David Tiong: Apps

A Help Centre for My Mac Apps

2026-09-30T00:00:00Z

I’ve added a help centre for my Mac apps. I don’t like long, hard to follow help guides, so I’ve kept these light, like the apps themselves. The apps are made so you can get straight in and start using them without having to worry about lots of settings to configure, and the guides work the same way: a walkthrough on how to get started, with text and screenshots, then a short page for each of the main things you’d want to do.

So far it covers Budget Planner, Gift Keeper, Ikigai Journal and Lists & Notes, and the rest of the apps will be added over time. There are also a few pages that apply to every app, like installing an app, how the membership works and moving to a new Mac. When you search from an app’s pages, the search starts filtered to that app, so you get Budget Planner answers when you’re in Budget Planner, and you can untick it to search everything.

It’s also there for anyone thinking about buying one of the apps. A product page can only show so much, and I think it helps to see what you are getting before you pay for it. The guides go through the real screens, so you get a feel for the interface and what’s included.

A bit on how it’s made. The pages are written with Claude Code and checked against how each app actually works, and the screenshots are captured straight from the apps using demo data, by the same automated tests that check each app still works. So when an app changes, the screenshots can be retaken instead of redone by hand.

If you use one of the apps, or you’re curious about one, have a look at the help centre.

Why I Build Local-First Apps, and Why I Launched a Membership

2026-09-21T00:00:00Z

I was paying up to $30 a month for subscriptions and still had to either upgrade to a costlier tier, or use other apps as well to get what I needed. Every RSS app I tried turned into another inbox. I wanted a private space for my notes without giving away control of my content, or reading pages of privacy policy to work out where my data was going. So I built what I wanted, then kept going until each app was good enough to open up to others.

That is the short version. The longer version is that the subscription model, the way most software works now, has a structural problem for small tools. A monthly price often funds servers, accounts, syncing, support, and the next round of features you may not want. All of that gets paid for whether you use it or not, and your data often has to live on someone else’s servers for the sync to work.

I think there is room for something different. Apps that run on your Mac, keep their data on your machine, and do not need an account. You can still buy one particular Tiong Creative app for $15 or $29 USD once, with future updates to that app included.

So why launch a membership?

There are now nine apps, and I am still building. Some people want one or two specific tools, while others want to try several of them and get whatever comes next.

I did not want the second group buying each app separately, or having to work out which bundle made sense every time I released something new.

Tiong Creative membership is $49 USD a year and includes all nine current apps, new apps and updates released while your membership is active, early access to builds, and members-only apps such as IdentityPractice and Music Discovery.

It does not replace one-time purchases. Someone who only wants Content Checker Pro or Lists & Notes can buy that app once and keep getting its updates. The membership is the simpler option when you want two or more apps, the members-only apps, or the things I release next.

Local-first still means local-first

The membership changes how you download the apps and receive updates, not how the apps work. Your data stays on your Mac, there is no Tiong Creative account inside the apps, and versions you download during a paid membership period keep working after the membership ends. Downloads and updates stop, so keeping a copy of the installers is a good idea if you may need to reinstall later.

Some apps have optional AI features. For those, you bring your own Anthropic or OpenAI key and use your own account.

I build these apps using Claude Code and Codex, combined with what I have learned across product management, agency ownership, SaaS support and product enablement. They are tools I use myself, and that matters because I notice the small annoyances and keep improving them rather than building something for an imaginary user.

There are trade-offs. There is no cloud sync or web version, and the membership does not keep providing downloads after it ends. For some people that rules these apps out entirely, and that is fine. If you want a small tool that does its job and keeps your data on your own Mac, you can now choose one app or the whole collection.

See everything included in the Tiong Creative membership →

I Built a Note Taking App for My Mac

2026-05-10T00:00:00Z

Over the years I’ve used a lot of different note taking apps and list managers. Evernote, Apple Notes, Notion, Obsidian, Craft, Google Docs, even just plain Word documents. They all have their strengths and I’ve spent decent amounts of time in each of them, but I kept running into the same frustrations. Subscription costs that add up, concerns about who can see my data, and that uncomfortable feeling of being locked in where if you stop paying you lose access to your own notes.

I think what bothered me most was that my notes and lists are pretty personal, they’re how I organise my thinking, and I just wanted them on my machine. Not in someone else’s cloud, not behind a login, just files on my Mac that I own and control. There are some benefits to cloud access sure, being able to get to your notes from anywhere sounds great, but in practice it’s never been as simple or as reliable as it should be.

