Markdown task inbox without lock-in
Use quik.md as a markdown-native task inbox. Capture fast, export anywhere, never get trapped in a proprietary format. Built for people who already live in markdown.
Updated April 25, 2026 · 6 min read
If you already write in markdown, your task inbox should speak the same language. quik.md captures, routes, and exports in markdown by default. No proprietary blocks, no lock-in, no copy-paste cleanup.
Why markdown-native matters
A task inbox that converts your prose into proprietary blocks is a one-way door. It looks fine on the way in. On the way out, you discover that copy-paste loses formatting, export drops fields, and your data lives at the mercy of a vendor's roadmap.
quik.md treats markdown as the storage format, the editor format, and the export format. The body of every item is the same string from capture to copy-out. The model never silently rewrites your text.
What "markdown task inbox" looks like in practice
Capture an item by typing or speaking. The body is stored as markdown. The model adds metadata: a project, a due date, a tag or two, a confidence trace. None of that touches the markdown body.
Copy any item with Cmd+C and you get clean markdown:
- [ ] Follow up with Priya on Q2 deck (due Thursday) #partnership
Export a whole project and you get a single .md file with sections per item, sub-tasks indented, notes inline. Drop it into Obsidian and it parses correctly. Paste it into a doc and the formatting survives.
For the broader markdown story, see markdown task management.
How quik keeps the markdown body intact
The AI eval harness has a content_preservation dimension scored at 0.08 weight, with regressions blocking deploys via the baseline check. Tests cover plain text, emoji, code blocks, and RTL languages. The model's organize output is JSON-schema-validated before any DB write. The body string from capture is never mutated by routing or classification.
If you care about this kind of guarantee, that paragraph is the spec.
Pairing quik with Obsidian
quik is a capture surface. Obsidian is a knowledge graph. They do different jobs and they pair well.
The flow most users settle into:
- Capture in quik throughout the day. Voice on walks, typing at the desk.
- At end of day, glance at the routed projects. Anything ready to graduate gets copied into the matching Obsidian note.
- Inbox stays small. The vault stays curated.
Two-way sync is not built and not planned. The export-paste loop is the one quik supports cleanly. See quik vs Obsidian for a closer head-to-head read.
Pairing quik with Notion and other tools
For Notion users, the workflow looks similar: capture in quik, copy-as-markdown into the right Notion database row when the item graduates. Notion's markdown import is partial (block conversion is lossy on nested lists), so most users keep quik-as-inbox and Notion-as-wiki rather than trying to merge them. See quik vs Notion for the longer read.
For Todoist users, the markdown export from quik can replace your weekly review note. See quik vs Todoist.
How tasks, sub-tasks, and notes round-trip
The export structure mirrors the on-screen project:
# Q2 Launch
- [ ] Follow up with Priya on Q2 deck (Thursday) #partnership
- [ ] Send revised pricing slide
- [ ] Confirm meeting time
- [ ] Draft positioning hypothesis for new pricing page
> Note: Onboarding feels long. Consider cutting step 3.
> Note: Competitor pricing — two-column with annual toggle on by default.
Open it in any markdown editor and the structure survives. Standard - [ ] / - [x] syntax for checkboxes. Inline #tags. Notes as blockquotes.
What about syntax extensions?
quik renders standard CommonMark plus GFM tables and task lists. We do not render Obsidian-specific extensions (transclusions, callouts) because rendering them would break the round-trip — Obsidian users would see one thing in quik and another in their vault. The body is shown as plain markdown, and your editor does the rendering.
How this compares to other markdown-friendly tools
| Tool | Storage format | AI organize | Voice capture | Project export |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obsidian | Native markdown | None (plugins) | None | Per-file |
| Logseq | Markdown blocks | None | None | Per-graph |
| Notion | Proprietary blocks | None | None | Lossy markdown |
| Todoist | Proprietary | None | Mobile dictation | Markdown export |
| quik.md | Markdown items | Yes, body-safe | Whisper + Web Speech | Single .md per project |
For more comparisons, see quik vs Obsidian and quik vs Notion.
Who the markdown task inbox is for
- Obsidian and Logseq users who want a faster capture surface that does not pollute the vault.
- Engineers and writers who already think in markdown and resent any tool that makes them leave it.
- Founders and indie hackers who care about portability and refuse lock-in on principle.
- Anyone who has been burned by a notes app shutdown or a proprietary format migration.
FAQ
What does markdown-native actually mean?
Every item is stored as markdown. The editor produces markdown. Project export is a single .md file with sub-tasks, notes, and metadata. No proprietary blocks.
How does it pair with Obsidian?
quik captures messy fragments. Obsidian owns the vault. Copy-as-markdown into the matching Obsidian note when an item graduates.
Can I keep my task syntax (- [ ], dates, tags)?
Yes. Standard checkbox markdown round-trips. Tags survive as inline #tags. Dates normalize to ISO on export.
Is the AI organize step still markdown-safe?
Yes. The body is preserved verbatim. AI organize adds metadata only.
Does it handle code blocks, RTL text, and emoji?
Yes. The eval suite tests content preservation across all three. Regressions block the change.
