Is There a Things 3 for Linux?

TL;DR: There’s no Things 3 for Linux, and there won’t be. Things is a native Cocoa app built on Apple frameworks, so Wine can’t run it either. Keeping the Inbox / Today / Upcoming / Anytime / Someday workflow on Linux means an app that ships those views natively. Done Bear has a Linux desktop app, a browser app, and a one-command Things importer.

Is there a Things 3 Linux version?

No. Cultured Code builds for Apple platforms only: macOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro. There has never been a Linux build, an Android build, or a Windows build, and nothing suggests one is coming.

Can I run Things 3 under Wine?

No, and it’s worth knowing why, because it’s the first thing most people try.

Wine translates Windows API calls into Linux ones. Things isn’t a Windows application. It’s a macOS app written against Cocoa, AppKit, and Core Data, so there’s nothing for Wine to translate. Darling, the equivalent project aimed at macOS binaries, exists, but it doesn’t support the GUI frameworks a modern Cocoa app needs.

That leaves a macOS virtual machine: licensed only on Apple hardware, slow, and a second operating system to boot every time you want to look at a to-do list. For something you check twenty times a day, it doesn’t survive the week.

What about the web app?

There isn’t one. Things Cloud syncs Apple devices to each other and has no browser interface to sign into. Is there a Things 3 web app? covers it properly, but the short answer is that the browser escape hatch other Mac-only apps offer isn’t here.

The one route that works from Linux is Mail to Things, the private email address that drops messages into your Inbox. That’s capture only. You can put things in, and you can’t see, organise, or complete any of them.

What to look for in a replacement

Linux users usually want more than “it runs”. A real native package, not a browser shortcut wearing an app icon. Offline-first, because something that needs a server round-trip per keystroke isn’t a replacement for an app that opened instantly. Keyboard-driven, which is why Things felt fast.

A terminal path matters too. On Linux especially, capturing without leaving the shell is the difference between a system you use and one you forget.

Then the workflow itself. The five views have to be built in. Any app that makes you rebuild Today and Someday out of saved filters will drift within a month, and you’ll be maintaining a task system instead of using one.

How Done Bear works on Linux

There’s a native Linux desktop app alongside the macOS, Windows, and iOS builds, all on the downloads page, and a full browser app if you’d rather not install anything, or you’re on a machine you don’t control. Sync is local-first: tasks live on the device and sync in the background, so views open instantly and edits save with no connection.

There’s a CLI as well: donebear task add "Fix the build" from any terminal, plus JSON output for scripting and a GraphQL API underneath. The hosted MCP server lets an AI assistant triage the list, which, as the Things 3 MCP situation shows, is another thing Apple-only automation can’t give a Linux user.

Anyone whose Linux machine is a work box while their real life runs on a Mac and an iPhone should stay on Things 3. Things is excellent, and syncing your personal system through it is fine if Linux is somewhere you visit rather than live.

Getting your data out

The importer needs one session on a Mac with Things installed:

donebear import things

Areas, projects, and tasks come across with their dates, then sync down to Linux. The import guide has the rest.

If the Mac is already gone, Things’ own export is limited, and the practical fallback is Mail to Things or copying your active projects across by hand. Worth doing while you still have the hardware.