Open your Mac
Login, a real wake from sleep, or a return to your session.
Install BootTask
Two parts. One system.
BootTask is a Chrome extension and a Mac app that work as a pair. The extension holds your tasks and keeps the current one in view while you browse. The Native Gate makes sure your day starts with one of them. Both are free, and it takes about two minutes.
How they work together
One day, two handovers.
Each part covers a moment the other cannot reach. Here is a morning with both installed.
“What will you work on?”
Full screen, before mail, tabs and messages. You pick or type one task.
The task is already running
Your browser opens with that intention set, timer started.
It stays in view all day
The Focus Bar, the timer, Free Surf and browsing guidance on every site.
| Part | Chrome extensionRequired | Native Gate for MacOptional · recommended on Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Lives | In Chrome, on every site | On your Mac, outside the browser |
| Speaks up | While you browse | Before anything else: at login, after a real wake, on return to your session |
| Does | Holds your tasks, timer, Focus Bar, Free Surf, Focus Mode, Drive sync, on-device AI | Asks what you will work on, starts that task, opens your browser with it set |
| Without it | BootTask cannot work: the extension is where your tasks live | BootTask still works; the question waits until you open the extension (the Web Gate) |
Why install both
The extension can only speak once Chrome is open.
By the time you open your browser, your inbox, your tabs and your notifications have usually had their turn. The Native Gate is the only part of BootTask that runs before that: the first screen after you log in or wake your Mac. That is where an intention is cheapest to set and easiest to keep.
The extension then carries that intention through the day. One without the other works; the two together are the system BootTask was designed to be.
Optional, honestly
You can use BootTask with the Chrome extension alone, on any computer. Without the Native Gate, the same question appears in Chrome as the Web Gate, when you open the extension. If you are on a Mac, the Native Gate is what turns that question into the start of your day.
Install
Chrome first, then your Mac.
Then, if you like, your AI assistant.
1
Required · free
Add BootTask to Chrome
- Add to Chrome from the Chrome Web Store.
- Pin BootTask from the Extensions menu so its icon stays in your toolbar.
- Add your first tasks. A short onboarding shows how a task, its sites and the Focus Bar work.
2
Recommended on Mac · free
Add the Native Gate to your Mac
- Open the download and drag BootTask into Applications.
- Open BootTask. It is signed and notarized by Apple, so macOS only asks you to confirm it came from the internet.
- Allow Accessibility access when asked, in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility. It lets the gate appear over full-screen apps and on every screen.
- That is all. It installs its login agent and connects to Chrome on its own, and repairs both each time it launches.
Install step 1 first. The gate shows the tasks you plan in the extension; without it, there is nothing to choose from.
3
Optional · free
Connect Claude or ChatGPT
- Turn on Google Drive sync in the extension's settings. Your tasks then live in a Google Sheet in your own Drive.
- Add the BootTask MCP Server to Claude or ChatGPT as a connector:
https://mcp.boottask.com/mcp, then sign in with the same Google account. - Talk to it. “Add to my tasks: call the plumber” or “What's left on my list?”, by text or by voice, on your computer or your phone.
Works anywhere. Add a task from your phone while walking; it is in the extension and the Native Gate a minute later.
4
Ten seconds
See it work
- Put your Mac to sleep and wake it, or log out and back in. The gate asks what you will work on.
- Type a task or pick one, press Enter, and Chrome opens with it running.
- Need it now? Double-click BootTask in Applications to summon the gate on demand.
Questions
Before you install
Do I really need the Mac app?
No. The Chrome extension is the whole task system and works on its own. The Native Gate adds the one thing an extension cannot do: be the first screen after you log in or wake your Mac. If you use a Mac, it is the part we recommend most.
I am not on a Mac. What do I get?
Everything in the Chrome extension, including the Web Gate: the same “what will you work on?” question, inside Chrome, when you open the extension.
Does it cost anything?
Both are free. The free plan covers up to 10 unfinished tasks; Premium is a one-time payment that removes the limit. See pricing.
Can the gate lock me out of my Mac?
No. It is a question, not a lock. “I just want to check my email”, Free Surf and Open Chrome Dashboard are always on screen, and you can quit it at any time.
Can I add tasks from Claude or ChatGPT?
Yes, optionally. With Google Drive sync on, the BootTask MCP Server lets Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants list, add and finish your tasks, by text or by voice. How to connect it.
Where does my data go?
Your tasks stay on your device, or sync to a Google Sheet in your own Google Drive if you turn sync on. There is no BootTask cloud and no account to create.
Ready
Choose the work before your workspace opens.
- 1Add BootTask to ChromeRequired · free · tasks, timer, Focus BarAdd to Chrome
- 2Then add the Native Gate to your MacFree · macOS 14 or laterDownload