---
title: Getting started
description: Install tagwerk on Android, Windows or Linux, find out where your notes are stored, learn the screen and write your first day.
reviewed: 2026-10-28
---

## Install tagwerk {#install}

tagwerk is the same app on every platform: the same notes, the same syntax, the same screens.
Install it from the store for your system.

| System | Where | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Android | [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.caliora.tagwerk) | Android 8 or newer |
| Android without Google | [APK from caliora.org](../../android/) | Android 8 or newer, no Google services needed |
| Windows | [Microsoft Store](https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9NQ62MJ9TFFG) | Windows 10 version 2004 (64-bit) or newer, Edge WebView2 runtime |
| Linux | [Snap Store](https://snapcraft.io/tagwerk) | A system with snap support |

- **Android without Google** is meant for phones without Google Play services, such as GrapheneOS,
  /e/OS or LineageOS without GApps. It is a separate app and can be installed beside the Play
  version. The download page shows the checksum and the signing fingerprint.
- **Windows** draws the app in the Edge WebView2 runtime. Windows 11 has it, and so do most
  Windows 10 machines. Where it is missing, tagwerk says so at launch and points to the download.
- **Linux**: on Ubuntu, tagwerk is in the App Center. On other distributions, install it with
  `sudo snap install tagwerk`.

There is no version for iOS or macOS yet.

## The first launch {#first-launch}

tagwerk needs no account and asks no questions. It opens on today's note.

If the notes folder is still empty, tagwerk writes a short welcome note into today. It shows the
syntax at work: tasks, a sub-task, an appointment, a tag, a section that folds away. The welcome
note is an ordinary note in your folder. Type over it, delete it or keep it. If the folder already
holds notes, nothing is written.

Where the notes are stored at first depends on the platform:

| Platform | Notes folder at first launch |
|---|---|
| Android | Inside the app's own storage |
| Windows | A folder named `Tagwerk` in your Documents folder (`Documents\Tagwerk`) |
| Linux | A folder named `Tagwerk` in your documents folder |

*Settings → Storage* shows the exact path and how many notes the folder holds.

> [!WARNING]
> On Android, uninstalling an app deletes its storage, and with it notes kept inside the app. As
> long as that is the only copy, *Settings → Storage* says *Notes live inside the app*, the settings
> button carries a dot, and tagwerk reminds you now and then. Move the notes into a folder of your
> own, or set up [sync](../sync/index.md), and the warning goes away.

## Your notes folder {#notes-folder}

tagwerk keeps one Markdown file per day and nothing else. The folder holding them is your notes
folder. Days that tagwerk creates are filed by year and month:

```
Tagwerk/
|- 2026/
|  `- 10/
|     |- 2026-10-27.md
|     `- 2026-10-28.md
|- templates/        what a new day starts with
`- settings/         tag colours and the Pro licence
```

The date is in the file name, never in the text. A day nobody has written on has no file. Any
text editor can open these files, and any sync tool can carry them to your other devices.

![The settings page on a phone, with the Storage section at the top](../shots/en/settings-dark.webp "The storage section shows where the notes are and how many there are.")

### Choose a folder of your own {#choose-folder}

To keep your notes in a folder you pick - a folder that Syncthing or the Nextcloud app already
syncs, for example:

1. Open *Settings → Storage*.
2. Tap *Choose folder...* and pick the folder. On Android this is the system's folder picker.
3. tagwerk copies your day notes into the new folder. It never overwrites a file that is already
   there, and it leaves the old folder untouched as a backup.

A folder that already holds daily notes is read as it is. Files named `YYYY-MM-DD.md` count as
that day wherever they sit in the folder, also flat in a single folder as Obsidian or Markor write
them. Edits go back into the file a day was read from. The guide
[You already have a folder of daily notes](../../guides/daily-notes/) covers this in detail.

### Export {#export}

*Settings → Storage → Export notes as ZIP* writes every note into a ZIP file in the same year and
month layout, with the day templates. It works whether sync is set up or not.

## The screen {#screen}

tagwerk has three views: the **note** of one day, the **calendar** and the **task list**. How
they are arranged depends on the width of the window.

