Oh, that’s interesting. I recently changed the sync code, so that could be fixed. I will appreciate if you create an issue with more details, if you will try it again

Btw, before installing on your server, you can try to use demo at https://demo.will-be-done.app/

Hey! Yep, thanks for the kind words. I’m fully responsible for the architecture and system design. I spent a lot of time thinking this through, and how to build good local-first apps was on my mind even before AI (I built a note-taking app called Harika before and worked at RemNote).

Nah, it will very hard to do. I wanted it to be fast from the start, so I was playing with sync and how I store data in browser.

I actually agree with you. I was avoiding making doc the whole time, but as amount of features growth, readme is not enough. I will introduce a good doc soon. Thanks!

You still need to sign up to sync between devices. With the self-hosted version, you also create an account, but authentication and all synced data stay on your own server.

Offline-first means the app works without an internet connection; it doesn’t necessarily mean that no account is required. After sign up/sign in, you can use it offline without any problems.

It is just LWW per column. On each client I track last change of each field with current time(actually sysytemTime-counter-clientId to make time uniq). Then, when changes arrive to server, I compare previous clock time with new clock time from client. If client win, it overwrite server column time + value. No tracking causality for now, just current system time of the client.

Fixed. Thanks for the hint!

Oh yeah, it’s a long story!

My core idea is to build a task manager that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Because of that, my main requirement is for it to be fast even with a massive database. If I have 10k+ tasks saved over the years, it should still load and feel instant.

Another requirement is that it must be offline-first. I live in a country where the internet goes down pretty often, and I need my tasks to be available regardless of the server status.

Finally, I wanted a clean API so I could connect things like an MCP server or create tasks via Telegram.

I couldn’t find an existing app that met all these needs, here is a table where I compared all self-hosted apps that I found(in awesome self-hosted github):

Here is how my journey went:

1. First approach: I tried using Redux and MobX. Performance sucked. The main reason is that MobX/Redux don’t support B-tree indexing. Local-first apps rely heavily on “intervals”(cause you use fractional-indexing-jittered to order things and to support LWW per column), and that’s exactly where B-trees shine. Without them, it just got slower as the data grew.
2. Second approach: I tried a reactive UI based on persistent SQLite queries (using wa-sqlite). It worked well for small lists, but it felt sluggish once the dataset got large.
3. Third approach (Current): I decided to build my own DB solution, which you can see here: HyperDB. The trick is that you write the logic once, but on the frontend, it runs against an in-memory B-tree index (which is incredibly fast) and data still stored at persistent wa-sqlite layer, while on the backend, it runs against persistent SQLite (which keeps memory usage low).

This third approach finally solved all three requirements. It’s hard to find an open-source app that does this because this specific architecture is difficult to “cook” correctly. On top of the database speed, I also had to solve the sync problem, that should also somehow resolve conflicts while clients are offline, which I handled by building own sync layer with LWW CRDT per column.

I checked Planify - wow, it is a decent work. But as far as I see it misses web app, mobile mode (will be done can do it with PWA) and macOS/windows platforms.

Also, the killer feature of will be done - the planner mode. You can plan your tasks through week. It basically the main reason why I built it.

Also, I compared it will all others task managers that I found at self-hosted github (except Planify, it doesn’t relate to self-hosted)

Thanks for the feedback! You’re right that it’s not a 1:1 replacement for TickTick/Todoist yet. That is why I used the word ‘alternative’ rather than ‘replacement’ in the title.

The core functionality is already there, and I’m working toward 70–80% feature parity over the next year or two.

I am also glad to know what particular features you miss so they will be more in my focus

Yep, it’s on plan. Glad to hear!

Thanks!

Thanks!

Thanks! Not for now, but I am building it in a way that it will be pretty easy to add themes support

Thanks! I am already building this iteration for one year, and I enjoy it! Both development and daily usage

Oh, that’s interesting. Log in page as first page looks correct - once logged in you should always see your tasks on app launch.

But I think I should correct my manfest.json and hard-code open page to be /.

Thanks for the honest feedback!

Could you share what specifically makes it feel like a bloated todo app to you? Also, what deployment or distribution method would you prefer over Docker?

Yep, that’s actually what I am doing except moving task to next day. I am still not sure about automatic moving part, though I am doing this by hand. I will need to play with this auto-moving flow a bit and maybe will bring it as a setting option.

I also have some strong desire to make tui or just CLI, but don’t have resources for this right now.

Thanks for sharing your flow!

Yep, I agree too, it’s totally fair 👍

Thanks for your feedback!