# balu - private todo & tasks — Your tasks. Your server.

> Your tasks. Your server. (iPhone/iPad app by blaumedia GmbH.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/balu-private-todo-and-tasks/id6794310209 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [blaumedia GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1832490554)
- Category: Utilities, Productivity
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.1 · 30 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-08-04
- Data updated: 2026-08-12
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/balu-private-todo-and-tasks/id6794310209/reviews.md

## What is balu?

balu is a calm, fast todo app with one big difference: your tasks live on a server you choose and run. Perfect for your homelab: one docker-compose, no account with us, no cloud subscription, no vendor lock-in - just open-source software and your own data.

PLAN LIKE YOU THINK
• Start dates and deadlines are separate: decide when to begin, independent of when something is due
• Today with a This Evening section, Upcoming, Anytime, Someday and a Logbook
• Projects with sections, labels, priorities and repeating tasks

CAPTURE AT THE SPEED OF THOUGHT
• Quick add understands natural language in English and German: "call Sam friday 5pm" or "Wäsche waschen jeden zweiten Dienstag"
• Live token highlighting shows what balu understood while you type

WORKS OFFLINE, REALLY
• A full copy of your tasks lives on your device
• Add, edit and complete in airplane mode; everything syncs when you're back

SHARE WITH YOUR PEOPLE
• Workspaces with roles, from full editor down to read-only
• Assign tasks, discuss them in comments, see everything assigned to you

REMINDERS YOUR WAY
• Local notifications on your device
• Optional nudges through ntfy, email or Telegram from your own server

SELF-HOSTED & OPEN SOURCE
• MIT-licensed, deployed with a single docker-compose on your hardware
• The app connects to the server URL you enter - nothing else

balu requires a self-hosted balu server. Set one up in minutes:
https://blaumedia.com/balu


## Version history (last 3 releases)

### 1.2.0 — 2026-08-10

Attach photos and files
• Tasks can now carry attachments: pick a photo from your library or any file from the Files app. Images show as thumbnails and open full screen, files open in the share sheet.
• Attachments sync across your devices and live on your own server, like everything else. Deleting one removes it everywhere.

Workspaces, complete
• Switch workspaces right from Settings - the check shows where you are, and the app remembers your choice across restarts.
• Owners can delete a workspace: type its name to confirm, and it is gone for good with everything in it. Deleting your last one gives you a fresh, empty start.

Sections, finished
• Move a task into a section from its detail view.
• A freshly created section no longer looks like nothing happened - empty sections stay visible.
• Delete a section without losing anything: its tasks simply move out of it.

Connect Claude
• Your server can talk to AI assistants via MCP: reveal your personal key in Settings and manage your todos straight from a Claude conversation. Off by default, per-user keys.

Sync you can trust, even more
• Fixed a rare timing gap where a change made on another device during a sync could be skipped permanently. Every change now arrives, guaranteed.

balu 1.2.0 pairs with the balu 1.3.0 server - attachments need the new server version, so update your server first.
  • Attachments sync across your devices and live on your own server, like everything else. Deleting one removes it everywhere.

  Workspaces, complete
  • Switch workspaces right from Settings - the check shows where you are, and the app remembers your choice across restarts.
  • Owners can delete a workspace: type its name to confirm, and it is gone for good with everything in it. Deleting your last one gives you a fresh, empty start.

  Sections, finished
  • Move a task into a section from its detail view.
  • A freshly created section no longer looks like nothing happened - empty sections stay visible.
  • Delete a section without losing anything: its tasks simply move out of it.

  Connect Claude
  • Your server can talk to AI assistants via MCP: reveal your personal key in Settings and manage your todos straight from a Claude conversation. Off by default, per-user keys.

  Sync you can trust, even more
  • Fixed a rare timing gap where a change made on another dev

### 1.0.1 — 2026-08-05

Repeating tasks keep their rhythm: every-2-weeks and monthly repeats no longer jump after syncing, and completing one uses your local date.

Signing out now erases all local data — nothing is left for the next person on the device. A bare server address uses HTTPS; plain HTTP must be confirmed.

Sync: rejected changes are undone instead of leaving phantom tasks, and a full sync no longer drops unsent edits.

Better search. Reopens in your last workspace. Needs the balu 1.0.1 server.

### 1.0 — 2026-08-04

No release notes.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-12.*