### On a phone {#phone}

On a phone, or in any window narrower than 900 pixels, the three views are tabs at the bottom of
the screen: *Note*, *Calendar* and *Tasks*. The current tab is marked. The badge on *Tasks* counts
the tasks due by today, overdue ones included.

![The day view on a phone](../shots/en/day-dark.webp "The note of the day with the day row above it and the three tabs below.")

At the top are the search, the *View* menu (the eye) and the *Settings*. Below them is the day
row: the arrows step one day back or forward, the date in the middle opens a calendar to jump to
any day, and *Today* brings you back to today.

The button at the left end of the day row opens the side panel, *Calendar and tags*. It holds a
month calendar, the history of the day, and all tags and contacts of your notes.

![The side panel open on a phone](../shots/en/drawer-dark.webp "The side panel: a month calendar, then the tags and contacts of all notes.")

The editor's buttons - task, time, repeat, contact, tag, indent - come up with the keyboard and
stand above it. While the keyboard is up, the tabs step aside.

### In the desktop layout {#desk}

In a window 900 pixels wide or more - on a computer, or a tablet held sideways - the views stand
side by side: the side panel *Calendar and
tags* on the left, the note in the middle, the task list on the right. The button at the top of
each side pane hides it or brings it back. The *Calendar* bar under the note opens the calendar
as a sheet over the note.

![tagwerk in the desktop layout](../shots/en/overview-dark.webp "The desktop layout: calendar and tags, the note, the task list.")

The editor's buttons stay visible under the note. On Windows and Linux, *Settings → Help →
Keyboard* lists the keyboard shortcuts.

## Free and Pro {#pro}

The base app is free, with no time limit: day notes with the complete syntax, today's tasks and
appointments, the day view of the calendar, full-text search, the revision history, the ZIP export
and a simple home-screen widget on Android. **tagwerk Pro** costs €12 / US$12, once, with no subscription. It
adds the task list across all days with its filters, the week, month and agenda views, sync built
into the app, day templates, tag colours, the statistics and overview per tag and person, widget
configuration, reminders on Android and Windows, and profiles. Syncing your notes folder with a tool of your own stays free.

| Platform | How to get Pro |
|---|---|
| Android (Google Play) | *Settings → tagwerk Pro → Buy Pro* buys it through Google Play. |
| Android without Google, Windows | *Settings → tagwerk Pro → Buy Pro* opens the [licence page](../../license/) in the browser. The licence arrives by e-mail; paste it under *Import licence*, or put the file into your notes folder. |
| Linux | Nothing to buy: every Pro feature is included. |

A licence is a file in your notes folder (`settings/tagwerk.license`), so whatever carries your
notes to your other devices carries the licence with them. After a purchase through Google Play,
*Settings → tagwerk Pro → Use Pro on your other devices* writes that file.

## Your first day {#first-day}

A short walk through one day. Start on today's note.

1. Write an appointment: a line that starts with a time.
2. Write a task: start a line with `- [ ]`, or write the words and press the *Task* button. A box
   typed without the hyphen, such as `[ ] Call the garage`, is completed for you.
3. Add a tag with `#` and a person with `@`. The *Tag* and *Contact* buttons insert the sign and
   offer the tags and people you have used before.
4. Tap the box in front of the task to tick it off. Tap again to open it again.
5. Step to tomorrow with the right arrow, and back with *Today*.
6. Open the task list (the *Tasks* tab, or the right pane in the desktop layout). Your open task is there.

The result in the file:

```tagwerk
09:30 Call with @anna #work
- [x] Send the invoice #work
- [ ] Book the garage
```

Nothing has to be saved: tagwerk writes the note while you type.

## Where to go next {#next}

- [The day note](../day-notes/index.md): writing, formatting, sections, links, history and
  templates.
- [Tasks](../tasks/index.md): states, moving to another day, priorities, repeats and the task list.
- [Appointments](../appointments/index.md) and the [calendar](../calendar/index.md).
- [Tags and search](../tags-and-search/index.md): tags, contacts, readings and the search.
- [Sync](../sync/index.md): your notes on several devices.