Migration
Move from Things 3 to Done Bear
Things 3 has no export menu, but its database on your Mac is readable. Run one CLI command, or upload main.sqlite, and your areas, projects and dates arrive intact.
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The short answer
Done Bear imports Things 3 from a copy of its local database, so areas, projects, headings, tags, checklists, dates and completed work arrive together. Run it from the CLI on the Mac where Things lives, or upload main.sqlite in the web import wizard. Nothing is ever written back to Things.
Key takeaways
- Things 3 has no export command; Done Bear reads a copy of its database.
- Areas become teams and headings stay headings, so structure survives.
- Today, Upcoming, Anytime and Someday keep their placement.
- The importer is read-only against Things and can be undone afterwards.
- One CLI command on the Mac does the whole import.
What to export from Things 3
Done Bear accepts one thing from Things 3: Things database file. These are the steps the import wizard itself shows, so the file you produce is the file it accepts.
- 1.On iPhone or iPad: Things → Settings → General → Diagnostics → Enter Code → 491348 → Send Things Database.
- 2.The file is Things Database.aar. Save it to Files. Tap it to unpack to Things Database.thingsdatabase, or import the .aar in the Done Bear iOS app.
- 3.On the web, choose main.sqlite from inside that bundle, or a zip of the folder. Web cannot unpack .aar yet.
- 4.On a Mac: in Finder, press ⇧⌘G and paste the folder path below. Do not type it: ~/Library is hidden.
- 5.Open the ThingsData-… folder inside it, then Things Database.thingsdatabase.
- 6.Copy main.sqlite to your Desktop. Copy it, do not move it, or Things loses its list.
- 7.Choose that copy here. The CLI (donebear import things) still finds the Mac database itself.
What Things 3 concepts become in Done Bear
Every Things 3 concept has a home in Done Bear, and this table is the whole mapping. Read the notes column before you import; that is where the qualifications live.
| Things 3 | Done Bear | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Area | Team | Every project filed under an area joins that team. |
| Project | Project | Notes, deadline and completion date come with it. |
| Heading | Heading | Headings stay headings rather than flattening into the task list. |
| Tag | Label | |
| Checklist item | Checklist item | A title longer than 500 characters is truncated. |
| Today, Upcoming, Anytime, Someday | Today, Upcoming, Anytime and Someday | A Someday task stays in Someday; a scheduled task keeps its date and lands in Upcoming. |
| Deadline | Deadline | Deadlines are separate from start dates on both sides, so neither one overwrites the other. |
| Repeating to-do | Repeat rule | A rule Done Bear can run exactly is kept as one. A rule it can only approximate arrives narrowed, with a warning. A rule it cannot run is preserved as text on the task rather than stored as a repeat that would fire wrongly. |
| Logbook | Logbook | Completion dates carry, so finished work is history rather than a fresh list. |
| Notes | Description |
What comes across and what does not
Done Bear imports the fields below from Things 3. The second list is what stays behind, so you can decide what to save by hand before you delete anything.
Comes across
- Areas and folders (become teams)
- Completed tasks
- Tags and labels
- Projects and lists
- Repeating tasks
- Sub-tasks
Stays behind
- Attachments
- Reads a copy of the Things database; Things itself is never written to.
- On the web, choose main.sqlite or a zip of a .thingsdatabase folder. Apple Archive (.aar) is unpacked in the Done Bear iOS app; tap the export on iPhone to unpack it first if you are importing here.
Running the import
The import wizard lives in Settings, Integrations & Import, Import from another app. Choose Things 3, upload your file, and Done Bear previews every record it found. Nothing is written until you confirm.
The CLI runs the same import from the terminal, and it finds the Things 3 database itself:
npm install -g donebear
donebear auth login
donebear import things --dry-run
donebear import thingsRe-running it and undoing it
Re-importing the same file is safe. Done Bear recognises the tasks it already brought across from that export and adds only what is new. The completion screen offers an undo, which removes what the import created and keeps anything you have edited since.
Frequently asked questions
Does Things 3 have an export button?
No. Things 3 ships no export command on any platform. What it has is a local database: a readable SQLite file inside the Things container on your Mac, and a Diagnostics code on iPhone and iPad that sends the same database as an archive. Done Bear reads a copy of that file.
Is it worth importing a small Things list?
Copy and paste is faster under a hundred active tasks. Things copies selected to-dos as plain text, one per line, so you can paste the list into Done Bear and retype what still matters. You lose dates, notes, area structure and the Logbook, which is often the point.
Should I import everything or start fresh?
Import, then delete in the new app. A database that is mostly archaeology imports in a minute, and one pass through Someday afterwards clears it faster than deciding item by item beforehand. Deleting in an app you have no history with turns out to cost less.
Does the import change my Things database?
No. The importer opens a copy of the database read-only and never writes to Things, so both apps hold the same list until you decide. Keep Things installed for a month; it is a free safety net while the new system earns some trust.
Can I import Things 3 from an iPhone?
Yes. In Things on iPhone or iPad, open Settings, General, Diagnostics, Enter Code, then 491348 and Send Things Database. The Done Bear iOS app imports the resulting Apple Archive directly. On the web, choose main.sqlite from inside the unpacked bundle instead, because the web uploader cannot unpack .aar yet.
Where this information comes from
- Done Bear, Import from Things 3 (the Done Bear CLI imports Things 3 from the Mac database with dry-run, metadata and team flags)
- Done Bear, Importing from another app (every import previews what it will create before writing, and undo keeps rows you have edited since)
- Done Bear, Done Bear vs Things 3 (Things 3 ships for Mac, iPhone and iPad only, with no web app and no team workspaces)
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