Where Roma runs: the browser, the Mac and the iPhone

Roma runs in three places: in the browser at roma.app, as a Mac app you download, and as an iPhone app from the App Store. One account signs in to all three, every list and every conversation is the same in each, and a change made in one shows in the others within moments. You pick one by where you are.

In the browser

Go to roma.app and sign in with Google or Apple. Nothing to install, and it works on any computer. The browser has the whole product: your lists in the sidebar, every list's page with its three layouts, the operator in a new tab and in the rail beside whatever you are reading, Home with the day's tasks, Settings and the Connections page. Mara uses it on the office machine she is not allowed to install anything on, and her lists are there the moment she signs in.

The Mac app

Download the Mac app at roma.app/download. It is built for Apple Silicon, and the page shows the current version. Sign-in opens your browser and hands you back to the app. The Mac app is the browser's product plus what only an app on your Mac can do:

• A quick chat over any app: press the global shortcut, ⌃⌥N by default and yours to change in Settings → Shortcuts, say or type what you need, and it lands in your operator conversation without bringing Roma to the front.

• Hold to talk: hold the Globe (fn) key, speak, let go, and what you said is sent. It asks for Accessibility access the moment you switch it on, and not before.

• Notifications on the Mac, and one mark on the Dock icon when an operator reply or an update is waiting for you. Never a count.

• Tabs, keyboard shortcuts and a command palette, like a browser built around your lists.

• Links into the app: a shared item or list opened from Mail or Messages lands in the Mac app rather than a browser tab.

• A cold start with no network still opens the full workspace from the local copy.

The app updates itself: it checks on its own, downloads a new version in the background, and shows a Relaunch to update row in the sidebar when it is ready. Nothing installs until you click it. Install Roma on your Mac walks through the first launch, and quick chat and hold to talk covers both.

The iPhone app

Install Roma from the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/app/id6762153252. It is an iPhone app, not an iPad one. It brings the Action Button, widgets on the Home Screen and the Lock Screen, Controls, the share sheet and dictation, with the same Tasks list and the same operator conversation as everywhere else. Roma on your iPhone is the tour.

One account, everywhere

Every client keeps a local copy of your lists and opens from it before it talks to the server, so Roma is fast on every launch and works offline: you can create, edit, complete, move and reorder items and create lists, and the sync replays it all when you are back. What needs the network is the operator, the background cleanup of what you typed, and search by meaning. A change from another device arrives live.

There is one conversation with the operator, and it is the same thread on all three clients, whether you open it from a new tab, the quick chat, the sidebar or the Action Button. It runs for weeks, and you switch topics without announcing it. Sam starts a trip plan in the browser at lunch, adds a hotel from the iPhone on the way home, and finds both in the Mac app's rail that evening.

Which one to use

Use the browser when you are on a machine that is not yours. Use the Mac app for the day's work, because of the quick chat, hold to talk and the notifications. Use the iPhone for capture away from the desk, with the Action Button and the share sheet. Most people end up with all three signed in, and nothing has to be set up twice.

Questions people ask

Do I need the Mac app, or is the browser enough?

The browser has the whole product. The Mac app adds the quick chat over any app, hold to talk, native notifications, a mark on the Dock icon, tabs and shortcuts, and an offline start. If you capture a lot during the day, the quick chat alone is worth the download.

Is there a Windows or an Android app?

Roma runs in the browser at roma.app on any computer, as a Mac app, and as an iPhone app. Those are the three places.

Does my data sync automatically between devices?

Yes. Every client keeps a local copy and syncs it with the server, and a change on one device reaches the others live. Nothing needs exporting or importing between your own devices.

What happens if I go offline?

You keep working from the local copy: adding, editing, completing, moving and reordering all work, and queue up in order. When the connection returns, the queue replays. The operator and the background cleanup wait for the network, and the app says so rather than failing quietly.