A powerful macOS command-line integration for reading, searching, and managing Things 3 tasks and projects via AI agents.
Install & Download
1. ClawHub CLI
The fastest way to install a skill directly from the registry.
npx clawhub@latest install things-mac
2. Manual Installation
Copy the skill folder to one of these locations
~/.openclaw/skills/ <project>/skills/ Priority: Workspace > Local > Bundled
3. Prompt Installation
Copy this prompt to OpenClaw to install it automatically.
Help me install things-mac using Clawhub. If Clawhub is not installed, install it first (npm i -g clawhub).
Prefer to download?
Get the raw skill files in a ZIP archive.
What is Things 3 CLI?
The things-mac skill provides a sophisticated interface between AI agents and the Things 3 task manager on macOS. By leveraging the things3-cli, this skill allows for deep introspection of your local task database and the ability to create or update todos via the official Things URL scheme. It is designed to be a core component of Openclaw Skills, enabling users to transform natural language intent into structured productivity data without leaving their development or automation environment. Whether you are organizing complex projects or simply capturing a quick thought, this skill ensures your tasks are perfectly synchronized with your workflow.
Things 3 CLI Use Cases
- Creating new tasks with specific deadlines, notes, and checklist items directly through an AI interface.
- Searching the local Things 3 database for existing tasks, projects, or areas to retrieve context.
- Listing high-level views like Inbox, Today, or Upcoming to plan daily activities.
- Automating task updates such as marking todos as completed, changing tags, or moving them between lists.
- Bulk importing tasks with multi-line notes using piped input commands.
How Things 3 CLI Works
- The AI agent identifies a task management request and invokes the Openclaw Skills runner.
- For read operations, the skill directly queries the Things sqlite database on the local macOS filesystem for high-performance data retrieval.
- For write operations, the skill generates a specific URL scheme command interpreted by the Things 3 application.
- To modify tasks, the skill retrieves the unique UUID of a task and applies updates using a secure authentication token.
- The process concludes by returning a success confirmation or the requested data back to the AI agent for further processing.
Things 3 CLI Setup
To use this skill, ensure you have Go installed on your macOS system. Install the CLI using the following command:
GOBIN=/opt/homebrew/bin go install github.com/ossianhempel/things3-cli/cmd/things@latest
Important: You must grant Full Disk Access to your terminal or the Clawdbot application to allow the skill to read the local database. For update operations, you should set the THINGS_AUTH_TOKEN environment variable to authenticate URL scheme requests.
Things 3 CLI Data Schema & Taxonomy
The skill organizes and retrieves data based on the internal Things 3 hierarchy:
| Level | Description |
|---|---|
| Areas | Top-level organizational categories (e.g., Work, Personal). |
| Projects | Specific goals containing multiple tasks and optional headings. |
| Tasks | Individual todos with titles, notes, and status (Inbox, Today, Upcoming). |
| Tags | Metadata used for filtering and searching tasks. |
| Checklists | Sub-items nested within a specific task for granular tracking. |
Things 3 CLI Advanced Features
- Dry-run mode using
--dry-runto preview the generated URL scheme without executing the change. - Foreground mode to automatically bring the Things 3 app to the front after an operation.
- Direct UUID-based task modification for precise updates to existing todos.
- Support for custom database locations via the
THINGSDBenvironment variable. - Checklist item support for adding multi-step sub-tasks during todo creation.
SKILL.md
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