The Journal — Mood Journal App

A privacy-first daily mood journaling app built with Flutter. No accounts, no server, no tracking — everything lives on your device.

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What it does

• Daily check-in — Log your mood in under 10 seconds using a 5-level emoji scale
• Journal entries — Write free-form notes tied to each mood, with auto-save
• History & trends — Monthly calendar view color-coded by mood score + 7-day trend chart
• Daily reminders — Schedule a notification at your preferred time to build the habit
• Onboarding flow — First-launch welcome, explainer, and reminder setup screens

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Tech stack

Layer	Package
Framework	Flutter (Dart)
Database	drift (SQLite ORM)
State management	flutter_riverpod
Navigation	go_router
Charts	fl_chart
Notifications	flutter_local_notifications + timezone
UI fonts	google_fonts
Preferences	shared_preferences

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Getting started

Requirements

• Flutter SDK >=3.27.0
• Dart SDK >=3.6.0
• Android SDK (for Android builds) or Xcode (for iOS builds)

Run locally

git clone <repo-url>
cd mood_journal

flutter pub get
dart run build_runner build --delete-conflicting-outputs
flutter run

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Project structure

lib/
  core/
    database/       # Drift DB, DAOs, MoodEntry model
    notifications/  # NotificationService, providers
    router/         # go_router config + route constants
    theme/          # AppTheme, color palette, typography
  features/
    checkin/        # Check-in bottom sheet (mood selector + note)
    home/           # Home screen + providers (streak, recent entries)
    history/        # Calendar grid + trend chart + stats
    journal/        # Entry list (grouped by month) + full-text editor
    onboarding/     # Welcome, How It Works, Reminder Setup screens
    settings/       # Theme toggle, reminder time picker, data export
  shared/
    widgets/        # MainShell (PageView nav), reusable components

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Core principles

• Privacy-first — 100% local storage. No analytics, no tracking, no network calls.
• Frictionless — Mood check-in in under 10 seconds.
• Calm aesthetic — Soft warm palette, serif typography, minimal chrome.

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Milestones

#	Milestone	Status
1	Foundation — project setup, SQLite DB, routing, theming	Done
2	Mood check-in — emoji selector, note field, upsert, home status	Done
3	Journal entries — full-text editor, auto-save, past entries list	Done
4	History & charts — calendar grid, trend line, streak, stats	Done
5	Reminders — daily notification, permission flow, settings toggle	Done
6	Polish & release prep — data export, app icon, accessibility, QA	In progress

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Android notes

• minSdkVersion 21 (Android 5.0+)
• Requires SCHEDULE_EXACT_ALARM permission for daily reminders (API 31+)
• On MIUI (Xiaomi): enable Autostart and set battery saver to No restrictions for reliable notification delivery

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Post-MVP ideas

• Optional cloud backup (iCloud / Google Drive)
• Mood tags and categories
• AI-generated insights using the Claude API
• Home screen widget for quick check-in
• Passcode / biometric lock
• Export to formatted PDF journal