Kumodesk, a free app to organize your windows. Why we built our own instead of buying one

We build websites and software for businesses, so we sit at a computer all day. Code in one window, a client's site in another, mail in a third. The notes for a call are somewhere underneath, and when the client rings, the clicking through windows begins. That is where Kumodesk came from, our own app to organize windows.

In it, windows don't pile up on top of each other. They sit side by side on one large board that you move and zoom like a map. The app is free. We made it for ourselves and we use it every day.

Why we built our own app instead of buying one

Apps that solve a piece of this problem exist. The browser has tabs, notes live in one app, tasks in another, and the system lets you put two windows side by side. Each of them does its own job. What we were missing was one place where all of it sits together and stays where you left it.

The second reason is simpler. Building software is our job. With our own problem, it was easier to write a tool than to adjust every day to several tools made by someone else.

There is a third one too. An app of our own shows what we can do better than a description on a website. You can download it and check for yourself.

That does not mean building your own always makes sense. Often a ready-made product is enough and the more sensible choice. We wrote about when that is the case in When an off-the-shelf platform beats a custom system.

An app to organize windows that remembers where things are

Everything in Kumodesk is a window on the board. You drag it where you want and make it as big as it needs to be. Zoom out and each window turns into a card that says what is in it. Up close it is an ordinary window again, and you work in it.

The board can hold web pages, your mail for example, and next to them notes, tasks with due dates, a calendar, tables and files from your computer such as photos or PDFs. There are small things too, like a clock, sticky notes and a focus timer.

One click lays out all the windows at once. One of the ready layouts gives room by need, so pages are large and lists are small.

You can have several boards, say one for work and one for home. Close the app, and the next day every window is where you left it, with what was in it. Notes are saved as plain files in your own folder, so they are not locked inside the app.

A small pixel companion lives in the corner. It dozes when nothing is happening and cheers when you finish a task. If you would rather work without it, you can.

Who it is for, and who can skip it

It helps most if you keep several programs open for one piece of work. In an office that might look like this. The client's site on the left, notes for the call in the middle, tasks beside them, the calendar at the bottom. One look instead of hunting through tabs.

If you spend the whole day in one program, Kumodesk won't give you much. There is no point installing it just because it is free.

What to know before you install

Kumodesk is free. There is no paid version, no trial and no subscription, and you don't need an account.

Notes, tasks, tables and boards stay in a folder on your computer, and the app has no cloud of its own. Notes, tasks, the calendar, tables and files work offline. Only the windows with web pages need a connection.

It runs on macOS, on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs, and also on Windows 10 and 11 and on Linux. The Windows and Linux versions come out with every release and are checked automatically, but day to day we use the Mac version.

It is an early version. The app is not digitally signed yet, so macOS and Windows show a warning on the first install. The app's site explains what to click, and you only do it once. The interface is in English and Ukrainian for now. The app finds new versions by itself and installs them only after you agree.

If you have more windows open today than fit on your screen, download Kumodesk from kumodesk.bondsoft.pl and lay out one ordinary working day on a single board. After a week you will know whether it suits you.