Goblin Tools

Review by eFreeware

Goblin Tools is a collection of nine small helpers in one app, and the thing that sets it apart is how narrow each helper is. Rather than one do-everything productivity suite, it offers separate tools for splitting a task into steps, rewriting a message, judging its tone, explaining a subject, estimating time, comparing options and even cooking from what is already in the kitchen. The app is built with neurodivergent people in mind, and that focus shapes nearly everything it does.

That makes it a good fit for anyone who finds large tasks hard to start, messages hard to phrase or decisions hard to settle. The developer also mentions ADHD, autism, executive dysfunction, chronic illness and low-energy days as the situations it was designed around. If your to-do list tends to feel like one heavy block rather than a set of steps, the approach here is likely to make sense to you.

It is worth saying up front that this is the official app tied to the goblin.tools website. The developer warns that unofficial copies exist and are not affiliated with it, and that some may be misleading or unsafe. Buying the official version is also described as a way of keeping the website free and ad-free for everyone.

Nine small tools instead of one big system

The core experience is choosing the helper that matches the problem in front of you. Magic ToDo takes a task that feels too large and breaks it into clear, bite-sized steps. Taskmaster breaks your list into single steps and presents them one by one, so you are less likely to drift off partway. Between them they cover both ends of the problem: working out what the steps are, and actually getting through them.

Other tools handle the thinking around a task. Estimator gives rough time estimates for tasks and activities, while Compiler tidies a jumbled set of thoughts into an ordered action list. Consultant compares options and helps with a decision. They are short interventions for the moment you are stuck.

For writing, Formalizer rephrases your text in whatever register or style you ask for, and Judge gives a read on how a message might come across and what it seems to mean. Professor takes a complicated subject and turns it into an explanation that is easier to understand. Chef stands apart from the rest: it suggests dishes based on what you have on hand.

What appeals to me about this structure is that each tool has one job. The developer frames the set as modest helpers for moments when everything feels overwhelming.

Turning a vague task into steps you can start

Magic ToDo is the tool most people will reach for first. The promise is simple: you give it something overwhelming and it gives back a sequence of smaller pieces. That matters most at the point where a task is clear in outline but impossible to begin, because the missing piece is usually the first concrete action rather than the overall goal.

The idea is that you are not looking at the whole list while trying to do one item on it, which is a common way to lose momentum. Together, the two tools describe a workflow that starts with breaking something down and ends with working through it in order.

Compiler addresses a different starting point: the brain dump. Instead of a defined task, you begin with scattered thoughts, and the tool organizes them into a list of actions. Estimator adds a rough sense of how long things might take, which is useful when a task feels endless mainly because its size has never been pinned down.

For messages, explanations and decisions

Formalizer is the tool I would expect to get the most day-to-day use outside of task planning.

Professor is aimed at learning. Consultant handles choices: you put options side by side and get help working through which one fits.

These four tools are all about the moments around a task rather than the task itself: writing the email, reading the reply, understanding the subject, choosing between two paths. That is a sensible split, because those moments are often where an otherwise straightforward day stalls.

Cooking with what you already have

Chef is the one tool here that has nothing to do with productivity in the usual sense. It invents recipes using ingredients you already have, which is a practical answer to the question of what to make without another trip to the store. For anyone whose energy for planning runs out before dinner, having that decision handled by the same app as the rest of the day is a neat piece of design.

It also shows how broad the collection is. The same app that breaks a work task into steps will suggest something to cook, and the developer frames the whole set as useful for productivity, planning, communication, decision-making, learning and cooking. The through-line is getting unstuck, not managing a project.

What it costs and what Pro adds

The app itself costs $0.99 and carries no ads. There are in-app purchases too, and the developer explains the reason plainly: features that rely on servers, storage and ongoing work need more than a one-off payment. Paying for the app is presented as a way to keep the website available to everyone without ads.

Pro is where the connected features live. It keeps your data continuously synced between devices, lets you create and reuse templates for to-do items, and lets you share the lists you create. It also adds custom Formalizer tones and the option to use your own voice, plus access to your history across all the Goblin Tools. More Pro features will be added as they are introduced.

The free-standing tools and the Pro layer are separate parts of the app. If you work across a phone and another device, or you want your own tones rather than the built-in ones, Pro is the part that matters. If you mostly want to break tasks down and get moving, the core tools are the reason to install it.

Who gets the most from a set of tiny helpers

That is a specific audience, and the design follows from it: small tools, one job each. Anyone who recognizes the experience of a task being too big to start will find the premise familiar.

It is not limited to that group, though. The tools are general-purpose: breaking work into steps, shifting the tone of a message, getting an explanation at the right level, choosing between options, estimating time, cooking from what is in the cupboard. A student, a freelancer or anyone who writes a lot of messages for work could use several of these without thinking of themselves as the target audience.

These are small tools. The collection is a set of separate helpers. If you want help getting moving when nothing is happening, the app concentrates on exactly that.

The app has been installed more than 100,000 times and holds a 4.6 average from 1,616 ratings, which suggests the approach lands with a fair number of people. It was released in May 2023 and the current version is a cleaner native app with support for Pro accounts and full syncing, described as a new base for future widgets and notifications.

A small toolkit for days when starting is the hard part

Goblin Tools is worth installing if the difficulty in your day is usually the first step rather than the work itself. For $0.99 you get nine focused helpers covering task breakdown, tone, message reading, explanation, decisions, estimates, brain dumps and cooking, with no ads in the paid app. The developer's warning about unofficial copies is a good reason to make sure you are getting the official one.

The clearest fit is someone who finds large tasks hard to begin, messages hard to word or decisions hard to settle, whether or not they identify with the neurodivergent framing the app was designed around. Pro is a separate decision, and it is aimed at people who want syncing, templates, sharing, custom tones and history across devices rather than at anyone who simply wants the core tools.

What I like about the design is that you open the helper that matches the problem. On a good day that is a minor convenience; on a bad one it is the difference between a task sitting there and a task getting started.

What's new in version 2.1.1

V2.1.1 is here! A much cleaner native app, with support for Pro accounts with full syncing and all the other fanciness. It's also a new base to build up from, including (some time in the future) widgets, notifications, and more! Now with added bugfixes!