Shikamaru Project Manager v1.0.0

Shikamaru is a lightweight, self-hosted project and task management application designed for simplicity and efficiency. It provides a clean, responsive interface for organizing nested projects, managing tasks through a Kanban-style board, and tracking progress.

Features

• Nested Project Organization: Create projects and sub-projects to any depth, allowing for detailed and hierarchical planning.
• Drag-and-Drop Interface:
  • Easily reorder projects and move them between parent projects directly in the sidebar.
  • Move tasks between different stages (Planned, In Progress, etc.) on the Kanban board with a simple drag and drop.
• Kanban Task Board: Visualize your workflow with a board that includes sections for Planned, In Progress, Under Review, Finished, and Suggested tasks.
• In-Place Editing: Click on any project or task title to edit it directly in the view, saving changes automatically.
• Progress Tracking: Add timestamped progress notes to any task to keep a detailed log of updates.
• Fully Responsive Design: The interface adapts smoothly to all screen sizes, from desktop monitors to mobile phones. On mobile, the sidebar becomes a slide-out panel for easy access.
• Confirmation Dialogs: Destructive actions, such as deleting a project or a task, require user confirmation to prevent accidental data loss.
• Dynamic Content Loading: The application is a Single Page Application (SPA) that loads and updates data dynamically from the backend without requiring page reloads.

Technologies Used

• Backend:
  • Node.js with Express.js: For creating a fast and simple RESTful API server.
  • SQLite: A file-based SQL database engine used for all data storage. The database (shikamaru.db) is stored in the project's root directory.
• Frontend:
  • Vanilla JavaScript (ES6+): No frontend frameworks are used, keeping the client-side code lightweight and fast.
  • Bootstrap 5.3: Used for the core layout, responsive grid system, and modal components.
  • Bootstrap Icons: Provides a clean and comprehensive set of icons used throughout the interface.
• Development Environment:
  • NPM: For managing project dependencies.

Getting Started

Follow these instructions to get a copy of the project up and running on your local machine.

Prerequisites

You must have Node.js installed on your system. This will also install npm. You can verify your installation by running:

node-v
npm-v

Installation & Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/BXAMRA/shikamaru.git
   cd shikamaru
   

2. Install dependencies: This will install Express, SQLite, and other required packages.

   npm install
   

3. Configure the server (Optional): By default, the server runs on 0.0.0.0 at port 3000. You can change these settings by editing the server.js file.

   Open server.js and modify these lines:

   const port = 3000; // Change to your desired port
   const host = '0.0.0.0'; // Change to 'localhost' if you only want local access
   

   I have an old android device setup to act as a server for my home network using termux. So setting '0.0.0.0' allows the application access to every device on the network by assigning a static address eg 192.168.31.100:3000

Running the Application

Once the setup is complete, you can start the application with a single command:

npm start

This will start the server, and your default web browser should automatically open to the application. If it doesn't, you can manually navigate to:

http://localhost:3000

How It Works

The application consists of a Node.js backend that serves a set of RESTful APIs and a public folder containing the frontend assets.

• The frontend (index.html, style.css, app.js) is fully static and is served from the public directory.
• All dynamic data (projects, tasks, progress notes) is fetched by the frontend via API calls to the server.
• The backend communicates with the shikamaru.db SQLite database to perform all CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations.