A weather-aware watering planner for gardens, growing spaces, and agricultural fields.

What PlotAI does

PlotAI turns a few practical details into a seven-day watering plan. Tell it where you are, how large the growing space is, what is growing, and how the soil currently feels. PlotAI combines those answers with the local forecast to suggest when to water, when to wait, and how much water to apply.

There is no account requirement. A plan can be copied or printed directly from the browser.

The idea behind it

Generic watering schedules treat every growing space the same. Real decisions depend on the plant, its growth stage, the soil, recent moisture, expected rain, and the size of the area.

PlotAI keeps those inputs together and presents the result in language that is easy to act on. It is designed to be useful without pretending that a forecast is more certain than it really is.

Features

• Search for a city, ZIP code, or street address
• Enter an area manually or draw it on a satellite map
• Choose from common vegetables, row crops, lawn, flowers, shrubs, and trees
• Account for growth stage, soil texture, current moisture, and watering method
• Use a live seven-day weather forecast and reference evapotranspiration
• See a clear recommendation for today and the week ahead
• Switch between US and metric units
• Copy a plan or print it as a PDF
• Use the tool without creating an account

How the recommendation works

The planner uses a daily soil-water balance:

1. Reference evapotranspiration estimates the water being pulled from the soil.
2. A crop coefficient adjusts that estimate for the selected plant and growth stage.
3. Forecast rain is reduced to the portion likely to reach the root zone.
4. Soil texture and moisture answers provide an estimate of the available soil-water reserve.
5. PlotAI recommends watering when the projected reserve reaches the plant's stress point.

The result is an estimate, not a replacement for checking the soil, following local watering rules, or using professional agronomic advice.

Built with

• Next.js 15
• React 19
• TypeScript
• MapLibre GL
• Terra Draw
• Turf
• Open-Meteo
• MapTiler
• Vitest
• Playwright

Run it locally

You will need Node.js 20 or newer and pnpm.

git clone https://github.com/NavadeepBudda/plotai.git
cd plotai
pnpm install
cp .env.example .env.local
pnpm dev

Open http://localhost:3000.

MapTiler key

PlotAI uses MapTiler for address search and the satellite field-drawing experience. Add a browser-safe MapTiler key to .env.local:

NEXT_PUBLIC_MAPTILER_KEY=your_key_here

The key is intentionally prefixed with NEXT_PUBLIC_ because MapTiler loads in the browser. Restrict the key to the domains that run PlotAI from the MapTiler dashboard.

Useful commands

pnpm dev          # Start the local development server
pnpm typecheck    # Check TypeScript
pnpm lint         # Run ESLint
pnpm test         # Run unit and component tests
pnpm test:e2e     # Run browser tests
pnpm build        # Create a production build

Project structure

app/                         Next.js pages and server routes
components/water-plan/       Watering workflow and results interface
lib/water-plan/              Calculation, crop profiles, and unit conversions
public/media/                 Homepage video and product captures
tests/e2e/                    Browser and accessibility tests

Recognition

PlotAI was recognized through the Congressional App Challenge and has been supported by Congressman Rich McCormick and featured by student media.

Data and privacy

The current version does not create user accounts or store watering plans in a database. Answers remain in the active browser session unless the user copies or prints the result.

Media

The homepage irrigation footage was created by Ahmet Yüksek and is used under the Pexels license. Full media notes are recorded in public/media/SOURCES.md.