Re:Focus User Guide
Everything in view. One thing in focus.
What Re:Focus Is
Re:Focus is a project board for people who manage too many things at once.
If you're carrying 10, 20, 30 open commitments — clients, projects, promises, ideas — and the overhead of tracking them is eating into the energy you need to actually do the work, Re:Focus is built for that problem.
It's a Kanban board at its core: columns of cards, each card representing a commitment. But it's designed around one specific belief: the tool should absorb the chaos so you don't have to carry it. Every feature exists to answer two questions — what is this? and what do I do next? — and then get out of the way.
There's an AI layer (Cap, by default — you can rename it) that watches your board, processes delegated tasks, and surfaces observations. It doesn't take over. It offers. You decide.
The Philosophy
Three ideas shape everything in Re:Focus:
1. Capture everything, decide later
David Allen's Getting Things Done taught us that your brain is for having ideas, not holding them. Every open loop — every "I should..." or "don't forget to..." — needs to land somewhere trusted. Re:Focus is that somewhere. Capture fast, clarify when you're ready.
2. The next action is what matters
A card that says "Album Release" means nothing until you know the next physical step: "Call mastering engineer about timeline." Re:Focus surfaces that step automatically — the first uncompleted task on every card shows on its face. You glance at the board and know what to do, not what to worry about.
3. Emptiness is information
A blank column isn't broken — it means nothing is stuck there. A card with no amber dot means it's healthy. A task list with no items means the work is done. Re:Focus communicates through what's present and what's absent. When your board is quiet, that's the product working.
Getting Started
Create your account
Sign up with an email, username, and password. You'll get a verification email — click the link to activate.
Your first board
New accounts start with a template board showing example cards across a few columns. Explore them, drag them around, delete them when you're ready to build your own.
To add your first real card: press N (or tap + Add Item in the toolbar). A capture modal opens. Type what's on your mind.
The capture modal
This is where everything enters the system. Type in plain English and Re:Focus parses your input — the task, the card name, any due date, which column it belongs in.
Examples of what works:
Call Josh about the venue before FridayResearch Q-SYS failover @delegateEmail Andrew re: final masters @emailSend invoice — due next Wednesday
Dates are flexible: "tomorrow," "next Monday," "April 10," "EOD" all work. Context tags like @email, @call, @desk categorize the task. @delegate hands it to your AI agent.
The Board
Cards
Each card is a commitment. The card face shows:
- Card name — what is this?
- Next action — the first uncompleted task
- Due date — color-coded: red (overdue), amber (this week), blue (later)
- Status chip — Active, Waiting, or Done
That's it. Everything else lives inside the card when you open it.
Opening a card
Click a card to expand it. You'll see:
- Scope — what this card is about and what done looks like. Your AI reads this for context.
- Tasks — your checklist of next actions. Check them off as you go.
- Contacts — people connected to this card. Your AI uses these when drafting communications.
- Comms log — timestamped communication records.
Columns
Columns organize your cards however you think. Drag column headers to reorder. Drag cards between columns to reorganize.
Nesting cards
Big projects can contain sub-projects. Click a card's ▶ 6 indicator to drill into its children. The breadcrumb at the top shows your path. Press ⌂ Home to jump back to the top level.
Views
Board view (default)
The Kanban board. All your cards across all columns. The bird's-eye view of everything you're carrying.
Next Actions ⚡
A focused list showing only the next physical step for each card. Answers: "I have 30 minutes — what should I do right now?"
Review ☑
A guided walkthrough of your entire board, one card at a time. Designed for the GTD weekly review: clear your inbox, review each card, check waiting items, audit stale cards, reflect.
This takes 15-30 minutes once a week and is the single most valuable habit the app supports. If you do nothing else, do this.
Wins 🏆
A running list of completed tasks, grouped by when you finished them. Exists for one reason: to show you that you're making progress even when it doesn't feel like it.
Intentions 🎯
Set 1-3 focus areas for the day and give each a time budget. A quiet bar tracks elapsed time and prompts you when it's time to shift. No alarms, no restrictions — just awareness.
AI Integration
Re:Focus has a built-in AI layer. By default it's called Cap. It connects to Claude, OpenAI, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint using your own API key.
Setting up
Go to Settings → AI Agent. Enter your endpoint, model, and API key. Use the prefill buttons for quick setup. Test the connection.
