How to get started with Trayzero: a local-first, offline GTD app
Trayzero is a free, offline GTD app that keeps every task on your device — no account, no cloud. Here's how to install it, capture your first task, and run the full five-step GTD method in under a minute.
Published · 6 min read
Most to-do apps make you create an account before you can write down a single thought. Trayzero doesn't. It's a free Getting Things Done app that keeps every task on your phone — no sign-up, no cloud, no analytics SDK quietly watching. This guide walks you from a fresh install to a working GTD system, and explains the one real trade-off you're accepting in return.
The short version: install it from Google Play or the App Store, open it, and start typing. There is no step you can get wrong, because there's nothing to set up.
Getting started in under a minute
Trayzero has no onboarding wizard and no account screen, so the path from download to your first captured task is short:
- Install the app. It's on Android and iOS with the same features on both. Android shipped first (May 2026), iOS followed in June.
- Open it. You land directly in the app — no "create account," no "verify email," no plan picker.
- Capture something. Type the first thing on your mind into the inbox. Don't organize it yet; just get it out of your head. That's step one of GTD, and it's the only step you need on day one.
- Keep going. Everything else — projects, the weekly review, contexts — is already in the free app. There's nothing to unlock.
That's genuinely it. The lack of friction isn't a missing feature; it's the point. A capture tool you have to log into is a capture tool you'll skip when you're in a hurry, which is exactly when you most need to offload a thought.
Running the full GTD method, not just a list
Plenty of apps call themselves "GTD" but only do the first step — they hold a list. Trayzero walks all five steps David Allen actually defined: Capture, Clarify, Organize, Reflect, and Engage. The two that separate a real system from a notepad are Clarify and Reflect, and those are where Trayzero puts its weight.
Clarify happens in a card-stack Process Inbox. Each captured item comes up as a single card, and you make one decision — what is this, and what's the next action — before moving to the next. Processing the inbox one card at a time turns the chore most people avoid into something closer to a quick, finishable task. You work the stack down until the inbox hits zero.
Reflect is a guided seven-step Weekly Review. Instead of remembering the review checklist yourself, the wizard walks you through it the same way every week — empty the inboxes, check active projects, look over Someday/Maybe. This is the habit that keeps a GTD system trustworthy over months, and it's the feature most "GTD" apps quietly leave out.
If you've used a plain to-do list and wondered why GTD sticks better, this is the difference: the method is built into the app's flow, not left for you to assemble.
Why local-first, and what it costs you
Everything you enter goes into an SQLite database on the device. There's no account because there's no server — your tasks are never uploaded, so there's nothing for anyone to leak, sell, or lose. That's also why the app needs no login: an account only exists to tie your data to a vendor's cloud, and there isn't one here.
The honest trade-off is sync. Because nothing leaves your phone, Trayzero can't automatically mirror your tasks to a second device. Moving to a new phone is a manual step: export your data as a JSON file on the old device, import it on the new one. That file is plain, readable, and yours — no proprietary format, no lock-in — but you are the one responsible for backups now, not a server.
So the choice is concrete. If automatic multi-device sync is non-negotiable, a cloud app will suit you better, and our comparison of local-first GTD apps covers the ones that sync without selling you out. If you'd rather keep your task list off every server in exchange for moving it yourself, that's the trade Trayzero is built around.
| Trayzero | Typical cloud GTD app | |
|---|---|---|
| Account required | No | Yes |
| Where data lives | On your device (SQLite) | Vendor's server |
| Works offline | 100% | Partial / sync-dependent |
| Source code | Open (GPLv3) | Proprietary |
| Price | Free | Subscription |
You don't have to take the privacy claim on faith
"Your data stays on your device" is easy to write on a landing page and hard to verify — unless the code is public. Trayzero is open source under GPLv3, so the whole codebase is there to read. You, or a developer you trust, can confirm there's no telemetry and no network call shipping your tasks off the phone.
That's the part that makes the privacy real rather than rhetorical. A closed-source app asks you to believe its promise; an open one lets you check it. Combined with local-only storage, it means the answer to "where does my data go?" is something you can prove instead of something you're told.
Next steps
- Install it free on Google Play or the App Store.
- Read the five GTD steps as Trayzero implements them before your first weekly review.
- Skim the source on GitHub if you want to see the privacy claim in code.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an account to use Trayzero?
No. There's no sign-up, login, or onboarding gate. You download the app, open it, and you're capturing tasks immediately. Your data lives in an SQLite database on the device, so there's no account to create because there's no server to create it on.
Is Trayzero really free?
Yes — every feature is in the free app. There are optional tips and a supporter subscription, but they unlock nothing functional. They're a way to chip in if the app is useful to you, not a paywall hiding features.
Does Trayzero work offline?
Completely. The app never needs a network connection because all your tasks, projects, and reviews are stored locally. It behaves identically on a plane, in a tunnel, or at your desk — there's no sync to wait on and nothing to load from a server.
How do I move my data to a new phone if there's no cloud sync?
You export your data as a plain JSON file on the old device and import it on the new one. It's a manual step — the deliberate cost of keeping nothing on a server. The upside is that the export is a readable, portable file you control, not a proprietary blob locked to a vendor.
Can I verify that my tasks never leave my device?
Yes. Trayzero is open source under GPLv3, so the entire codebase is public. You — or any developer — can read the source to confirm there's no analytics SDK and no network calls shipping your tasks anywhere. The privacy claim is auditable, not just marketing.
Trayzero is an independent app inspired by the GTD methodology. "Getting Things Done" and "GTD" are trademarks of the David Allen Company.
Sources
- What is GTD? — Getting Things Done (David Allen Company) — Canonical definition of the five steps: Capture, Clarify, Organize, Reflect, Engage.
- Trayzero source code (GPLv3) — Public repo backing the open-source, on-device-storage, and no-account claims.
- Trayzero on Google Play — Android listing — free, no account.
- Trayzero on the App Store — iOS listing — free, no account.
Keep reading
Where to download a local-first GTD app: a decision guide
A local-first GTD app keeps every task on your device instead of someone else's server. Here's how Trayzero, Everdo, OmniFocus, and Things 3 actually compare on method, data, platform, and price.
The GTD weekly review, step by step
The weekly review is the step most people skip — and the reason most productivity systems eventually stop working. Here's what it involves, how long it actually takes, and what to do when you've fallen behind.
GTD inbox processing: how it works and why guided decisions beat a flat list
Capturing a task and deciding what to do with it are two different jobs — and mixing them is why most to-do lists turn into graveyards. Here's how GTD inbox processing works, and what guided decisions change.