- [ ] renew the car insurance 📅 2026-06-15
Quick notes and checklists in a real Windows and Mac app
On a computer, Google Keep is keep.google.com in a browser. Google makes no Windows or Mac app, and its help says Keep notes are not available offline on a computer. TaskForge is not a Keep client and never opens or syncs your Keep notes. It is a separate notes and to-do app for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android, and every note is a markdown file in a folder you choose. Before you go further: there are no shared lists, no web app, reminders need Premium, and notes still carry a beta label.
- Windows and Mac apps, plus iPhone, iPad and Android
- Notes are .md files on your disk, no account
- Does not open, sync or import Keep notes
What Google offers for Keep on a computer
Google's help sends computer users to keep.google.com. The Keep Chrome app lost support in early 2021, and what replaced it is a shortcut that opens the web version in Chrome. The same help page says offline access to notes is available in the Keep mobile apps, but not on your computer.
On phones and tablets Keep has apps for Android and for iPhone and iPad. Notes and lists can be labeled, colored, pinned and given reminders, and you can share one with people who then edit it with you.
Checked against Google's and Obsidian's help pages in October 2026:
A Keep-style list, as a file
A checklist in TaskForge is a markdown note with - [ ] lines in it. The line at the top of this page is one item, and 📅 2026-06-15 gives it a due date. Plain text can sit around the list, the way a Keep note holds a sentence and a few checkboxes. Open the folder on the laptop and on the phone and both apps show the same note, because they read the same file.
Every - [ ] line inside a note also counts as a task, so it turns up in your lists and, once it has a date, on the calendar. Tick it in the Windows app and the line becomes - [x] on the phone after your sync tool copies the file.
Google Keep and TaskForge, side by side
The Google Keep column is as of October 2026, from the Google help pages linked above.
| Feature | Google Keep | TaskForge |
|---|---|---|
| Windows and Mac | keep.google.com in a browser, or a Chrome shortcut that opens it | A Windows app (Windows 10 version 1809 or later, x64 and ARM64) and a Mac app (macOS 13 or later) |
| Phones and tablets | Apps for Android, iPhone and iPad | Apps for Android 11 or later, and for iPhone and iPad on iOS 15.6 or later |
| Offline on a computer | No, offline access is in the mobile apps only | Yes. Notes are files on your disk |
| Where notes live | In your Google account | Markdown files in a folder you choose, with no account |
| Sharing | Share a note or list with people who can edit it | None. No shared notes or lists |
| Reminders | Part of the app | Premium, on checklist items with a date or time |
| Web app | keep.google.com | None |
What is free and what needs Premium
Free: notes, the editor and the file tree, daily notes, checklists and tasks in every format, recurring tasks, quick add, the built-in spaces including a Kanban board, viewing your calendar events, and the Daily note widget.
Premium: reminders and every other notification, the Spaces and calendar widgets, your own spaces, creating and editing calendar events, and bulk edits.
Premium is a subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase, priced by country. A purchase stays with the store you made it in. One App Store purchase covers iPhone, iPad and the Mac App Store build, and Google Play covers Android. Windows, and the Mac build downloaded from this site, buy through a web checkout. The App Store and Google Play offer a free trial where they have one, once per customer; Windows has no trial.
When Google Keep fits better
Keep is free, already tied to your Google account, and does things TaskForge does not. Stay with it if these matter more than a desktop app and files you own.
Lists you share
Keep lets you share a note or a shopping list with someone who edits it alongside you. TaskForge has no sharing, no collaborators and no family lists.
Any browser, any computer
keep.google.com opens on any computer you sign in to, a borrowed one included. TaskForge has no web app and no Linux app, so it runs only where you install it.
Free reminders
Keep's reminders cost nothing. In TaskForge the notes and checklists are free, but a reminder that actually goes off needs Premium.
Colored cards and drawings
Keep's colors, pins and drawings have no counterpart here. A TaskForge note is markdown: text, headings, checklists, tables and images, in a tree of folders.
Bringing Keep notes over
TaskForge cannot import from Keep. One route goes through Obsidian: export Keep from Google Takeout as a .zip, then the Importer plugin in Obsidian turns it into markdown files. Obsidian's help says checklists arrive as top-level items, because Keep does not export indentation, and reminders are not imported.
Open the folder the Importer wrote in TaskForge and the notes are there. For a handful of lists, typing them out as - [ ] lines is quicker. Your Keep notes stay in Keep either way.
A Keep list written out by hand: one note per file, one - [ ] line per item.
Where it runs
- Windows: a signed installer from this site, Windows 10 version 1809 or later, including Windows 11, on x64 and ARM64. It can sit in the system tray. No widgets, and no calendar events yet.
- Mac: from the Mac App Store or as a download from this site, macOS 13 or later. A menu bar icon shows open tasks from one space.
- iPhone and iPad from the App Store, Android from Google Play. Android has a New note tile in Quick Settings.
TaskForge has no account and no sync server. A sync tool moves the folder between devices. Between Apple devices that can be iCloud Drive, with nothing to set up. TaskForge on Android and Windows has no iCloud path, so a folder shared with a Windows PC or an Android phone goes through Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive, or Syncthing between Android and a PC. Pick one service per folder, because two services fighting over the same files can corrupt them.
Questions about Google Keep on Windows and Mac
Is there a Google Keep app for Windows or Mac?
No. Google's help sends computer users to keep.google.com, and the old Keep Chrome app lost support in early 2021. Chrome can open the web version in its own window from a shortcut, but it is still the web version, and Google says notes are not available offline on a computer.
Is TaskForge a Google Keep client?
No. It never signs in to Google, reads your Keep notes or syncs with them. It is a separate app that keeps its own notes as markdown files in a folder you pick.
Can I move my Keep notes into TaskForge?
Not directly. Export Keep with Google Takeout, convert the .zip with Obsidian's Importer plugin, and open the resulting folder in TaskForge. Obsidian's help says checklists come in flat and reminders do not come in at all.
Does it work offline on a laptop?
Yes. The notes are files on your disk, so the Windows and Mac apps read and edit them with no connection. Your sync tool copies the changes once you are back online.
Can I share a list with someone?
No. TaskForge has no shared notes, shared lists or collaborators. If you shop from one list with your family, Keep does that and TaskForge does not.
Are notes free?
Yes. Notes, checklists and the editor are free on every platform. Notes still carry a beta label in the app. A reminder on a checklist item needs Premium.
What about Google Tasks?
Google Tasks is Google's separate to-do app, and Keep is for notes and checklists. If your lists live in Tasks, the Google Tasks alternative page linked below covers that move.
Do I need Obsidian?
No. TaskForge works on any folder of markdown files, or it can make a new one with a few sample tasks. You need Obsidian only for the Importer route above, and if you already keep a vault, TaskForge opens it too.
Put your notes and lists on the computer too
Free to download. Start fresh with a few sample tasks, or open a folder you already have.