UpTier

MCP-powered task management with intelligent prioritization via Claude Desktop

UpTier is a desktop to-do application that combines a clean Microsoft To Do-style interface with the power of Claude AI for intelligent task prioritization. Through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), Claude can analyze your tasks and help you focus on what matters most.

Demo

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/71264f79-3f54-4b45-9d7e-dcef26f54f94

Download

Download UpTier for Windows

Pre-built installer available. No build required.

Features

Task Management

Lists & Tasks - Create custom lists, tasks with subtasks, and organize your work
Smart Lists - Built-in views for My Day, Important, Planned, Calendar, Dashboard, and Completed
Custom Filters - Create your own smart lists with visual filter rules (due date, priority, tags, energy, and more)
Tags - Categorize tasks with colored tags for easy filtering
Due Dates - Set due dates with notifications and overdue tracking
Recurring Tasks - Daily, weekday, weekly, biweekly, and monthly recurrence with optional end dates
Calendar Views - Day, Business Week, Full Week, and Month views with task scheduling
Day Planner - Time-blocking hourly grid with drag-and-drop scheduling and 15-minute snap intervals
Daily Planning - Guided 4-step planning ritual: review yesterday, build your list, schedule tasks, confirm your plan
Task Duration - Set estimated duration for tasks to size time blocks on the calendar
Drag & Drop - Reorder tasks within lists and schedule tasks onto the calendar

AI-Powered Features

Intelligent Prioritization - Let Claude analyze and prioritize your tasks via MCP
Multiple Strategies - Eisenhower matrix, quick wins, high impact, and more
Due Date Suggestions - In-app AI suggests due dates based on similar tasks and priority
Task Breakdown - AI-generated subtask suggestions for common task types (no Claude required)
At-Risk Alerts - Amber and red warnings on tasks that may miss their deadlines

Organization

Goal Tracking - Link tasks to goals and track progress with hierarchy support
Priority Tiers - Three-tier system (Do Now, Do Soon, Backlog)
Priority Scoring - Rate tasks by effort, impact, urgency, and importance
Data Export - Export your data as JSON (full backup) or CSV (tasks)

Productivity & Analytics

Dashboard - Productivity analytics with completion stats, weekly trends, and priority distribution
Streaks & Celebrations - Track daily completion streaks with confetti celebrations on milestones
Focus Time Tracking - Set a daily focus goal and track progress on the dashboard
Feature Tiers - Onboarding wizard for new users with Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced presets

Multi-Database Support

Multiple Profiles - Create separate databases for work, personal, projects
Easy Switching - Switch between database profiles from the sidebar
Isolated Data - Each profile maintains its own lists, tasks, and settings

Focus Timer

Distraction-Free Mode - Full-screen timer overlay to help you stay focused
Flexible Durations - Preset options (30, 45, 60, 90 min) or custom duration
Task Context - See task title and notes while working
Keyboard Controls - Space to pause/resume, Esc to end session

User Experience

Themes - Dark, Light, Earth Dark, Earth Light, Cyberpunk, and System themes
Command Palette - Global search and navigation with Ctrl+K
Keyboard Shortcuts - Quick actions with Ctrl+F (search), Ctrl+N (new task), ? (help)
System Tray - Minimize to tray for quick access
Concurrent Access - SQLite with WAL mode lets both the app and Claude work simultaneously

Architecture

Code

uptier/
├── apps/
│   ├── electron/          # Desktop application (React + Electron)
│   └── mcp-server/        # MCP server for Claude Desktop
├── packages/
│   └── shared/            # Shared types and database schema
└── pnpm-workspace.yaml

Component	Description
MCP Server	Node.js server providing 25+ task management tools via MCP
Electron App	Desktop application with React UI
SQLite Database	Shared database with WAL mode for concurrent access

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Node.js 20+ (LTS recommended)
pnpm 8+
Claude Desktop (for AI features)

Installation

bash

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/foxintheloop/uptier.git
cd uptier

# Install pnpm (if not already installed)
npm install -g pnpm

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Approve build scripts for native modules (canvas, sharp, electron)
pnpm approve-builds

# Rebuild native modules
pnpm rebuild

# Rebuild better-sqlite3 for Electron's bundled Node.js
npx electron-rebuild -f -w better-sqlite3

# Build packages
pnpm --filter @uptier/shared build
pnpm --filter @uptier/mcp-server build

Note: The Electron app bundles its own Node.js runtime (v20.x), which differs from your system Node.js. The electron-rebuild step compiles better-sqlite3 for Electron's version. The MCP server deployment (below) compiles it separately for your system Node.js used by Claude Desktop.

Running the App

bash

# Development mode
pnpm dev:electron

# Production build
pnpm --filter @uptier/electron build

Claude Desktop Integration

Deploy the MCP server for Claude Desktop:

bash

# Deploy MCP server to standalone directory
pnpm --filter @uptier/mcp-server deploy

This deploys the MCP server to ~/.uptier/mcp-server/ with its own node_modules, automatically compiled for your current Node.js version. The Claude Desktop config is updated automatically.

Why standalone? The Electron app uses Node.js 22 (bundled), while Claude Desktop may use a different Node.js version. The standalone deployment compiles native modules (like better-sqlite3) for the correct version, preventing conflicts.

