Things 3.23 Brings Long-Requested Overhaul of Repeating To-Dos - MacRumors
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Things 3.23 Brings Long-Requested Overhaul of Repeating To-Dos

Cultured Code today released Things 3.23, featuring a significant update to the app's handling of repeating to-dos, addressing two of the most requested changes from users.

things 3 repeating tasks update
Until now, repeating to-dos in Things lacked some of the flexibility of standard to-dos and today's update closes that gap along with a handful of valuable smaller refinements throughout the app. The latest update's changes include:

  • Complete repeating tasks early: Repeating to-dos now display a regular checkbox, just like any other to-do, allowing them to be completed early, with the next copy scheduled based on the existing rule.
  • Make Exception or Update Rule: Rescheduling a fixed-schedule repeating to-do by moving it to a new date now prompts a choice between "Make Exception," which moves only that instance and leaves the rest of the schedule untouched, and "Update Rule," which changes the recurrence pattern itself going forward, so moving a Monday to-do to a Tuesday makes it repeat every Tuesday from then on.
  • After-completion repeat changes: To-dos that repeat a period of time after completion, rather than on a fixed schedule, simply move to the new date when rescheduled, with no prompt.
  • Create Next Copy: Selecting "Repeat" then "Create Next Copy" allows users get a head start on a to-do or project before its scheduled date, adding notes or completing checklist items in advance.
  • Repeat icon: Generated copies of repeating to-dos now feature a small grey repeat icon to indicate their origin.
  • Redesigned setup dialog: The setup dialog for configuring repeating to-dos now has a visual refresh with easier date selection.
  • Bulk actions: Multiple repeating to-dos can now be paused, resumed, or stopped at once.
  • Unified codebase: The display and editing of to-dos, both within lists and when expanded, is now driven by the same code across the Mac, iPadOS, and iOS.

Things already featured a list that gathers all repeating to-dos and projects along with their upcoming generated copies in one place, accessible by typing "Repeating" into the app's search field.

Things 3.23 is available now as a free update on the App Store for the Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Vision Pro. The update requires macOS 13.3, iOS and iPadOS 16.4, watchOS 9.1, and visionOS 26, or newer.

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Top Rated Comments

Diopter Avatar
2 weeks ago
I think I've been using Things for more than 17 or 18 years now, because I started using it when it was only a Mac app and there wasn't even an iOS App Store! Even though they cost a bit to purchase up-front, they've been way cheaper than any other app on a per-year basis (certainly way cheaper than apps that need a subscription).

There have never been any nasty surprises where something changed for the worse, they're just polished, reliable, consistent apps that get better over time, like with this latest update. Top work, Cultured Code!

Apple's Reminders is probably more suitable for most people (since one of its core functions is reminders, like location-based reminders), but for project management Things has been brilliant.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2 weeks ago
THINGS is one of 3 apps I use every day and I appreciate their philosophy of "slow but steady" improvements mainly because their updates are as close to flawless as I have ever experienced across the Apple ecosystem of apps (don't ask me about the disaster the RING app updates are; they break two things for each issue they fix :) ).

I use the desktop app in addition to the iPad, Watch, and iPhone versions (again I love this app) and two things that are not available across the other versions that make it worth it for me:

1. The extensions across the OS apps allows you to link to THINGS directly from native apps when creating to dos (although the inability to attach images is a big miss as mentioned elsewhere).

2. The desktop app saves deleted tasks to a "Trash" folder built into the app which has been a lifesaver for me when I have inadvertently deleted items I did not mean to delete. The logbook still exists to store completed tasks but deleted tasks are available as opposed to deleted iOS or iPad OS tasks disappearing immediately.

I am a professional project manager and would recommend THINGS to anyone who manages smaller projects and/or wants to manage personal tasks with functionality that exceeds the native Reminders app. However THINGS struggles when managing bigger projects with multiple resources and dependencies.

But in my humble opinion I think it is the best and most personally beneficial app I have used in the APPLE ecosystem.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ginkobiloba Avatar
2 weeks ago

It's 1996 2026 and there still isn't a great all around native to-dos app?
There is like a billion all around native to-dos on iOS. It’s one of the most saturated app categories.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2 weeks ago
I just use Apple reminders.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrfr Avatar
2 weeks ago
...
Things 3 has no subscriptions.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Happy_John Avatar
2 weeks ago

Not at all! A native app usually means an app built with the platform’s native language(s) / framework(s) (in the case of iOS and macOS, that would be Swift / Swift UI). There are tons of non-native apps on the App Store, e.g. web apps in a WebView wrapper, Flutter apps, .NET MAUI / Xamarin apps, Unity apps/games, etc.
Yes, that’s the way I’d imagine it’s usually understood - coded for a specific chipset type or framework - ie- no emulation or “translation layer”.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)