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Show HN: Slate, a to-do list shaped like your week, not an endless backlog

Summary

Slate is a task planner that bridges calendars and to-do lists. Tasks are placed on the day you intend to do them, avoiding fake time commitments, while unplanned items stay in a separate backlog. It features instant drag-and-drop sync across devices, a minimalist UI, and upcoming AI features. No sign-up wall for basic use.

SourceHacker News AIAuthor: al3xandre
Show HN: Slate, a to-do list shaped like your week, not an endless backlog
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Slate is a task planner that sits between a calendar and a to-do list. Tasks go on the day you actually plan to do them, no fake time blocks required, and anything not ready for a specific day yet sits in a separate backlog instead of cluttering the week.

Easy to try: no sign-up wall to poke around (though more advanced AI features would not be accessible)

I made this because I never trusted either extreme. A calendar makes you fake commit to a time slot... A to-do list takes anything with no judgment about what belongs this week, so it just grows forever.

Some of the harder parts to get right:

1- Sync + drag&drop: Drag and drop needed to feel instant, but everything also syncs live across devices through AppSync/DynamoDB with optimistic concurrency: Getting those two to not fight each other (a drag mid-flight racing a subscription echoing your own write back at you) took a few rewrites... crazy how those simple things can be so hard to get right.

2- UI: keeping the UI minimalist and nice on mobile after building this first for desktop.

I'm still down in the mine adding features nobody asked for (voice-to-task, add-task-through-whatsapp,...): please come be my first users so I have a reason to climb out, stop building and start talking to people instead

Key points and analysis

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Key points

  • Slate combines the structure of a calendar with the flexibility of a to-do list, placing tasks on planned dates and storing others in a backlog.
  • Real-time sync via AppSync/DynamoDB with optimistic concurrency, handling drag-and-drop conflicts seamlessly.
  • Minimalist interface optimized for both desktop and mobile, with upcoming voice-to-task and WhatsApp integration.
  • Developer seeks early users to shift focus from building features to user interaction.

Highlights and analysis are generated automatically and may contain errors. Check the original source.