Work Suite

🧰 Work Suite

Lightweight productivity apps with AI-friendly, text-based formats

Home Lab Project · 8 Apps · LLM-Compatible Formats

Work Suite App 1

Work Suite App 2

Work Suite App 3

The Problem

Modern productivity tools have become increasingly complex:

Heavy dependencies - npm, build tools, frameworks
Proprietary formats - Binary files AI can't read or generate
Cloud-locked - Can't work offline or self-host
AI-hostile - Formats that break when pasted into LLMs

I wanted tools that produce simple, text-based artifacts that both humans and AI assistants can read, write, and transform.

The Solution

Work Suite is a collection of 8 productivity apps that use Markdown, JSON, and plain text. Every app can export to formats that LLMs understand natively.

Ask AI: "Create a 5-slide presentation about renewable energy"
→ Copy response into Pointer
→ Instant presentation

Export from Done as JSON
→ Ask AI: "Convert these tasks to a project timeline"
→ Import into Journey

The 8 Apps

Core Productivity

App	Purpose	Format
📝 Slate	Keyboard-first notes with tile UI	Markdown, JSON
✅ Done	Kanban task board with drag-and-drop	JSON, Markdown
🛤️ Journey	Visual timeline creator	JSON, HTML
🐠 Merman	Markdown editor with Mermaid diagrams	Markdown
📊 Metric	Spreadsheet with formulas and charts	JSON, CSV
👆 Pointer	Markdown slide presentations	Markdown, JSON

Platform Apps

App	Purpose
🏷️ Tags	Central file manager with scopes, folders, and workflow
🎨 Theme Designer	Create custom themes from images

Architecture

flowchart TB
    subgraph Apps["Frontend Apps"]
        A1[Slate]
        A2[Done]
        A3[Journey]
        A4[Merman]
        A5[Metric]
        A6[Pointer]
        A7[Tags]
        A8[Theme Designer]
    end
    
    subgraph Platform["Work Suite Platform"]
        N[Nginx<br/>Reverse Proxy]
        API[API Server<br/>Node.js + Express]
        WS[WebSocket<br/>Real-time Sync]
    end
    
    subgraph Backend["Backend Services"]
        PG[(PostgreSQL<br/>Storage)]
        AUTH[Authentik<br/>SSO]
    end
    
    Apps --> N
    N --> API
    API --> WS
    API --> PG
    API --> AUTH

Access Scopes

Content is organized into four access levels:

flowchart LR
    subgraph Scopes["Access Scopes"]
        M[👤 Me<br/>Private]
        U[👥 Us<br/>Invited]
        W[🏢 We<br/>Team]
        T[🌐 There<br/>Public]
    end
    
    M --> U --> W --> T

Scope	Access	Use Case
Me	Owner only	Private drafts, personal notes
Us	Explicit invite	Shared projects, collaborations
We	Team/workspace	Department resources
There	External/public	Published content, templates

AI Workflow

The text-based formats make AI integration seamless:

flowchart LR
    subgraph Generate["AI Generates"]
        G1[Presentations]
        G2[Task Boards]
        G3[Timelines]
    end
    
    subgraph Import["Paste into Work Suite"]
        I1[Pointer]
        I2[Done]
        I3[Journey]
    end
    
    subgraph Export["Export & Transform"]
        E1[JSON/Markdown]
        E2[Ask AI to transform]
    end
    
    G1 --> I1
    G2 --> I2
    G3 --> I3
    I1 & I2 & I3 --> E1 --> E2

Examples:

Ask AI: "Create a project plan with 10 tasks" → Import JSON into Done
Export Metric as CSV → Ask AI: "Summarize the trends"
Ask AI: "Write a presentation outline" → Paste Markdown into Pointer

App Details

📝 Slate — Keyboard-First Notes

Tile UI for power users
100% keyboard navigable
Command palette (⌘K)
Instant search and tags
Auto-save to localStorage

✅ Done — Kanban Board

Drag-and-drop cards
Color-coded labels
Due dates and priorities
5 visual themes
Export/import as JSON

🛤️ Journey — Timeline Creator

Vertical and horizontal layouts
Event icons and milestones
6 visual themes
Export to standalone HTML
Perfect for roadmaps

🐠 Merman — Markdown + Diagrams

Split-pane editor
Live Mermaid rendering
Flowcharts, sequences, etc.
Dark and light themes
Auto-wrapping for pasted syntax

📊 Metric — Spreadsheet

Formulas: SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX, COUNT, ROUND, SQRT, POW
Chart types: bar, line, pie, doughnut
50 rows × 26 columns
Quick stats panel
Export to CSV

👆 Pointer — Slide Presenter

8 slide layouts (Title, Content, Two-Column, Quote, Code, Section)
8 visual themes
Fullscreen presentation mode
Keyboard navigation
Markdown source

File Formats

All formats are human-readable and AI-compatible:

App	Extension	Format
Slate	`.slate`	JSON (notes array)
Done	`.done`	JSON (columns + cards)
Journey	`.journey`	JSON (events + layout)
Merman	`.md`	Markdown
Metric	`.metric` / `.csv`	JSON / CSV
Pointer	`.pointer`	JSON (slides array)

Tech Stack

Component	Technology
Frontend	Vanilla HTML/JS (no frameworks)
API	Node.js + Express
Database	PostgreSQL
Auth	JWT + HTTP-only cookies
Real-time	WebSocket
Proxy	Nginx
Libraries	Marked.js, Mermaid.js, Chart.js, Prism.js

Design Philosophy

Traditional Tools	Work Suite
Complex binary formats	Simple text (Markdown, JSON, CSV)
Heavy dependencies	Single HTML files, zero build
Proprietary ecosystems	Open, portable, self-contained
Difficult for AI	Easy for LLMs to read and generate

What I Learned

Text formats win - JSON and Markdown are universally understood
Keyboard-first matters - Power users live on the keyboard
LocalStorage is enough - Most personal tools don't need a database
AI compatibility is a feature - Design for copy-paste workflows

Work Suite - AI-Friendly Productivity Platform