So I built something for myself, and it turned into Lists & Notes.

What I was actually looking for

I wanted something that combined note taking and list management in one place without being overcomplicated. A lot of apps try to do everything and end up doing nothing particularly well, or they start simple and then keep adding features until they become the thing you were trying to get away from.

For notes I wanted to write in Markdown with a proper live preview, not something that feels like a code editor but something that’s actually pleasant to write in, where you can see your formatted text updating as you type. For lists I wanted simple checkable items with priorities and categories, the kind of thing where you can quickly throw together a shopping list or a project checklist without it feeling like you’re setting up a project management tool.

I also wanted categories that matched how I actually think. Not tags scattered everywhere but proper categories with subcategories, like work and personal, or travel with a subfolder for japan. Nested so you can organise things how they make sense to you, and filter and search when you need to find something.

Writing in Markdown

One of the things I feel strongly about is that notes should be stored in a format that isn’t going to lock you in. Lists & Notes stores every note as Markdown, and you can easily export any note to PDF, to a Word doc, or just copy the Markdown to the clipboard and paste it wherever you like. If you need to send meeting notes to a colleague or put together something that looks a bit more professional, the app has font choices and optional metadata so your PDF exports come out looking clean.

The editor gives you a side by side view where you type on the left and see the rendered version on the right, which I think is the right way to work with Markdown. Headings, tables, code blocks, checklists, it all renders in real time as you write.

AI features if you want them

I added AI features but they’re completely optional, you don’t need an API key and the app works perfectly fine without one. If you do add your own Claude or OpenAI key you get grammar and spelling checks, a writing improvement tool, and TLDR summaries for longer notes. For lists the AI takes what you already have in your list and suggests new items, you pick what you want and add them.

One thing I was careful about is that it saves a version of your note before any AI changes, so if the grammar check rewrites something in a way you don’t like you can undo it straight away. There’s a full version history as well if you need to go back further. Your API key is encrypted on your machine and when you use an AI feature only that specific note gets sent to the provider, nothing else.

Everything stays on your Mac

I think this is the part that matters most to me. No account, no cloud, no tracking. Your notes, lists, settings, backups, all on your machine. The app does daily auto-backups and keeps 15 of them rolling so if something goes wrong you can restore from any recent point.

With this Mac desktop app you can still choose to export your data, to back it up and store copies in your own cloud service. The app is yours to keep with no ongoing payments to access, so at any time you could reinstall and import one of your backups. It’s just a JSON file so you can open it up in a text editor and extract what you need, or if you want you could also give it to your preferred AI tool to extract the content.

In future I’ll be adding additional bulk exporting options for notes as well. I will be continuing to refine this app since I’m using it myself daily. I think this is how you make good software, to know from experience what works and what doesn’t, and to be a daily active user so that you can ensure it works well and continues to deliver over time.

One time purchase with free updates

Did I mention it’s a one-time purchase? I think subscriptions make sense for services with ongoing server costs, but a desktop app that runs locally and stores files on your machine doesn’t really have those costs. It’s $15 USD on Gumroad and that includes free updates going forward. When I push an update the app detects there’s a new version available and you can download the latest from your Gumroad purchase page, install it and select replace, it keeps all your files.

If you are like me and like to take precautions with software updates, knowing that no matter how much a company tests and tests a new release things don’t always show up until it hits the real world of users, then you’d want to export a backup before you reinstall. It’s a good habit to have with any software really, not just this one, but Lists & Notes makes it easy to do.

I put together a short demo video if you want to see it in action, and there’s more detail on the product page. This is the third Mac app I’ve shipped under Tiong Creative and it’s the one I find myself using every day. If you’ve been looking for something straightforward and private for your notes and lists on your Mac, I hope it’s useful to you.

I Built a Mac App for Content Audits — Here's Why

2026-05-01T00:00:00Z

The free Content Checker was built as an instant tool — paste a URL, get quick insights on structure and basic SEO without wasting time. No signup, no setup.

Content Checker Pro takes the basics of that and enhances it with AI — combining technical checks with deeper content analysis. Something that could analyse multiple pages, compare against competitors, and produce a report you could actually hand over. So I built it.

What it does

It’s a macOS desktop app that uses AI (Claude or GPT — you bring your own API key) to analyse web pages for content quality and SEO. You get:

A Content Score out of 100 with specific, actionable recommendations
Competitor benchmarking — see where your client wins and where they’re behind
Branded PDF reports — add your logo, export a multi-page report, hand it to the client
Content briefs and rewrites — AI-generated improvements optimised for discoverability
Sitemap import — batch-analyse up to 10 pages at a time

Everything runs locally on your Mac — no cloud account, no subscription server. Your data stays on your device, which matters if you’re analysing client websites.

Built with AI, grounded in experience

AI makes building tools like this possible for a solo developer. But the tool itself isn’t meant to replace the expertise of content and SEO professionals — it’s meant to support it. You take the results, interpret them, and adjust for your client. AI helps us move faster and do more, not replace what we bring to the table.

The details

Price: $29 USD, one-time purchase
Platform: macOS 12 or later, Intel and Apple Silicon
AI: Bring your own Anthropic (Claude) or OpenAI (GPT) API key
AI costs: Typically $0.02–0.10 per page depending on the model

Demo video, screenshots, and full feature list on the product page at Tiong Creative.

Buy Content Checker Pro →

Zestly: A Habit App That Doesn't Make You Feel Guilty

2026-02-20T00:00:00Z

Most habit apps are built around not breaking the chain. Miss a day and your streak is gone — along with any motivation you had built up.

Zestly is a free iOS app I built that takes the opposite approach. Instead of tracking streaks, it delivers short, fun activity prompts each day across six categories: Physical, Creative, Social, Mindset, Sound, and Mini Adventure. You rate how it went with an emoji, and at the end of the week everything resets.

No guilt. No long-term accumulation. Just a fresh week to try again.

Why No Streaks?

Streaks create pressure. Once a streak becomes long enough, protecting it starts to feel more important than actually doing the habit. Miss one day and the whole thing feels ruined.

Zestly sidesteps this entirely with a weekly reset — you get a summary of how your week went, then the slate clears. The goal is to build enjoyment and consistency over time, not to maintain a perfect record.

What’s in the App

60+ default prompts across 6 categories
Optional activity timers
Morning and evening reminder notifications
Emoji-based enjoyment ratings
Weekly summary with insights and a reflection journal
Achievement badges for milestones
Custom prompt creation
4 themes: Playful, Energetic, Mindful, Minimal
Fully offline — no account, no tracking, nothing leaves your device

Built With AI-Assisted Development

Zestly was built using AI-assisted development — an approach I’ve been exploring for building small, focused tools quickly. It’s a good example of how a solo developer can go from idea to App Store without a large team.

Zestly is available now on the App Store — free for iPhone.

Full app details, features & privacy policy →

Local Task Manager: A Lightweight, Privacy-First Task App

2026-02-17T00:00:00Z

If you’ve ever wanted a simple task manager that stays out of your way — no accounts, no cloud sync, no subscriptions — Local Task Manager might be exactly what you need.

It’s a single-page app that runs on your machine via Node.js. Your tasks live in a local JSON file, the UI runs in your browser, and nothing ever leaves your computer.

Why Local?

Most task apps want you to create an account, sync to their servers, and pay a monthly fee. For a personal productivity tool, that’s overkill. Local Task Manager takes a different approach:

Your data stays on your machine — tasks are stored in a simple JSON file in the project folder
No internet required — works completely offline
No accounts or logins — just open your browser and go
Instant startup — the server launches in under a second
Fully hackable — it’s plain JavaScript, easy to read and modify

What It Does

Despite being lightweight, it packs in the features that actually matter for daily productivity:

Task timer — start a timer on any task, track how long you spend
Pomodoro mode — optional work intervals (25, 45, or 65 min) with break reminders
Focus mode — immersive full-screen view when you need to concentrate
Analog clock view — see your scheduled tasks as arcs on a 12-hour clock face
Calendar appointments — set reminders for time-sensitive tasks
Recurring tasks — daily or weekly, with optional weekday-only scheduling
Project categories — group tasks with auto-colored badges
Streaks — gamification for completing 3+ tasks per day
Import/export — backup your data or import tasks from JSON

Getting Started

1. Install Node.js

Download and install Node.js (v18 or higher) from nodejs.org.

Download the latest release from GitHub and unzip it:

github.com/davettt/local-task-manager

Click the green Code button, then Download ZIP. Unzip the folder and move it somewhere suitable on your system (e.g. your home directory or a tools folder).