After deployment:

Restart Claude Desktop
The UpTier tools will be available in Claude

Manual Configuration (Alternative)

If the automatic deployment doesn't work, add UpTier manually to your Claude Desktop config:

Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "uptier": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/.uptier/mcp-server/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

MCP Tools

UpTier exposes powerful tools to Claude for managing your tasks:

Lists

Tool	Description
`create_list`	Create a new task list
`get_lists`	Get all lists with task counts
`update_list`	Update list name, color, or icon
`delete_list`	Delete a list
`reorder_lists`	Change list positions

Tasks

Tool	Description
`create_task`	Create a new task with optional attributes
`get_tasks`	Get tasks with filtering options
`update_task`	Update task properties
`complete_task`	Mark task as completed
`delete_task`	Delete a task
`bulk_create_tasks`	Create multiple tasks at once
`move_task`	Move task to a different list

Prioritization

Tool	Description
`prioritize_list`	Analyze tasks and get prioritization guidance
`bulk_set_priorities`	Set priority tiers for multiple tasks
`get_prioritization_summary`	Get overview of task priorities
`suggest_next_task`	Get AI recommendation for what to work on next

Goals

Tool	Description
`create_goal`	Create a goal
`get_goals`	Get all goals with progress
`update_goal`	Update goal properties
`link_tasks_to_goal`	Associate tasks with goals
`get_goal_progress`	Get completion stats for a goal

Day Planner

Tool	Description
`get_day_schedule`	Get scheduled tasks, unscheduled tasks, and free time blocks for a date
`schedule_tasks`	Schedule tasks onto the day planner time grid
`unschedule_task`	Remove a task from the time grid to unscheduled sidebar

Subtasks & Tags

Tool	Description
`add_subtask`	Add subtask to a task
`update_subtask`	Update subtask properties
`create_tag`	Create a new tag
`get_tags`	Get all tags
`add_tag_to_task`	Tag a task

Prioritization Strategies

When asking Claude to prioritize your tasks, you can request different strategies:

Strategy	Best For
Balanced	General use - weighs all factors equally
Urgent First	Deadline-driven work
Quick Wins	Building momentum with low-effort wins
High Impact	Maximum results regardless of effort
Eisenhower	Classic urgent/important decision matrix

Priority Tiers

Tasks are organized into three tiers:

Tier 1 (Do Now) - High impact, urgent, or blocking other work
Tier 2 (Do Soon) - Important but not time-sensitive
Tier 3 (Backlog) - Lower priority, someday/maybe items

Data Storage

Your data is stored locally:

Windows: %APPDATA%\.uptier\tasks.db
macOS/Linux: ~/.uptier/tasks.db

Additional database profiles are stored in the same directory with custom names.

The database uses SQLite with WAL mode, allowing the Electron app and MCP server to access it simultaneously without conflicts.

Logs

Application logs are stored at:

Windows: %APPDATA%\UpTier\logs\
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/UpTier/logs/
Linux: ~/.config/UpTier/logs/

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+K`	Open command palette
`Ctrl+N`	Create new task
`Ctrl+F`	Focus search
`↑` / `↓`	Navigate tasks
`Space`	Toggle task completion
`Delete`	Delete selected task
`Escape`	Close detail panel
`?`	Show keyboard shortcuts

Focus Timer Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Space`	Pause/Resume timer
`Escape`	End focus session

Roadmap

Troubleshooting

"Electron uninstall" error

If you see Error: Electron uninstall when running pnpm dev:electron, the Electron binary wasn't downloaded. Run:

bash

node node_modules/electron/install.js

Native module errors with MCP server

If Claude Desktop shows errors about better-sqlite3 or NODE_MODULE_VERSION mismatches, use the standalone deployment:

bash

pnpm --filter @uptier/mcp-server deploy

This creates a separate MCP server installation at ~/.uptier/mcp-server/ with native modules compiled for your current Node.js version, avoiding conflicts with the Electron app.

If you still have issues, ensure you're running the deploy command with the same Node.js version that Claude Desktop uses (typically Node.js 23).

Build script warnings

If you see warnings about "Ignored build scripts" during pnpm install, run:

bash

pnpm approve-builds

Then select the packages that need to run build scripts (canvas, sharp, electron).

"NODE_MODULE_VERSION mismatch" in Electron app

If the Electron app crashes with NODE_MODULE_VERSION mismatch (e.g., "was compiled against a different Node.js version"), rebuild better-sqlite3 for Electron:

Terminal

npx electron-rebuild -f -w better-sqlite3

This typically happens after upgrading Node.js or running pnpm install, which recompiles native modules for your system Node.js rather than Electron's bundled version.

"Schema not found" error in Claude Desktop

If the MCP server reports that schema.sql cannot be found, the deployed files are stale. Rebuild and redeploy:

bash

pnpm --filter @uptier/shared build
pnpm --filter @uptier/mcp-server build
pnpm --filter @uptier/mcp-server deploy

After upgrading Node.js

When you upgrade your system Node.js version, native modules need to be recompiled:

Electron app: npx electron-rebuild -f -w better-sqlite3

MCP server: Rebuild and redeploy:

bash

pnpm --filter @uptier/shared build
pnpm --filter @uptier/mcp-server build
pnpm --filter @uptier/mcp-server deploy

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how to get started:

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Make your changes
Run the app to test (pnpm dev:electron)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

Help Wanted: macOS & Linux Testing

UpTier is currently only tested on Windows. If you're on macOS or Linux, we'd love your help testing and reporting any platform-specific issues!

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Built with Electron, React, and Claude