Get started on the Mac
Download nokko from the Mac App Store and choose a folder for your work. You can read everything at once, and editing starts with the 14-day trial or a purchase.
For Mac · Last checked
Download nokko
Get nokko from the Mac App Store. It needs macOS 26. The download is free, and there is no nokko account to create.
Open a workspace
The first window asks where your work lives. A workspace is a folder of Markdown files on this Mac, so you are choosing a folder.
| Your situation | Click | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Starting from nothing | ClickStart Fresh… | What happensPick or make an empty folder and click Use Folder. nokko adds starter files and opens them. |
| You have Markdown files or an Obsidian vault | ClickOpen an Existing Folder… | What happensPick the folder. Nothing is converted or moved. Tasks outside a project collect in the Inbox, grouped by file. |
| A teammate or your other Mac already shared a workspace | ClickJoining a team? Sign in with GitHub… or …or connect to your own server | What happensThis Mac downloads a full copy. See Choose your sync. |
| Your own workspace is already in iCloud | ClickClick Start Fresh… first, because the iCloud sheet opens only once a workspace is open. Then choose Workspace ▸ Join from iCloud…. | What happensThis Mac downloads a full copy. See iCloud sync. |
If you open an empty folder, nokko asks whether to Add Starter Files or Use As Is. If you start fresh in a folder that already holds files, it adds nothing.
What Start Fresh writes
Start Fresh writes plain files you can rename or delete. Your folder now holds this:
Your folder/
Inbox.md the Inbox, with a getting-started checklist
Projects/ empty, for your own boards
Client Work/ a space
_space.md the space's colour and statuses
Bakehouse Website (Sample).md the sample board
How Nokko Works.md a doc
Clients/
Bakehouse.md the sample client
.nokko/ settings and the index, hidden in FinderOpen the folder in any editor and you will read the same text nokko reads. Workspaces and boards explains each level.
Read the sample project
A welcome tour opens first: seven short scenes on what the colours, circles and bars mean. Help ▸ Welcome Tour… replays it.
- In the sidebar, open the Client Work space and click Bakehouse Website (Sample).
- Switch between List, Board, Calendar and Timeline. All four read the same file.
- Click any task to open the task panel, and press Esc to close it.
- Click Inbox for the 12-item checklist. Each item is an ordinary task that names where to click.
The sample is one ordinary file, so deleting it removes it completely. Help ▸ Recreate Sample Project writes it again, and Help ▸ Add Getting-Started Checklist restores the checklist.
Reading mode and the free trial
nokko stays in reading mode until you start a plan. Every view, report, export and PDF works, and editing needs a purchase.
A sheet titled Subscribe to Edit appears after the tour, once per launch. Continue Reading closes it. A strip at the foot of the window keeps Subscribe… and Restore Purchases in reach.
- Click Subscribe… on that strip, or choose Help ▸ Nokko Subscription….
- Choose Monthly or Yearly. Both start with 14 days free, once per Apple ID.
- Confirm in the App Store's sheet. Editing turns on straight away, with no restart.
Monthly is €6.99 and Yearly is €49.99. Lifetime is one €129 purchase with no trial, listed below the plans. The sheet shows the price for your own store.
If the sheet says Plans can’t be shown right now, the App Store could not be reached or returned no plans for your region. Check your connection and click Try Again. If you have bought before, click Restore Purchases while signed in to the same Apple Account.
Make your first board and task
- Choose File ▸ New Project… (⇧⌘N), or New Project… from the + menu in the sidebar. The Mac's menus say project; a project and a board are the same thing.
- Type a name such as
Websiteand press Return. nokko writesProjects/Website.mdand opens it. - Press ⌘N to add a task to this board.
- Type
Call the printer !high friand press Return.
nokko reads !high as a priority and fri as the due date, then writes one line. With your own dates, the file now says this:
---
type: project
status: planned
---
# Website
## Tasks
- [ ] Call the printer ⏫ ➕ 2026-11-04 📅 2026-11-06To file a board elsewhere, type its path. Client Work/Website puts it in that space if the space exists. If it does not, the board lands at Projects/Client Work/Website.md. Client Work/Acme/Website puts it in a folder inside the space. Two slashes is the limit.
Where to go next
- Tasks and subtasks: Quick Add, the task panel and what each mark means.
- Views: Today, Calendar, Timeline, Board and the rest.
- Timers and timesheets: track time against a task.
- Choose your sync: add a second Mac, an iPhone or a teammate.
- Get started on iPhone: bring this workspace to your phone.
Questions
- Do I need an account to use nokko?
- nokko has no account of its own. You download it and subscribe with your Apple Account, and your work stays in a folder on your Mac. A network connection is used only for a workspace you choose to share through GitHub, your own server or iCloud.
- Can I point nokko at my Obsidian vault?
- nokko opens an Obsidian vault as it is, because a vault is a folder. Choose Open an Existing Folder… and pick it. Nothing is converted or moved. Tasks in notes that are not projects collect in the Inbox, and Make Project turns a note into a board.
- What happens to my files when the trial ends?
- nokko returns to reading mode if the trial ends without a plan. Your files stay where they are, and every view, report, export and PDF keeps working. Editing turns off until you subscribe, and any Markdown editor can still change the files because they are plain text.