3. Install Dependencies

Open a terminal, navigate to the folder, and run:

cd local-task-manager
npm install

4. Start the Server

npm run dev

Open your browser to localhost:3000 and you’re ready to go. Check the terminal output after running the command — if port 3000 is already in use, the server will automatically find the next available port and show you which one it’s using.

The dev command starts the server with auto-reload, so if you make changes to the code it picks them up automatically.

Stopping and Restarting

Press Ctrl+C in the terminal to stop the server. To start again, just run npm run dev from the same folder. Your tasks persist between restarts — they’re saved to local_data/tasks.json on disk, so nothing is lost.

Video Walkthrough

For a full walkthrough of all features, check out the video:

Running on System Startup (Optional)

If you want the server to start automatically when your computer boots, you can use PM2:

npm install -g pm2
pm2 start src/server.js --name "task-manager"
pm2 save
pm2 startup

This keeps it running in the background so the app is always available in your browser.

Keeping Your Data Safe

Since everything is stored locally in the local_data/ folder, you have a couple of options for keeping your tasks backed up:

Sync the folder — If you already use a file sync service (Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive, Tresorit, etc.), simply place the local-task-manager folder inside a synced directory. Your tasks will automatically sync across your devices.

Regular exports — If you don’t sync your files, use the built-in backup feature (Settings > Backup) to export your tasks as a JSON file. Save these exports to your cloud storage or another safe location. It only takes a few seconds and gives you a full snapshot you can restore from at any time.

Finding Direction with Ikigai Compass

2026-02-05T00:00:00Z

Update: Since writing this post, I have built Ikigai Journal — a free macOS desktop app that takes the ikigai framework further with daily journaling, built-in discovery questions, and a living purpose map that grows from your entries. Ikigai Compass remains available below as a free open-source alternative.

After 6.5 years at Webflow, I found myself in that familiar place many of us reach: stepping back to figure out what’s next. As I worked through my own career questions, I realised something. While there are plenty of career assessment tools out there, I wanted to build a tool that respects your privacy, and considers that needs change depending on where you are in life.

So I built something different.

What is Ikigai?

Ikigai (生き甲斐) literally means “a reason for being.” It is a Japanese concept that has guided people for centuries in finding purpose and fulfilment in their daily lives.

At its core, ikigai lives at the intersection of four elements:

What you love — your passion, what brings you joy
What you’re good at — your skills and strengths
What the world needs — your contribution to others
What you can be paid for — your vocation

What makes ikigai particularly valuable is that it is not a one-time destination. Your ikigai naturally evolves through different seasons of life. The questions you face when exploring options early in your career differ from those when you are established and seeking deeper meaning, transitioning between roles, reinventing yourself after a major change, or approaching retirement and thinking about legacy.

This is why context matters. Understanding where you are in your journey shapes what kind of guidance will actually help.

Why I Built This

I wanted a tool that:

Respects your privacy by running entirely on your own computer—your assessment data never leaves your machine
Costs almost nothing to use (just your own Claude API key—about 1-5 cents per analysis)
Adapts to your life stage, whether you are exploring, transitioning, established, reinventing, or retiring
Works whether you are technical or not

The app guides you through 190+ curated options across 30+ categories, lets you weight what matters most to you right now, and produces an analysis that considers your specific context—not just generic advice.

How to Get Started

If you are comfortable with basic terminal commands:

Download the repo from GitHub
Run npm install
Add your Anthropic API key to the .env file
Run npm run dev and open http://localhost:5173

That is it. Everything runs locally. Your API key stays in a local file that never gets uploaded anywhere. Your reports are saved to a folder on your computer, not a cloud server.

For more detailed instructions, see the README file.

If command lines are not your thing: No problem. I have created a printable worksheet you can fill out by hand. Send it to me and I will run the analysis for you.

What is Next?

Try using the Ikigai Compass to find some clarity or ideas for where you currently are in life. If you hit a bug, open an issue on GitHub. If you’d like to support the project, consider giving the repo a star.

And if this tool genuinely helps you find direction? Consider donating to one of the charities I support. Purpose is not just about what we do for ourselves.

Questions or feedback? Find me on GitHub or reach out directly.

Looking for something more? Ikigai Journal builds on the same ikigai framework with daily journaling, a purpose map that grows from your entries, and optional AI reflections. The discovery questions are built right in, and the app is free on macOS.