Cairn vs Tally

Cairn is a fast, native task and note companion that lives on top of the Markdown files you already own. Point it at your Obsidian vault — or any folder of Markdown notes — and your tasks and notes appear in clean, focused views. Everything you do in Cairn is written straight back to your files as plain text, in the Obsidian Tasks format. YOUR NOTES STAY YOURS • No account, no sign-up, no Cairn cloud database — your tasks live in your own files • Cairn does not send your notes or tasks to the developer • Careful, patch-based edits change only the content you touched, preserving the rest of your note • Works alongside Obsidian, iCloud Drive, Git, or any sync you already use CAPTURE, BROWSE, AND PLAN • Browse and edit Markdown notes directly in your vault • Quick capture into your daily note, with date, tag, and priority tokens parsed as you type • Choose where longer captures are saved • Today, Upcoming, Inbox, and Pool views, plus a global filter for folders, tags, dates, priority, and status • Full support for sub-tasks and task hierarchies • Recurring tasks in Obsidian Tasks format, with safe completion handling • Convert upcoming calendar events into tasks, or mirror your dated tasks into a calendar you choose (optional) STAY ON TRACK • Local reminders for due tasks — including sunrise-relative reminders computed entirely on your device • A Live Activity keeps today's progress on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island • Home Screen widgets and a Control Center quick-capture control • Search across every task in your vault MADE FOR OBSIDIAN — NOT ONLY OBSIDIAN Cairn reads and writes the Obsidian Tasks plugin format (due, scheduled, start, and done dates, priorities, recurrence, tags), so your vault stays fully compatible with your desktop setup. Don't use Obsidian? Create a plain task folder in the Files app and Cairn works as a stand-alone Markdown to-do app. Cairn asks for access only to the folder you pick. Calendar access and location (used to compute local sunrise times) are optional and processed on your device. If you choose iCloud Drive or another Files or calendar provider, that provider's own sync and privacy terms apply.

Tally answers one question: where did my day actually go? Your day is a 24-hour dial of 15-minute blocks. Tap the center, pick a category from the radial fan, and Tally keeps logging that task until you switch to the next one. No timers to remember to stop — you tap when your attention moves, and the dial fills in behind you. DESIGNED FOR CAPTURE, NOT CEREMONY • Running capture: one tap starts a task; it keeps filling blocks until you switch or end your day • Radial fan: your six most-used categories, one tap from the center of the dial • Mosaic editor: back-fill or fix any block of the day with taps or drags • Automatic driving detection: time on the road logs itself (with your permission, on-device) A REAL WATCH APP • Start, switch, and stop tasks from your wrist — full parity with the phone • A complication shows what's running right now • End your day or resume it from either device; both always agree SEE WHERE THE TIME WENT • Day summary: tracked hours and your work/personal split at a glance • Reports: donut and breakdown by category, by week and month • Export a clean PDF of any period PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your data stays on your devices. No account, no sign-up, no servers, no analytics, no tracking. Motion data for driving detection never leaves your phone. Tally is for anyone who has reached the end of a day and wondered what happened to it: freelancers accounting for hours, people balancing work and family, or anyone trying to be honest with themselves about where the time goes.