Lunatask
Encrypted task manager with habits, journaling, and relationship notes
Lunatask's solo core is compact: build a local desktop utility that captures the essential private task planner workflow with keyboard-first controls and local storage. A competent builder can reach a useful personal version in one sitting, while the paid product mainly wins on polish, OS integration.
Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability
What you give up
- vendor-maintained updates
- cross-device sync
- deep operating-system edge-case coverage
- polished shortcuts and accessibility
Why people still pay
Lunatask: People keep paying because a utility used dozens of times a day must be instant, predictable, and compatible with every OS update.
Your build guide
The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.
Before you start
- Node and the Rust toolchain, a supported desktop build environment and an explicitly selected data folder. Remote sync is outside the initial scope.
- Implementation components: Tauri, React and TypeScript for the desktop interface with a narrowly scoped Rust filesystem bridge. SQLite for structured state and search; user-owned files for original documents and attachments.
- Scope boundary: Clinical coaching, hosted encryption/sync and native-platform parity are excluded.
Use these project rules and optional skill references alongside the prompt. Review each skill before adding it to your agent; the AGENTS.md export includes the same guidance.
Optional external skill: vercel-react-best-practices — Improve React and Next.js data fetching, rendering, bundle size and server performance. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: web-design-guidelines — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: sharp-edges — Review security-sensitive APIs and configuration for dangerous defaults and easy-to-misuse interfaces. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Project rule — data model: tasks, prioritization choices, habit observations, optional mood notes and private journal entries
Project rule — preserve this invariant: Mood data never determines diagnoses or productivity rankings; plaintext local storage must be disclosed unless an audited encryption component is configured.
Project rule — acceptance evidence: Delete a mood entry and remove it from charts and exports; rescheduling a task does not reset its history or imply a failed habit.
Implementation plan
Phase 1
Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Build a private daily task view with user-controlled priorities and optional habit/mood logging. Keep personal reflection separate from task completion and offer retention/deletion controls for sensitive notes. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: Clinical coaching, hosted encryption/sync and native-platform parity are excluded.
Phase 2
Durable model. Model tasks, prioritization choices, habit observations, optional mood notes and private journal entries Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Mood data never determines diagnoses or productivity rankings; plaintext local storage must be disclosed unless an audited encryption component is configured.
Phase 3
Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Save edits atomically with stable IDs and revision history. Detect external file changes and offer a conflict copy instead of last-write-wins data loss.
Phase 4
Permissions and integration failure. Limit Tauri capabilities to selected folders and commands. Render imported content without executable HTML, and never expose arbitrary shell execution to the webview. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results.
Phase 5
Portable handoff. Provide a portable folder export with a JSON manifest and original files. Restore to a separate folder; rebuild disposable indexes from sources. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README.
Phase 6
Acceptance scenarios. Delete a mood entry and remove it from charts and exports; rescheduling a task does not reset its history or imply a failed habit. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder.
WORKING SLICE Build a private daily task view with user-controlled priorities and optional habit/mood logging. Keep personal reflection separate from task completion and offer retention/deletion controls for sensitive notes. Build this scoped Lunatask-inspired workflow with a documented data model and visible failure states. Architecture - Tauri, React and TypeScript for the desktop interface with a narrowly scoped Rust filesystem bridge. - SQLite for structured state and search; user-owned files for original documents and attachments. Prerequisites and limits Node and the Rust toolchain, a supported desktop build environment and an explicitly selected data folder. Remote sync is outside the initial scope. Outside this release: Clinical coaching, hosted encryption/sync and native-platform parity are excluded. Data model and correctness tasks, prioritization choices, habit observations, optional mood notes and private journal entries Invariant: Mood data never determines diagnoses or productivity rankings; plaintext local storage must be disclosed unless an audited encryption component is configured. Save edits atomically with stable IDs and revision history. Detect external file changes and offer a conflict copy instead of last-write-wins data loss. Security and privacy Limit Tauri capabilities to selected folders and commands. Render imported content without executable HTML, and never expose arbitrary shell execution to the webview. Recovery and export Provide a portable folder export with a JSON manifest and original files. Restore to a separate folder; rebuild disposable indexes from sources. Implementation order 1. Phase 1 — Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Build a private daily task view with user-controlled priorities and optional habit/mood logging. Keep personal reflection separate from task completion and offer retention/deletion controls for sensitive notes. