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Home/Categories/AI & Machine Learning/Task Bert
icon of Task Bert

Task Bert

Open source alternative to Taskade, ClickUp and Motion

  • 6 stars
  • GPL-3.0
  • Updated this year
  • Last commit 194 days ago

Last verified Oct 6, 2026

Manage iMessage follow-ups with a local macOS app that indexes conversations, surfaces action items, and keeps message data on your device.

Visit websiteGitHub6 stars
image of Task Bert
TL;DR

Task Bert is a GPL-3.0 macOS app that turns iMessage history into searchable tasks, summaries, and action items. It runs locally against chat.db with embedded Postgres, full-text search, vector search, LLM summaries, and an MCP server for Claude Code.

Read the full breakdownHide the full breakdownWho it is for, how it works, trade-offs, the quick start and the FAQ
who it's for

Who Task Bert is for#

Mac users tracking commitments from texts

Task Bert fits people whose appointments, promises, and follow-ups are scattered across iMessage threads.

Skip if:

Your important work conversations happen outside Apple Messages.

Claude Code users querying personal messages

The MCP server lets Claude Code search contacts, actions, and message history through local tools.

Skip if:

You do not want AI tools connected to private message history.

the problem

The problem it solves#

Important commitments often hide inside text messages: unanswered questions, loose plans, appointments, and details someone mentioned once. macOS Messages is not designed as a task manager or research database.

Searching chat history manually is slow, and uploading private conversations to a hosted assistant raises privacy concerns. A local app can index messages, generate action items, and let users query their own history with more control.

how Task Bert solves it

How it solves it#

Local iMessage indexing

Task Bert reads macOS chat.db and loads message history into embedded Postgres through PGLite.

Hybrid message search

The README lists full-text search, semantic search with local vector embeddings, and hybrid search as the default.

LLM-generated action items

Bert can generate conversation summaries and action items such as unanswered questions, commitments, and plans.

Claude Code MCP server

The README documents an MCP server that lets Claude Code search messages, ask questions, and pull actions.

strengths · trade-offs

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

  • Local-first message workflowReading chat.db locally and using an embedded database gives users more control than forwarding messages to a hosted task assistant.
  • Search and actions in one appCombining search, summaries, action extraction, and thread view makes Task Bert more useful than a simple message search wrapper.

Trade-offs

  • -Mac and iMessage onlyTask Bert depends on macOS Messages data and Full Disk Access, so it does not help Android, Windows, Slack, or WhatsApp workflows.
install · quick start

Quick start#

bash
npm install
npm run mcp
tech stack · detected from GitHub

What it's built on#

Languages
JavaScriptPythonSwiftTypeScript
frequently asked

FAQ#

What does Task Bert do?

Task Bert indexes iMessage history on macOS and turns conversations into searchable summaries and action items.

Does Task Bert run locally?

Yes. The README says the app reads macOS chat.db and uses embedded Postgres/PGLite, though LLM features require an Anthropic or OpenAI API key.

Does Task Bert support MCP?

Yes. The README documents an MCP server for Claude Code with search, agent, actions, and contacts tools.

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