PaperTodo

---

Preview

Papers

Markdown View

Edge Browsing

Capsule Mode	Advanced Capsules
Papers can collapse into compact capsules to reduce desktop clutter.	Collapsed capsules automatically dock to screen edges and slide out on hover.

---

Philosophy

• Paper first — Every paper is an independent window that lives directly on the desktop, with no layered management console to open first.
• Ready immediately — Write when you want, check things off when done; everything saves automatically and the interaction path stays short.
• No unnecessary management — PaperTodo deliberately avoids complex project-management models, reducing the mental overhead of everyday capture.
• Native & lightweight — Built natively with WPF, without a Web wrapper, for fast startup and low resource use.
• Restrained interaction — The UI stays clean and low-distraction: quiet when idle, immediately available when needed.

No unnecessary interaction layers. No unnecessary visual focus.

---

Core Features

1. Two Basic Paper Types

• Todo Paper: A clean, efficient checklist with drag-and-drop ordering, continuous swipe multi-selection, and smart splitting of multi-line paste; completed items can be cleared automatically or moved to the bottom.
• Note Paper: Lightweight Markdown and visual notes with three levels of real-time rendering, natural editing/reading flow, and support for pasting or dropping local images.

2. Edge Capsules & Live Preview Cards

• Collapse & Dock: Click the top-right button or press Ctrl+W to collapse a paper into a compact capsule that automatically docks to a screen edge and frees up desktop space.
• Hover Preview Cards (Preview): Hover an edge capsule to smoothly open a lightweight interactive preview card and inspect content without opening the full paper window:
  • Todo Preview: Scroll, check, or uncheck visible tasks directly in the hover card; click the card background to open the full paper.
  • Note Preview: Instantly renders Markdown body layout and image placeholders.
  • Intent Prediction & Seamless Handoff: Built-in pointer-intent prediction keeps transitions smooth while moving across adjacent capsules and retracts automatically when the pointer leaves.
• Multi-Monitor Flow & Master Capsule: Drag capsules across displays and edges; the master capsule at the top can collapse the whole queue and can be dragged to adjust the queue's starting height.

3. New Plugin System (Preview)

• Desktop Micro-App Expansion: Papers are not limited to notes—you can switch them into clocks, focus Pomodoro timers, review pools, and other rich plugins: a next-generation take on Windows desktop widgets.
• Deep Capsule & Top-Bar Integration: Plugins can collapse into dedicated capsules, provide edge-hover cards and custom top-bar actions, while keeping their data stored independently.
• Drop-in Use: Place a plugin folder in plugins/ and PaperTodo can recognize it directly. To build your own plugin, see the Plugin Development Manual.

4. Ultra-Smooth Native Experience & High-Refresh Tuning

• Full high-refresh optimization: Paper folding/unfolding, edge drawer motion, card handoff, and cross-monitor dragging are deeply tuned for frame pacing, with full support for 120Hz/144Hz/165Hz+ displays for a smooth, stutter-free feel.
• Pure native responsiveness: Built with .NET 10 and native WPF without Web-wrapper overhead, aiming for millisecond-level interaction, very low memory/CPU use, and unobtrusive always-on operation.
• Incremental rendering for long notes: Note input uses localized incremental parsing so long text-and-image notes remain responsive and IME input stays smooth.
• Smooth multi-monitor and mixed-DPI flow: Deeply adapted for multi-display setups with different scaling factors, keeping cross-screen dragging and edge docking precise without flicker or distortion.

5. Universal Todo Linking & Script Capsules

• Quick Launch & Universal Linking: Drag the link icon from another paper's top bar, or drop a file/folder from File Explorer onto a todo item, then click it to jump straight to the target.
• Script Capsules (PowerShell): Put !p or !power on the first line of a note to turn it into a script runner; when collapsed it becomes a lightning capsule that executes the script when clicked.

6. Advanced Labs Features (Preview)

• Local MCP Interface: Start PaperTodo with --mcp to expose a standard MCP service, allowing authorized external AI assistants such as Claude or Cursor to securely read, write, and manage todos and notes.
• Third-Party Window Tethering: Drag to attach a paper to any third-party app window so it follows that window smoothly as it moves, minimizes, and restores.
• Scheduled Reminders: Todo items support custom countdown reminders with tray notifications and alert sounds when due.
• Idle Behavior & Desktop Integration: Papers can auto-collapse into capsules on focus loss and compact their title bar while idle; global shortcuts can send papers behind other windows and enable mouse click-through for deeper desktop integration.

7. Customization & Data Ownership

• Appearance Customization: Follow system/light/dark themes, choose from Warm Paper, Ink, Forest, and Rosy palettes, use a custom font by placing papertodo.ttf, and switch between multiple UI languages.
• Local Control: Data and images stay in the application directory (data.json and note-assets.lmdb), with automatic snapshot backups before writes and full offline operation.

---

This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