A minimal, distraction-free desktop journaling and task-tracking app. Log what you did, capture todos, and let AI format your entries — all from a single text input.
Built with Tauri v2 + Vanilla TypeScript + SQLite.
- Log entries — type anything and it's formatted by AI into a clean structured entry
- Todo management — create, prioritize, and complete tasks with deadline support; click the importance chip to instantly toggle priority, click the deadline chip to set or clear a due date inline
- Sidebar history — browse past days with entry previews and per-day completed todo counts
- Chat feed — today's entries at the top; past days shown below as collapsible sections
- Log modal — view all entries for the month in one overlay, with export
- AI formatting — Anthropic or OpenAI-compatible backends (optional; falls back to raw text)
- Archive navigation — calendar-style year view grouped by week; search across past entries by keyword, jump to any day with a click
- Archive clean — hover trash icons on day tiles, week cards, and month dividers; confirmation dialog shows exact entry and todo counts before permanently deleting the selected period
- Export — export all log entries to a Markdown file (header button or log modal footer)
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CapLog Desktop App │
│ │
│ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │ Sidebar │ │ ChatArea │ │ TodoPanel │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ Day list │ │ Log feed │ │ Important │ │
│ │ previews │ │ (chat-style) │ │ Due/Overdue │ │
│ │ stats │ │ │ │ Open │ │
│ │ │ │ ┌────────────┐ │ │ Comp. today │ │
│ │ │ │ │InputHandler│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ (textarea) │ │ │ │ │
│ └──────────┘ │ └────────────┘ │ └─────────────┘ │
│ └──────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌────────────┐ │
│ │ LogModal │ │ SettingsModal │ │ArchiveModal│ │
│ │ (month log) │ │ (LLM config) │ │ (year view)│ │
│ └──────────────┘ └──────────────────┘ └────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│ Tauri IPC (invoke)
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Rust Backend │
│ tauri-plugin-sql → SQLite (migrations auto-run) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
flowchart TD
A([User types in textarea]) --> B[parseCommand\nsrc/commands.ts]
B --> C{Command type?}
C -->|plain text| D[type: log]
C -->|/todo /by| E[type: todo]
C -->|/important| F[type: important]
C -->|/done| G[type: done]
D --> H[getAdapter\noptional AI]
H -->|adapter available| I[formatLogEntry]
H -->|no adapter| J[wrap as plain HTML]
I --> K[DB INSERT log_entries]
J --> K
K --> L[chatArea.append]
L --> M[sidebar.refresh]
E --> N[TodoPanel.add\nis_important=0]
F --> O[TodoPanel.add\nis_important=1]
G --> P[TodoPanel.completeByText]
N --> Q[DB INSERT todos]
O --> Q
P --> R[DB UPDATE todos]
Q --> S[chatArea.append]
R --> S
S --> M
src/
├── app.ts ← App class + DOMContentLoaded bootstrap
├── components/
│ ├── ChatArea.ts ← Central log feed
│ ├── InputHandler.ts ← Textarea, submit, command highlighting
│ ├── ArchiveModal.ts ← Year-view calendar archive + keyword search
│ ├── ArchiveConfirmModal.ts ← Confirmation dialog for archive deletion
│ ├── LogModal.ts ← Monthly log overlay
│ ├── SettingsModal.ts ← LLM provider/model/chat_days config
│ ├── Sidebar.ts ← Past days list
│ └── TodoPanel.ts ← Right-panel todo list
├── llm/
│ ├── adapter.ts ← LLMAdapter interface
│ ├── anthropic.ts ← Anthropic adapter
│ ├── factory.ts ← getAdapter() — reads settings, returns adapter
│ └── openai.ts ← OpenAI-compatible adapter
├── ai.ts ← formatLogEntry() — calls LLM to format raw text
├── commands.ts ← parseCommand() — parses slash commands
├── db.ts ← query/execute/getSetting/setSetting wrappers
├── export.ts ← exportMarkdown()
├── todoLogic.ts ← todoStatus(), getTodoSections()
├── types.ts ← TodoItem, Message, LogEntry, DayStats
├── utils.ts ← escapeHtml(), stripHtml()
└── styles.css
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
any plain text |
Creates a log entry (AI-formatted if configured) |
/todo <task> |
Creates an open todo |
/todo <task> /by <date> |
Creates a todo with a deadline |
/important <task> |
Creates a high-priority todo |
/done <partial task text> |
Marks the first matching open todo as complete |
SQLite database is managed by tauri-plugin-sql. Migrations run automatically at startup from src-tauri/migrations/.
| Column | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
id |
INTEGER PK | |
date |
TEXT | YYYY-MM-DD |
raw_text |
TEXT | original user input |
formatted_text |
TEXT | AI-formatted HTML |
created_at |
TEXT | ISO 8601 |
| Column | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
id |
INTEGER PK | |
text |
TEXT | |
is_important |
INTEGER | 0 or 1 |
is_completed |
INTEGER | 0 or 1 |
deadline |
TEXT | nullable, YYYY-MM-DD |
created_at |
TEXT | ISO 8601 |
completed_at |
TEXT | nullable, ISO 8601 |
| Column | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
key |
TEXT PK | llm_provider, llm_api_key, llm_model, llm_base_url, chat_days |
value |
TEXT |
Known keys:
| Key | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
llm_provider |
— | anthropic or openai |
llm_api_key |
— | API key for the selected provider |
llm_model |
— | Model name (e.g. claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) |
llm_base_url |
— | Base URL for OpenAI-compatible endpoints |
chat_days |
3 |
How many days of history to show in the sidebar and completed-todo cutoff |
Open Settings (gear icon) and configure:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Provider | anthropic or openai |
| API Key | Your API key |
| Model | e.g. claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 or gpt-4o-mini |
| Base URL | OpenAI-compatible endpoint only (e.g. for local models) |
| Show days | Number of past days to show in the sidebar and completed-todo list (default: 3) |
LLM is optional — if not configured, entries are saved as plain text wrapped in <ul><li>.