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: Clinical coaching, hosted encryption/sync and native-platform parity are excluded. 2. Phase 2 — Durable model. Model tasks, prioritization choices, habit observations, optional mood notes and private journal entries Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Mood data never determines diagnoses or productivity rankings; plaintext local storage must be disclosed unless an audited encryption component is configured. 3. Phase 3 — Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Save edits atomically with stable IDs and revision history. Detect external file changes and offer a conflict copy instead of last-write-wins data loss. 4. Phase 4 — Permissions and integration failure. Limit Tauri capabilities to selected folders and commands. Render imported content without executable HTML, and never expose arbitrary shell execution to the webview. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results. 5. Phase 5 — Portable handoff. Provide a portable folder export with a JSON manifest and original files. Restore to a separate folder; rebuild disposable indexes from sources. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README. 6. Phase 6 — Acceptance scenarios. Delete a mood entry and remove it from charts and exports; rescheduling a task does not reset its history or imply a failed habit. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder. Acceptance Delete a mood entry and remove it from charts and exports; rescheduling a task does not reset its history or imply a failed habit. Use real source data or clearly labeled fixtures. Explain unsupported input and provider failures; do not fabricate analytics, delivery receipts, accuracy claims or security guarantees. Optional agent guidance Optional external skill: [vercel-react-best-practices](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/react-best-practices/SKILL.md) — Improve React and Next.js data fetching, rendering, bundle size and server performance. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Optional external skill: [web-design-guidelines](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/web-design-guidelines/SKILL.md) — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Optional external skill: [sharp-edges](https://github.com/trailofbits/skills/blob/main/plugins/sharp-edges/skills/sharp-edges/SKILL.md) — Review security-sensitive APIs and configuration for dangerous defaults and easy-to-misuse interfaces. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Project rule — data model: tasks, prioritization choices, habit observations, optional mood notes and private journal entries Project rule — preserve this invariant: Mood data never determines diagnoses or productivity rankings; plaintext local storage must be disclosed unless an audited encryption component is configured. Project rule — acceptance evidence: Delete a mood entry and remove it from charts and exports; rescheduling a task does not reset its history or imply a failed habit.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md
prompt copied. want to know what dies next week?
new verdicts + top votes, weekly. free. one-click out.
Lunatask pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| free | $0/user | $0/user | 2 Areas of Life, 7 daily habits, and 30 relationships. |
| premium | $8/user | $6/user | Unlimited Areas of Life, daily habits, and relationships. |
| lifetime | — | — | Lifetime Premium access.One-time $300; unavailable through the mobile and Mac App Stores. |
free tier2 Areas of Life, 7 daily habits, and 30 relationships.
billingmonthly + annual + lifetime
hidden costsThe $6 figure on file is the annual-billing equivalent; month-to-month Premium is $8. Lifetime and the 50% student/teacher discount are available only through Lunatask's direct checkout, not the App Stores.
pricing sources checked 2026-08-14 · pricing source ↗
Questions about Lunatask
Can you build your own Lunatask with AI?
The verdict is yes for the scoped workflow. Lunatask's solo core is compact: build a local desktop utility that captures the essential private task planner workflow with keyboard-first controls and local storage. A competent builder can reach a useful personal version in one sitting, while the paid product mainly wins on polish, OS integration.
What does the Lunatask build prompt cover?
The prompt starts with this scope: Build a private daily task view with user-controlled priorities and optional habit/mood logging. Keep personal reflection separate from task completion and offer retention/deletion controls for sensitive notes. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: vendor-maintained updates; cross-device sync; deep operating-system edge-case coverage. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.
How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?
Start with the Lunatask prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.
How long will this Lunatask project take?
The catalogue estimate is one sitting for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.
What would I give up by replacing Lunatask?
vendor-maintained updates; cross-device sync; deep operating-system edge-case coverage; polished shortcuts and accessibility. Lunatask: People keep paying because a utility used dozens of times a day must be instant, predictable, and compatible with every OS update.
What price is this guide comparing against?
The recorded Premium plan is $6/mo (per month billed annually), checked 2026-07-31. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.
What can I use instead of building Lunatask?
The prior-art section lists ActivityWatch as starting points. Review their current scope, license and maintenance before adopting one.