I message myself things on MS Teams so I won't forget them. A feature to add, a bug to fix, some idea I want to try. Then I forget them anyway. The message just sits in a chat I never reopen, and by the time I've got a free moment to do it, it's gone.
So I built TodoPad, a todo list that lives in the VS Code sidebar, right where I work. It's in front of me instead of buried in a chat, and it can remind me before something slips.
(It's free on the VS Code Marketplace and Open VSX, and the source is on GitHub under MIT. Links at the bottom.)
The part that actually matters: reminders
Most todo extensions are just a list. You write something down and it sits there until you happen to look at it, which is the same reason my Teams messages never worked.
TodoPad lets you set a reminder on any item. When it's due you get a VS Code notification with Mark Done, Snooze, or Dismiss. The part I actually needed: if you ignore it, it doesn't disappear. It comes back about a minute later and keeps nudging you until you deal with it. And because the reminder is saved with the task, it still works after you restart the editor.
What it does
- Two lists: a global one that follows you across every project, and a per-workspace one
- Quick-add with priority flags (!h / !l), drag to reorder, a small progress bar
- Reminders with notifications that re-fire if ignored and survive restarts
- Scans your code for TODO/FIXME/HACK/XXX and jumps you to the line
- Optional Jira, GitLab, and GitHub integration, so your assigned tickets and the MRs/PRs waiting on your review show up next to your todos
Try it
It shipped a few days ago so it's still early. If you try it, I'd genuinely like to know what's missing or what annoys you.
- VS Code Marketplace: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=gitandrun.todopad
- Open VSX (Cursor/Windsurf/VSCodium): https://open-vsx.org/extension/gitandrun/todopad
- Source (MIT): https://github.com/gitandrun-dev/todopad
And if it's useful to you, a star on the repo or a sponsor helps me keep building it: https://github.com/sponsors/gitandrun-dev
Top comments (4)
"I message myself things so I won't forget them... Then I forget them anyway" — the most honest sentence about productivity tools I've read in a while. The messaging-yourself workflow fails for a structural reason, and you found it: a note is storage, but what you actually needed was interruption. Those are different products. Most todo apps are filing cabinets that politely wait to be opened; a reminder that re-fires a minute later is a coworker tapping your shoulder. The second one changes behavior.
I build internal tools for a hospital (non-developer, physical therapist), and the version of this lesson I keep re-learning is: information only works if it lives where people already look. Anything that requires someone to remember to check it is already dead. So "it comes back and it survives restarts" isn't a small feature on your list — it IS the product. The Jira/GitHub sync is nice, but I'd protect that nagging loop above everything else as you grow it.
Thanks, this genuinely made my day. And you're right, the nagging reminder is the actual core, not just one feature in the list. The Jira and GitHub stuff was fun to build but it's the reminder that actually changes what I do, so I'll keep that the priority as it grows.
I do want to add more integrations for other tools people use, in case it helps them keep track of things too. But for now I'm happy with being able to quickly add a todo and never forget it, plus seeing the Jira tickets and merge requests I have to deal with day to day.
That sounds like exactly the right order: the reminder loop is the promise, integrations are the reach. As long as every new integration feeds that same "you won't forget this" loop instead of becoming its own inbox, you can add as many as you want without losing the plot. Rooting for TodoPad — and enjoy the rare pleasure of using a tool that exists because you needed it. 🙌
Thank you😊