Once configured, three things happen automatically:
1. Chat
The chat panel lets you converse with your AI. It sees your board — card names, statuses, due dates, next actions. Ask it anything.
2. Delegation (@delegate)
Tag any task with @delegate and your AI picks it up. It reads the task, the card's scope, and the contacts, then comes back with an artifact — a draft email, research result, or document outline.
You always approve before anything happens. The artifact appears in the Cap Activity panel (◊ icon). Review it, edit it, approve it or discard it.
3. Event notifications
When things happen on your board, Re:Focus notifies your AI. The AI decides if the event needs attention and posts an observation to your notification inbox (⬡ icon). This is observe-only — it never takes action on its own.
Ambient hints
Stale cards: An amber dot appears on cards with no activity for 3+ weeks.
Suggestions: If a card has a clear scope but no next action, the AI may suggest one.
Control this in Settings → Background watching.
Connecting External AI Tools
MCP (for Claude Desktop & Claude Code)
Add to your Claude config:
{
"mcpServers": {
"refocus": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "refocus-mcp"],
"env": { "REFOCUS_API_KEY": "rf_live_your_key" }
}
}
}Generate your API key in Settings → Connections.
REST API
Base URL: https://board.smithcreativetech.com/api/v1. Authenticate with Authorization: Bearer rf_live_your_key.
Webhooks
For AI agents that run on a server. Register a webhook URL in Settings → AI Push Connection. Re:Focus will POST HMAC-signed events when things happen on your board.
Mobile
On small screens, Re:Focus switches to five tabs:
- Today — cards grouped by urgency
- Board — swipe through columns
- Capture — full-screen text input
- Search — find anything
- Cap — review AI artifacts
Settings are desktop-only — configure once on desktop, use daily on mobile.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| N | New task or open capture |
| C | Open capture modal |
| ⌘K or / | Search |
| J / K | Navigate cards |
| Enter | Expand focused card |
| Esc | Close modal or workspace |
| ? | Show all shortcuts |
Settings
| Section | What it controls |
|---|---|
| AI Agent | Endpoint, model, API key, agent name, background watching |
| AI Push Connection | Webhook URL and secret for external AI agents |
| Display | Professional mode (hides health grade and wins count) |
| Connections | API key generation, audit log, MCP setup |
| Change Password | Update your password |
| Active Sessions | Sign out all other devices |
| Your Data | Export full board as JSON |
| Delete Account | Permanent deletion with 30-day recovery |
Data & Privacy
- Passwords are hashed with PBKDF2-SHA256. API keys are encrypted with AES-GCM.
- Your AI API key is stored encrypted server-side — it never appears in the browser.
- Export your full board as JSON anytime from Settings → Your Data.
- Account deletion is immediate with a 30-day recovery window.
- The app works offline — changes save locally and sync when you reconnect.
The Workflows
These are the patterns that emerge when you use Re:Focus as designed. None are enforced — they're habits the tool supports.
The morning glance
Open Re:Focus. Look at the board. The card faces tell you what's active, what's overdue, what's waiting. The next action on each card tells you what to do. You don't need to click anything — the glance is the briefing.
The weekly review
Every week, open Review mode. Walk through every card. Is the scope still right? Is the next action still the right next action? Are you waiting on someone? Has anything gone stale? Twenty minutes that saves hours of "what was I doing again?" during the week.
The delegation loop
You're in a meeting and someone says "can you look into..." — capture it: Research AV rental options for May event @delegate. It lands on your board. Your AI picks it up, does the research, posts a summary. You review it that evening. The commitment was captured in 5 seconds and processed without you context-switching.
The capture habit
Every time something crosses your mind — a task, an idea, a promise you made — press N and type it. Don't organize it. Don't even think about it. Just get it out of your head and into the system. Organize during the weekly review.
The focus session
You have a two-hour block. Open Intentions, pick 1-2 areas, set time budgets. The quiet timer keeps you honest without interrupting. When it's time to shift, the prompt appears. You choose whether to move on or stay.
One more thing
Re:Focus is built on a simple premise: if you can see everything clearly, you'll know what to do.
The board isn't a to-do list. It's a mirror of your commitments. When the mirror is clean — when every card has a clear scope and a real next action — the anxiety of "am I forgetting something?" dissolves. What's left is space. Space to think. Space to do the work that matters.
That space is the product.
Re:Focus — Everything in view. One thing in focus.