Setup help for Effort Plan.

First run

1. Download and open Effort Plan.
2. Start in Free Local mode; no account is required.
3. Set your normal workday capacity in General settings.
4. Create a manual task or add one work source from Settings, Integration.
5. Plan a task to a day and choose the hours for that allocation.

Work sources

Effort Plan imports source items into your local planner. Imports are read-only, so the original task, calendar, email, or project system is not changed.

• Primary sources: Azure DevOps, Local Calendar, Local Outlook Mail, Local Tasks, Gmail, Google Calendar, and Jira.
• Other sources: Microsoft Calendar and Microsoft To Do are available, but work accounts may need organization approval.
• Manual tasks: You can always create tasks directly in Effort Plan without connecting another app.

Local Mac sources

Local sources use data already available on your Mac. They are useful when a Microsoft work account blocks third-party cloud approval.

1. For Local Calendar and Local Tasks, add the account in macOS System Settings first.
2. Enable Calendars for meetings and Reminders for tasks when those options are available.
3. In Effort Plan, open Settings, Integration, then Add new for Local Calendar or Local Tasks.
4. When macOS asks, allow the requested Calendar or Reminders access.
5. For Local Outlook Mail, open Microsoft Outlook, sign in, then allow macOS Automation when Effort Plan reads flagged mail.

Local Outlook Mail imports flagged email metadata only. It does not import email body content.

Azure DevOps setup

Azure DevOps imports assigned work items such as tasks and bugs. Configure the organization, project, and import rules, then sync.

• Use default daily-work rules for normal planning.
• Use Advanced only when you need custom work item types, states, area, iteration, tags, direction, merge logic, or dedupe settings.
• Effort values are treated as hours when imported from common Azure DevOps scheduling fields.

Cloud source setup

Cloud sources sign in through the provider's official login page. Effort Plan imports only the items needed for planning.

• Gmail: imports starred messages. Choose how far back Effort Plan should look.
• Google Calendar: imports calendar events into daily capacity. The primary calendar is used by default.
• Jira: use your Atlassian email and an API token. Jira Cloud does not accept your account password for app connections.
• Microsoft Calendar and Microsoft To Do: work accounts may show an admin approval screen. If approval is not available, use Local Calendar, Local Tasks, or Local Outlook Mail instead.

Manage imported data

Use Manage data to remove imported copies from Effort Plan without changing the source system.

• For calendar sources, choose a date range such as past schedules, this week, next 30 days, custom range, or all imported schedules.
• For Gmail, choose a message date range before removing imported messages.
• Removed source items are remembered so the next sync does not bring them back.
• If Pro is on, the cleaned local planner state is synced after cleanup.

Export, import, and local storage

Use Settings, Local Storage to export local planner data. The export is designed for moving to another computer or keeping a backup.

• Included: tasks, allocations, work-done notes, dismissed items, integration metadata, and app settings.
• Excluded: passwords, sign-in tokens, Azure DevOps access tokens, and other secrets.

Updates and bug reports

• Use Settings, Updates to check the installed version, latest version, and download link.
• When a newer build is available, Effort Plan shows a dot on Settings.
• Use Report bug from the main app sidebar to send a support request with app version and platform context.
• Bug reports should not include passwords, tokens, private task details, or confidential source data.

Known limits

• Current imports are read-only and do not push updates back to source systems.
• Local Calendar, Local Tasks, and Local Outlook Mail are Mac-focused local source paths.
• Local Outlook Mail imports flagged email metadata only, not email body content.
• Microsoft Calendar and Microsoft To Do may require organization approval for work accounts.
• Windows local Outlook support will evolve separately from Mac local-source support.