your existing files are untouched, and flipping it back on restores everything where it was.
A week, in practice
Monday you open today's note from search and it creates itself from your template. You write two checkboxes under Priorities and one lands on Thursday. Tuesday's note is a fresh file; Monday's checkboxes are still Monday's, and the Thursday one is sitting in your Thursday list waiting. Friday you open the week in the calendar and every day's note is one tap under its date. Nothing rolled anything forward behind your back.
Where the file actually goes
Into the folder your pattern names, as an ordinary markdown file. A pattern can nest, so 2026/08/2026-08-23.md works if you prefer a folder per month. Open the same file in Obsidian or a text editor and it is exactly what you would expect: a date heading and whatever you typed under it.
What it doesn't do
Two things people coming from other daily-note apps ask for and won't find.
No weekly, monthly, or yearly notes
TaskForge has daily notes and stops there. If your review habit depends on a week note that links to its days and rolls up into a month, NotePlan builds that hierarchy properly and TaskForge does not.
No automatic rollover of unfinished tasks
Yesterday's open checkboxes stay in yesterday's file. They still appear in your lists and show as overdue, so nothing is lost, but the app will not rewrite them into today's note for you.
Daily notes, common questions
Do I need Obsidian for daily notes?
No. Daily notes work in any workspace now, Obsidian or not. A fresh workspace gets a Daily Notes folder and a date filename by default, so it works without setup.
Where do I set the filename format?
Settings, then Notes, then Daily notes. You can use nested folders in the pattern, and TaskForge parses it the same way it always has.
Will it create a note for every day automatically?
No. A day only gets a file when you actually open that day's note. Nothing runs in the background and nothing is created on a schedule. The one exception is choosing Start fresh during setup, which seeds today's note right away.
Can I use my own template?
Yes. The built-in templates are copied into your workspace as ordinary markdown files, so you can edit one, or point the setting at a template file you wrote yourself.
What happens to a daily note if I rename it?
TaskForge warns you first: the rename goes through, but the note stops being today's note for that date once you confirm.
Are daily notes free?
Yes, along with the rest of notes and the markdown editor. Premium covers custom lists and spaces, and creating or editing calendar events.
Can I see all my daily notes in one place?
Yes, two ways. The notes tree shows the folder your pattern points at, and full search has a note condition for whether something is a daily note, so you can filter to just those.
Do tasks in a daily note show up in my normal lists?
Yes. A checkbox in a daily note is an ordinary task. It appears in Today, in your custom lists, on widgets, and on the calendar, and it carries the note's date unless you gave it one explicitly.
What if I already have years of daily notes?
Point TaskForge at the folder and set the pattern to match your filenames. Existing notes are read as they are, with no migration and no rewriting.
Start tomorrow with the file already open.
Free to download and free to use. Daily notes, templates, and the editor cost nothing.