Case study · Desktop tools

Small utilities.
Production discipline.

Four local-first tools show the same engineering pattern at different scales: constrain the problem, preserve user data, test the risky edges, and publish only evidence the public repository can prove.

Verified public proof · 2026-07-20

Evidence before adjectives.

115Daily Planner tests on public main
v0.4.0.0Daily Planner first tagged release
99Scrolly Polly tests on release CI
8Scrolly Polly public releases

SubTracker remains local-only with 50 tests passing in its clean candidate. CrewChief is private and under active development, so its prior test and feature counts are intentionally withheld pending a fresh post-batch audit.

01 · Lead product

Daily Planner

A local-first Flet planner with customizable day sections, task history, undo/redo, Month-in-Review playback, and Markdown/plain-text export. Personal planning data stays off the network.

  • 115 tests pass on public main
  • First real release: v0.4.0.0
  • Export flow supports clipboard, save picker, and direct-to-Downloads behavior
View source and release ↗
Daily Planner showing synthetic tasks in a dark local-first planning interface
Public-safe synthetic planner data · source repository screenshot
Scrolly Polly Notely floating notes in light and dark styles
Public-safe floating note view · source repository screenshot
02 · Public release system

Scrolly Polly Notely

A Windows-friendly floating-notes utility with no account, cloud sync, or telemetry. Its current sanitized public repository supersedes an older private prototype.

  • 99 tests pass in release-triggered public CI
  • Eight releases from v1.0.0 through v1.2.0
  • Recovery paths cover click-through mode, saved groups, and Windows Jump Lists
View source and releases ↗
03–04 · Private proof, explicit boundaries

Useful work does not require public history.

Local-only candidate

SubTracker

Scans Markdown subscription records, calculates due dates, generates dashboards, and can send reminders. A clean-history candidate adds dry-run delivery safety, portable configuration, synthetic examples, CI, and 50 passing tests. It has no remote and no assumed license.

Postponed · active development

CrewChief

A private productivity application currently changing in another product batch. Its dated showcase draft is not publication-ready: features, architecture, tests, and synthetic screenshots must all be re-audited after that work finishes. Existing private history remains excluded.

Public boundary

What the portfolio can honestly claim

ToolPublic stateVerified claimBoundary
Daily PlannerPublic repo115 CI tests · 1 releaseNo cloud or personal planner data
Scrolly Polly NotelyPublic repo99 CI tests · 8 releasesCurrent public repo is canonical
SubTrackerNo remote50 tests in clean local candidateLicense and visibility remain owner gates
CrewChiefPrivate · active workPostponed pending re-auditNo current counts or private-history exposure