NOTE: The primary repository is on Codeberg. Issues and pull requests should be submitted there.

A local-first daily habit tracker with real-time sync across devices.

I have the same TO-DO list every day and it makes me feel good to check off my items as I do them. I hate most todo list apps because:

• I want local first, I don't want to wait for it to load
• I want it on my desktop PC, any browser, on my phone - and sync'd
• I want public accountability. Some days are hard. Knowing people can see me and even react can help a lot.

Eventually I'd like this app to publish to ActivityPub (Fediverse) and ATProto (Bluesky). First I'll get this working on just web.

• Daily checklist with completion tracking
• Real-time sync across tabs/devices via PubSub
• Drag-and-drop task reordering
• Inline task editing
• Archive/restore tasks
• CRDT-compatible data structures for future offline-first support

• Backend: Elixir, Phoenix 1.8, Ecto
• Database: SQLite
• Frontend: Phoenix LiveView, Tailwind CSS, daisyUI

• Elixir 1.18+
• Erlang/OTP 27+ (with wxWidgets support for desktop mode)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://codeberg.org/ellyxir/habitlist.git
cd habitlist

# Install dependencies
mix setup

# Start the development server
mix phx.server

Visit http://localhost:4000 in your browser.

Development uses default settings with a local SQLite database and a mailbox viewer for emails at http://localhost:4000/dev/mailbox.

Set these environment variables:

Habitlist can run as a native desktop application using elixir-desktop.

Add these to your configuration.nix or home.nix:

environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
  # Erlang with wx support (included in nixpkgs erlang)
  erlang
  elixir

  # wxWidgets with WebView support
  wxGTK32
  webkitgtk_4_1

  # Build dependencies
  gcc
  gnumake
  pkg-config
];

Or in a development shell:

{ pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> {} }:
pkgs.mkShell {
  buildInputs = with pkgs; [
    erlang
    elixir
    wxGTK32
    webkitgtk_4_1
    gcc
    gnumake
    pkg-config
  ];
}

Install the equivalent packages:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install libwxgtk-webview3.0-gtk3-dev libssl-dev

# Fedora
sudo dnf install wxGTK3-devel webkit2gtk3-devel

HABITLIST_DESKTOP=1 mix run --no-halt

The application will open in a native window with data stored in:

• Database: ~/.local/share/habitlist/habitlist.db
• Config: ~/.config/habitlist/

1. Erlang/OTP 27+ with wxWidgets support

   winget install Erlang.ErlangOTP

2. Elixir 1.18+

   • Download from elixir-lang.org/install

3. Visual C++ Build Tools (for NIF compilation)

   winget install Microsoft.VisualStudio.2022.BuildTools

   Then open Visual Studio Installer and add the "Desktop development with C++" workload.

Clone the repository and use the build script:

git clone https://codeberg.org/ellyxir/habitlist.git
cd habitlist
.\scripts\build-windows.ps1
.\scripts\run-desktop.ps1

Or manually:

$env:HABITLIST_DESKTOP=1; mix run --no-halt

The application will open in a native window with data stored in:

• Database: %LOCALAPPDATA%\habitlist\habitlist.db
• Config: %APPDATA%\habitlist\

Build a release:

MIX_ENV=prod mix release

Run migrations in production:

bin/habitlist eval "Habitlist.Release.migrate"

Start the server:

PHX_SERVER=true bin/habitlist start

Yes, contributions are welcome, send a PR!

Copyright 2026 Ellyse Cedeno

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See LICENSE for details.