Capturing tasks

Capture should be fast enough that you do not lose the thought.

Pinwork lets you add tasks from the app, the Mac menu bar, Apple Pencil, Apple Watch, widgets, Siri, Shortcuts, the Share Sheet, Apple Reminders import, deep links, and AppleScript. Some of those entry points understand natural language. Others keep your text exactly as written.

Quick Add in the app

The main way to create a task is the add button in Pinwork.

Open the list where you want to add the task.
Tap or click the add button.
Type the task.
Save.

On Mac and iPad, you can also press Command-N.

Where you start matters:

From Today, Pinwork seeds the task for today.
From Upcoming, Pinwork seeds the task for tomorrow.
From Inbox, Pinwork leaves the task unscheduled.
From a project or filtered view, Pinwork can seed the task for that context.

Quick Add in the app parses natural language. That means a phrase like Review pitch deck Friday at 2pm #startup can create a scheduled and tagged task instead of a plain title.

Apple Pencil and Scribble

On iPad, you can capture with Apple Pencil or Scribble in supported quick-entry areas.

Pinwork converts the handwriting to text, then runs the same natural-language parser used by Quick Add. It can apply a When date, tags, project token, estimate, recurrence, and calendar command when those are present and supported.

The handwritten text needs at least two non-whitespace characters before Pinwork creates the task.

On Mac, the Pinwork menu bar extra includes a Quick Add field.

Use it when you want to capture a task without opening the main window. The menu bar field parses natural language, so dates, tags, project tokens, recurrence, estimates, and calendar commands can be applied from the text you type.

If you do not include a date, the task goes to Inbox.

Global quick-entry hotkey on Mac

Pinwork can also use a global quick-entry shortcut on Mac.

Turn on Enable Global Quick Entry Shortcut in Settings, then press Control-Option-Space.

This shortcut is different from the menu bar field. It does not silently create a task in the background. It activates Pinwork, goes to your default Quick Add destination, and starts the normal inline creation flow.

Your default Quick Add destination can be Inbox, Today, or Tomorrow.

Use the Share Sheet to send a web page or selected text into Pinwork from another app.

The Share Extension can create a task from:

one web URL
plain text

It does not support image, video, or file shares.

When you share a web page, Pinwork keeps the URL and creates a task with the page title or shared text when available. When you share plain text, Pinwork uses the first line as the task title and the remaining text as notes.

Before saving, you can choose Inbox, Today, Tomorrow, a project, tags, and notes.

The Share Extension does not parse natural language. If you share Call mom tomorrow at 2pm, that text stays as the task title unless you edit the task later.

Import Apple Reminders

Use Import from Apple Reminders when you want to bring existing Reminders lists into Pinwork.

Open Settings > Integrations > Import from Apple Reminders, allow Reminders access, select the lists you want, review the preview, then import.

Each selected Reminders list becomes a Pinwork project. The reminders in that list become Pinwork tasks inside the project.

This is a one-way import. Pinwork reads Reminders for the import and does not modify Apple Reminders.

See Import Apple Reminders for field mapping, completed reminders, duplicate handling, and privacy notes.

Siri, Shortcuts, and Action Button

You can add tasks through Pinwork’s Quick Add App Shortcut. Siri phrases include:

Add a task in Pinwork
New task in Pinwork
Capture in Pinwork
Quick add in Pinwork
Add to Pinwork

You can also use Shortcuts or connect the iPhone Action Button to a Pinwork Quick Add shortcut.

This path captures raw text. It does not parse dates, tags, project syntax, recurrence, or calendar commands. The task is queued for the main app and created in your default Quick Add destination: Inbox, Today, or Tomorrow.

If Pro access is not active, the shortcut asks you to open Pinwork to restore access before it can create the task.

Widgets and controls

The Task Progress widget can include a plus button. That button opens Pinwork to add a task for today instead of creating a task directly inside the widget.

iOS Control widgets can open Pinwork to Quick Add, Today, Inbox, or Upcoming. They are navigation shortcuts, not background task creation.

See At a glance for widgets, controls, Lock Screen, Live Activities, complications, and the Mac menu bar.

Apple Watch capture

On Apple Watch, tap the plus button and enter text with dictation, Scribble, or the keyboard.

Watch capture parses natural language, then shows a confirmation step:

If Pinwork finds a When date, the primary action is Schedule.
If no When date is found, you can add the task to Inbox or Today.

The current Watch save path applies the title, When date, Deadline if supplied by the parser, and tags. It does not apply parsed project, recurrence, estimate, or calendar command metadata.

See Apple Watch for the full Watch experience.

Deep links and AppleScript

Advanced users can create tasks with automation.

pinwork://quickadd?text=... creates a task in the background and parses natural language.
pinwork://add?... creates or opens a task from explicit URL parameters such as title, when, deadline, list, project, tags, notes, or estimate.
AppleScript quick add "..." uses the same natural-language quick-add service as the pinwork://quickadd deep link.

If you use Raycast, the Pinwork extension has a Quick Add Task command that captures with natural language, so you can add a task without building a URL.

Mutation commands are blocked when access is locked.

See Automation for deep links, AppleScript, Shortcuts, keyboard shortcuts, command palette, Spotlight, and Focus Filters.

Which capture methods parse natural language?

Parsed:

in-app Quick Add
Apple Pencil and Scribble capture
Mac menu bar Quick Add
pinwork://quickadd
AppleScript quick add
Apple Watch capture, with Watch-specific field limits

Raw text, not parsed:

Siri Quick Add
Shortcuts Quick Add
Action Button Quick Add
Share Extension

See Natural language for syntax, examples, and parser limits.

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