# Install dependencies
pnpm install
# Run the full Tauri desktop app (Vite dev server + Rust backend)
pnpm tauri dev
# Frontend only (Vite on http://localhost:1420)
pnpm dev
# Type-check + build frontend
pnpm build
# Run tests
pnpm test
# Build distributable app
pnpm tauri buildPrerequisites: Rust, Node.js, pnpm, Tauri prerequisites
# Install Xcode Command Line Tools (if not already)
xcode-select --install
pnpm install
pnpm tauri buildOutput:
.dmginstaller →src-tauri/target/release/bundle/dmg/.appbundle →src-tauri/target/release/bundle/macos/
The app is unsigned. To open locally, right-click → Open instead of double-clicking (Gatekeeper will block a double-click on unsigned apps).
Run on a Windows machine or VM — Tauri does not support macOS → Windows cross-compilation.
# Install Rust
winget install Rustlang.Rustup
# Install Node.js (if needed)
winget install OpenJS.NodeJS
# Install pnpm
npm install -g pnpm
# Microsoft C++ Build Tools — required by Rust
# Download from https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/visual-cpp-build-tools/
# Select the "Desktop development with C++" workload
pnpm install
pnpm tauri buildOr use the helper script that checks prerequisites and loads the MSVC environment automatically:
# From the repo root
./scripts/build-windows.ps1Output:
.exeNSIS installer →src-tauri\target\release\bundle\nsis\.msiinstaller →src-tauri\target\release\bundle\msi\
First build takes 5–10 min while Rust compiles dependencies; subsequent builds are much faster. Installers are unsigned — Windows SmartScreen will warn users until a code-signing certificate is configured.
Q: Found version mismatched Tauri packages — e.g. tauri (v2.11.2) : @tauri-apps/api (v2.10.1)
The Rust tauri crate and the npm @tauri-apps/api / @tauri-apps/cli packages must share the same major.minor version. Update the npm side to match:
pnpm update @tauri-apps/api @tauri-apps/cliIf pnpm refuses to bump across a minor, pin the exact version in package.json (e.g. "@tauri-apps/api": "^2.11.0") and re-run pnpm install.
Q: LINK : fatal error LNK1104: cannot open file 'msvcrt.lib' (or libcmt.lib, kernel32.lib, ucrt.lib)
The Rust MSVC linker can't find the Windows SDK / CRT libraries because the MSVC environment variables (LIB, INCLUDE, PATH) aren't set in your shell. Two common causes:
-
You're running in a plain PowerShell window. Fix: launch "x64 Native Tools Command Prompt for VS 2022" from the Start menu, or load the env into your current shell:
cmd /c '"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Auxiliary\Build\vcvars64.bat" && set' | Where-Object { $_ -match '^(LIB|INCLUDE|LIBPATH|Path)=' } | ForEach-Object { $n,$v = $_ -split '=',2; [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable($n,$v,'Process') }
(Adjust the path for
Community/Professionaleditions.) -
You have multiple VS installs and the one picked up is incomplete — e.g. only the
OneCoresubset of MSVC libs was installed, somsvcrt.liblives underVC\Tools\MSVC\<ver>\lib\onecore\x64\but not underlib\x64\. Fix: open the Visual Studio Installer, Modify the install, and add the "Desktop development with C++" workload (which installs the full Desktop x64 CRT). Or uninstall the partial toolchain so the linker uses a complete one. The helper scriptscripts/build-windows.ps1automatically skips installs that don't contain the Desktop x64 CRT.
Q: error: linker 'link.exe' not found
You have no MSVC toolchain at all. Install the "Desktop development with C++" workload via the Visual Studio Build Tools installer, then restart your terminal so link.exe is on PATH.
Q: WebView2 / WiX / NSIS download errors during bundling
tauri build downloads WiX (for .msi) and NSIS (for .exe) on first use. If you're behind a proxy, set HTTPS_PROXY before building. If a download is corrupt, delete %LOCALAPPDATA%\tauri and rebuild.
Q: First build is extremely slow
Normal — Rust compiles the full dependency tree (300+ crates) on first build. Subsequent builds reuse target\ and complete in seconds. Don't delete src-tauri\target\ unless you actually need a clean rebuild.
The tauri-action GitHub Action builds for macOS, Windows, and Linux without needing local VMs. Add .github/workflows/release.yml using that action to automate releases.
sample/caplog-mock.html is the canonical UI reference — a self-contained HTML file with dark theme, three-column layout, and working interactions. Match it for visual design when building new features.
Fonts: Instrument Serif (headings) + DM Mono (body). Dark theme via CSS custom properties (--bg, --surface, --text, etc.).
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Desktop shell | Tauri v2 |
| Frontend | Vanilla TypeScript + Vite |
| Styling | CSS custom properties, no framework |
| Database | SQLite via tauri-plugin-sql |
| AI formatting | Anthropic API / OpenAI-compatible |
| Tests | Vitest + happy-dom |
| Package manager | pnpm |