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listlis

capture · organize · read · write · act

Keep the source.
Develop the thought.

listlis is a keyboard-first outliner for the work between finding something useful and doing something with it. Sources, notes, and actions stay in one infinitely nested tree.

Open the app See one complete workflow

Press o to capture. Tab gives it a place. ? finds every command.

listlis / one tree
▾ Cooler schoolyard proposal
▾ Sources
• A practical guide to cooler schoolyards
▾ Notes
• Proposal argument
Lead with shade, then compare materials. ↗ source
▾ Actions
[ ] Price three shade-tree options Fri
o add Tab indent c complete / search

Outline

The stable home for each project, source, note, and action.

Lists

Saved views that retrieve related work without moving it.

Markdown

Notes stay readable in the app and copy out with the branch.

One complete workflow

A saved source becomes a proposal and its next action.

Say you are building a Cooler schoolyard proposal. You find “A practical guide to cooler schoolyards” and want the phrase “shade before new equipment” when it is time to write.

  1. 1. Capture

    Keep the source while it is in front of you

    Save a web page from Chrome, archive a public URL or PDF in the app, or send email to a branch. The readable text, source, and capture date arrive together.

    Destination: Cooler schoolyard proposal / Sources

  2. 2. Organize

    Put it beside the project it belongs to

    Move the saved node under Sources. Outline keeps its real home visible; Lists can retrieve it with work from other branches without moving anything.

  3. 3. Read

    Find the detail and read in context

    Search checks titles and note bodies immediately. Reader follows a branch or saved list in order and remembers the article and position for next time.

    Search: shade before new equipment

  4. 4. Write

    Add the thought the source prompted

    Create a source-linked note. It stays ordinary Markdown, points back to the captured source, and keeps recoverable drafts and bounded text history.

    Note: Lead with shade, then compare materials.

  5. 5. Act

    Turn the next move into a dated todo

    Add an action in the same project, make it a todo, and give it a date. This week gathers dated work from across the tree.

    Todo: Price three shade-tree options · Friday

What it does

The whole loop uses the same items.

Tabm

Give every thought a place

A project can contain its sources, notes, decisions, and actions. Move or nest a whole branch without breaking that context.

/

Find what the note actually said

Search titles and Markdown bodies. Open the result at its real place in the outline, with the path that explains what it belongs to.

R

Read a branch in order

Reader turns a branch or saved list into a focused sequence. Your article and position follow you across sessions and devices.

⇧↵

Write beside the source

Every item can hold Markdown. Source-linked notes point back to what prompted them, while saved drafts and text history protect the work.

!gw

Bring actions back into view

Make any item a todo, add a date or repeat, and use This week to gather dated work from anywhere in the tree.

Share

Share the branch, with its context.

Publish a read-only link, invite someone to work on a subtree, or give a branch an email or webhook address. The sharing boundary is the branch you choose.

Connect

Let your existing assistant work in the tree.

The hosted MCP server can read outline context, search, check dated work, and write branches. REST API keys support scripts and imports.

Connect an AI client →

Keyboard tour

The useful loop in ten shortcuts.

These work in NORMAL mode. Press ? in the app for the searchable, OS-aware command list.

jk

Move focus down and up

o

Capture a new sibling below

Tab

Nest it under the row above

⇧↵

Open the Markdown note

/

Search every title and note body

R

Read the focused branch or saved list

!

Make the item a todo

d

Give it a due date

gw

Open This week from across the tree

?

Search every command and shortcut

Start with one thing worth moving forward.

The first-run tree teaches capture, notes, search, and dated actions in a few keystrokes.

Open the app