Macro Tasks Review

Macro is an AGPL-3.0 workspace with a SolidJS client and a Rust backend, covering mail, messages, tasks, docs, canvas, calls, agents, and a CRM, connected by shared AI memory. Tasks are lightweight issues created from email, chat, or docs and linked back to their source, with status, priority, tags, GitHub integration that links tasks to pull requests, and agents that can open or close tasks. This review covers the Tasks product; the stars and releases belong to the whole Macro repository.

The repository includes a local Docker Compose stack and a Nix dev shell, and the README points to docs/RUNNING_LOCALLY.md and an FAQ for self-hosting details. It does not state hardware or software requirements, and the architecture is large: about 42 services and 167 Rust crates, with Cloudflare Durable Objects used for collaboration. Plan on a substantial deployment effort. Managed hosting is also available from the vendor.

Tasks are meant to feel like a fast engineering tracker, with @mentions that connect a task to people, docs, email threads, and channels in both directions. The strength is the workspace around the tasks, and the cost is that you adopt a whole suite rather than a single tool. We did not use or deploy it ourselves; this section reflects the README, product pages, and OpenAlternative.

• Status and priority tracking designed for engineering teams
• GitHub integration linking tasks to pull requests and code activity
• Two-way @mentions across docs, email, channels, and tasks
• AI agents that can open and close tasks
• Unified search across tasks, docs, email, and chat

• Tasks that are connected to the email, docs, and chat where work starts
• AGPL-3.0 and described as fully open source rather than open core
• Very active development, with a release on the day of review

• Tied to the larger Macro suite, with a heavy architecture to self-host
• Hosted sign-in uses Gmail or Google Workspace, and email support is Gmail-focused
• Younger than Linear, ClickUp, or Asana, with fewer integrations and reports
• Hosted pricing is per seat, with a paid Pro or Max seat needed for every team member

Self-hosting is free under AGPL-3.0. Hosted Macro lists Free at $0 with limited AI usage, Pro at $40/seat/month with a 30-day trial and 100 GB of storage, and Max at $200/seat/month with 10 times Pro's AI usage. Team plans need a paid seat for every member.

ClickUp, like Macro, tries to put tasks, docs, and chat in one workspace, while Linear is the benchmark for fast engineering issue tracking. Macro Tasks sits between them, with Linear-style status and priority plus tight links to email and docs. If you only want a focused tracker, Linear stays simpler, and ClickUp has far more features.

• Small engineering teams that want tasks, docs, email, and chat in one open-source workspace
• Teams that want AI agents acting on tasks with workspace context
• Companies that want to self-host a work suite for data control

• Teams that only need a simple standalone issue tracker
• Organizations not on Google for email and sign-in
• Teams that need mature reporting, roadmaps, and integrations today