OpenLife

OpenLife is an open-source productivity, time tracking, habit reflection, and workflow analysis platform. It helps people understand where their time goes, reflect on daily habits, and improve their workflow through small, consistent changes.

Live frontend: openlife-nine.vercel.app

Why OpenLife

Most productivity apps answer: "What did you complete?"

OpenLife asks better daily questions:

• Where did your time actually go?
• What patterns repeat in your workflow?
• Which habits help or hurt your focus?
• What small change would make tomorrow better?

The project is also built as a beginner-friendly open-source learning space for contributors working with React, Node.js, ASP.NET Core, APIs, documentation, testing, and project maintenance.

Project Status

Area	Status	Notes
Frontend	Live	Deployed on Vercel
Node backend	In progress	Express/Mongoose API exists but is not deployed yet
ASP.NET Core backend	Starter added	Additional backend in backend-dotnet/ for C# contributors
Tests	Basic	Frontend lint/build, Node test command, ASP.NET smoke tests
Production readiness	In progress	See BACKEND_READINESS.md and open issues

Quick Links

Link	Purpose
Live demo	Try the current frontend
Contributor onboarding	First steps for new contributors
Good first issues	Beginner-friendly work
Roadmap	Maintainer and product direction
Backend readiness	Backend gaps and production checklist
ASP.NET backend	C#/.NET backend starter
Maintainer review	Current repo assessment
Repo SEO checklist	GitHub topics and visibility checklist
Security policy	Report vulnerabilities

Features

Current and in progress:

• Task management UI and backend API work.
• Daily time usage tracking UI.
• Dashboard and reflection-oriented UI components.
• Static chatbot/help UI components.
• Node/Express backend with users, auth, tasks, JWT middleware, and Swagger wiring.
• ASP.NET Core backend starter with health/info/task endpoints and tests.
• Beginner-friendly contribution flow, issue templates, PR template, and roadmap docs.

Planned:

• Learning goals and reminders.
• Daily and weekly workflow analysis.
• Habit and goal improvement cycles.
• Backend deployment.
• More route tests, API examples, and production hardening.
• Screenshots and stronger product documentation.

Tech Stack

Frontend:

• React
• Vite
• Tailwind CSS
• React Router

Node backend:

• Node.js
• Express
• MongoDB
• Mongoose
• JWT authentication
• Swagger docs

ASP.NET Core backend:

• ASP.NET Core
• Minimal APIs
• OpenAPI
• xUnit smoke tests
• In-memory task store for starter contribution work

Tooling:

• GitHub Actions CI
• Dependabot
• GitHub Issues and Pull Requests
• MIT license

Repository Structure

OpenLife/
  frontend/             React + Vite app
  backend/              Node + Express backend
  backend-dotnet/       ASP.NET Core backend starter
  .github/              Workflows, templates, CODEOWNERS, Dependabot
  README.md             Project overview
  ROADMAP.md            Project direction
  BACKEND_READINESS.md  Backend production-readiness guide

Local Setup

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/BhupinderSehjal/OpenLife.git
cd OpenLife

Frontend

cd frontend
npm ci
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:5173.

Node Backend

cd backend
npm ci
cp .env.example .env.development
npm run dev

Create backend/.env.development with:

PORT=3001
DATABASE_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017
DATABASE_NAME=openlife
JWT_SECRET=replace-with-a-local-secret
JWT_ACCESS_EXPIRATION_TTL=3600

Backend environment variables

The Node backend loads environment variables from .env.${NODE_ENV}. If NODE_ENV is not set, it defaults to development, so local development uses backend/.env.development.

Variable	Purpose	Production notes
PORT	Port used by the Express server. Defaults to 3001 if unset.	Let the hosting provider set this when it provides a port automatically.
DATABASE_URL	MongoDB connection string used by Mongoose.	Use a production MongoDB connection string from your database provider.
DATABASE_NAME	MongoDB database name passed to the connection.	Use the production database name for the deployed backend.
JWT_SECRET	Secret used to sign and verify JWT access tokens.	Use a strong, unique value. Changing it invalidates existing tokens.
JWT_ACCESS_EXPIRATION_TTL	Access token lifetime in seconds. 3600 means one hour.	Choose a TTL that matches the production security requirements.
NODE_ENV	Selects the runtime environment and .env.${NODE_ENV} file name.	Set this to production for deployed backend runs.

Production secrets should be configured in the deployment provider's environment variable settings. Do not commit real .env files, database credentials, JWT secrets, tokens, or production connection strings.

ASP.NET Core Backend

cd backend-dotnet/OpenLife.Api
dotnet run

Run ASP.NET tests:

dotnet test backend-dotnet/OpenLife.DotNet.slnx

Checks Before Pull Request

Frontend:

cd frontend
npm run lint
npm run build

Node backend:

cd backend
npm test

ASP.NET Core backend:

dotnet test backend-dotnet/OpenLife.DotNet.slnx

New Contributors

New contributors are welcome. The best first pull request is small, focused, and easy to review.

Start here:

1. Read CONTRIBUTOR_ONBOARDING.md.
2. Pick an issue from GOOD_FIRST_ISSUES.md or the good first issue label.
3. Comment on the issue before starting.
4. Keep the pull request focused on one change.
5. Include what changed, why it matters, and how you tested it.

Good beginner areas:

• Documentation improvements.
• Empty states and accessibility improvements.
• Small frontend UI fixes.
• API examples.
• Backend smoke tests.
• ASP.NET Core starter endpoints.

Maintainer Notes

Maintainers should prioritize:

• Keeping main green.
• Reviewing small PRs quickly.
• Labeling issues clearly.
• Closing or updating completed issues.
• Keeping beginner issues genuinely beginner-friendly.
• Avoiding large rewrites unless they are broken into planned tasks.

Suggested merge message for good PRs:

Thanks for the focused contribution. This is relevant, small, and checks pass, so I am merging it.

Troubleshooting

npm ci fails:

• Make sure you are inside frontend/ or backend/.
• Delete node_modules and rerun npm ci.
• Use the committed lockfile instead of running random package updates.

Backend cannot connect to MongoDB:

• Confirm MongoDB is running.
• Confirm DATABASE_URL and DATABASE_NAME exist in backend/.env.development.

Port already in use:

• Change PORT in the backend env file.
• For Vite, run npm run dev -- --port 5174.

.NET command not found:

• Install the .NET SDK.
• Run dotnet --info to confirm it is available.

SEO Keywords

open-source productivity app, time tracking, habit tracker, daily reflection, workflow analysis, React, Vite, Node.js, Express, MongoDB, ASP.NET Core, C#, beginner-friendly open source, good first issue

Community

OpenLife values respectful communication, beginner-friendly reviews, practical improvements, and learning in public.

Please follow the Code of Conduct.

License

OpenLife is released under the MIT License.