TermLife

terminal-inspired productivity · built in public · currently: day 5 of 100

user@life % today
 
  TermLife v1.0 — terminal-inspired productivity
  ──────────────────────────────────────────────
  tasks    [####------]  4/10 complete
  habits   [######----]  3/5 complete   🔥 streak: 12 days
  focus    [##########]  25 min session done
  journal  encrypted · biometric locked
 
  type 'help' to see all commands.
 
user@life % _

What is TermLife?

TermLife is a privacy-first productivity app for iPhone that wraps your tasks, habits, focus timer, and encrypted journal inside a clean terminal interface. You type commands — the app responds. No tabs, no icons, no noise. Just you and your system.

It's for developers, power users, and anyone who thinks the command line is the most honest UI ever designed.

Building from zero iOS experience — I architect the system, own every product and technical decision, and use Claude as the execution engine to close the gap between vision and shipped code. Following Paul Hudson's 100 Days of SwiftUI to build real, independent understanding alongside a real product. Currently on Day 6. Every commit is documented.

Features

user@life % help
 
  COMMANDS AVAILABLE
  ──────────────────
  today       daily overview — tasks + habits + focus snapshot
  tasks       manage your task list with priorities
  add         add task:  add "ship v1.1" --priority high
  complete    mark done: complete 3
  habits      view all habits and streaks
  check       log habit: check "morning run"
  focus       start 25-min pomodoro timer with ASCII progress
  journal     encrypted private journal — FaceID locked
  dashboard   neofetch-style system overview
  stats       weekly productivity metrics  [PREMIUM]
  help        this screen

Core

• Task Manager — priority-tagged tasks (HIGH / MED / LOW), list and complete via command
• Habit Tracker — streak counters, daily check-ins, consistent ASCII progress bars
• Focus Timer — Pomodoro-style timer with live ASCII bar and local notification on completion
• Journal — AES-encrypted with CryptoKit, key stored in iOS Keychain only, optionally gated behind FaceID/TouchID
• Dashboard — neofetch-style daily snapshot combining all four modules
• Stats — weekly productivity metrics (Premium)
• Home Screen Widget — aggregate stats on your lock screen, no sensitive data shown (Premium)

Design principles

• Dark #0a0a0a background, amber #f0c040 prompt
• Monospace font throughout — no system UI chrome
• ASCII progress bars: [###-------] format
• Zero emoji anywhere in the interface
• user@life % prompt — always visible, always ready

Privacy & Security

TermLife was designed security-first, not security-after.

Guarantee	Implementation
Fully offline	Zero URLSession calls. Works in Airplane Mode. Always.
Encrypted journal	CryptoKit AES-GCM. Encrypted before SwiftData write.
Keychain-only key	Encryption key never touches UserDefaults.
Biometric gate	LocalAuthentication — FaceID / TouchID, opt-in.
No CloudKit	SwiftData local-only. iCloud sync is off by design.
Widget safety	Only non-sensitive aggregate data. Journal content never rendered in widget.

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Language	Swift 5
UI	SwiftUI
Persistence	SwiftData (local, no CloudKit)
Encryption	CryptoKit (AES-GCM)
Monetisation	StoreKit 2 (auto-renewable subscriptions)
Auth	LocalAuthentication (FaceID / TouchID)
Notifications	UNUserNotificationCenter
Widgets	WidgetKit + App Group shared container
Min target	iOS 17

Architecture

Every architectural decision — CommandRouter design, encryption strategy, freemium gates — was made by me, implemented with Claude's assistance.

TerminalView
    └── CommandParser
            └── CommandRouter
                    ├── TaskCommand      → TaskManager (SwiftData)
                    ├── HabitCommand     → HabitManager (SwiftData)
                    ├── FocusCommand     → FocusTimer
                    ├── JournalCommand   → JournalManager (CryptoKit + SwiftData)
                    ├── DashboardCommand → aggregates all managers
                    └── StatsCommand     → StatsManager [PREMIUM]

Pricing

TermLife is free to download with a generous free tier.

	Free	Premium
Tasks	Up to 5	Unlimited
Habits	Up to 3	Unlimited
Journal	7-day history	Unlimited
Stats command	—	✓
Home screen widget	—	✓
Themes	Default	Multiple
FaceID journal lock	✓	✓
Price	Free	$1.99/mo · $14.99/yr

The yearly plan works out to ~$1.25/month. No dark patterns. Cancel any time from iOS Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions.

Built in Public

This app is being built from scratch — zero prior iOS experience — following Paul Hudson's 100 Days of SwiftUI. I define the architecture, make every product decision, and use Claude as the tool that makes it possible to ship at this pace. Claude wasn't just the fastest option — it was the only tool that could explain its own output well enough for me to actually learn from it. Every session, every commit, every mistake is documented in real time.

Follow the build:

• 📺 YouTube — build log vlogs
• 🎵 TikTok — short-form build clips
• 📸 Instagram — behind the scenes
• 🐦 X / Twitter — thoughts and updates
• 🐘 Mastodon — for the open web crowd

The full build guide (architecture decisions, StoreKit setup, CryptoKit integration, App Store submission checklist) is documented in BUILDGUIDE.md.

Build Roadmap

100 days of SwiftUI. One app. Here's where things stand.

Each Swift concept maps directly to a product decision — learning the language through the app, not alongside it. This is a session-based build: progress moves when sessions happen, not on a fixed calendar.

Phase 1 — Swift + Terminal UI Shell (Days 1–15)

• Day 1–2 — Variables, booleans, string interpolation
• Day 3–4 — Arrays, enums → Priority.swift
• Day 5–6 — Conditionals and loops
• Day 7–8 — Functions + error handling → TerminalUtils.swift ← currently here
• Day 9 — Closures
• Day 10–11 — Structs → data models (Task, Habit, JournalEntry)
• Day 12–15 — Protocols, optionals → TerminalView + CommandParser on iPhone
• 🏁 Milestone: Terminal UI shell running on iPhone

Phase 2 — Tasks, Habits + SwiftData Persistence (Days 16–30)

• SwiftUI basics, @State, @StateObject
• TaskManager + HabitManager with SwiftData
• Streak tracking, date formatting
• CommandRouter wiring all commands end to end
• 🏁 Milestone: Tasks and habits save to disk — works in Airplane Mode

Phase 3 — Focus Timer, Dashboard, Journal + Encryption (Days 31–50)

• FocusTimer with animated ASCII progress bar
• DashboardCommand (neofetch-style)
• JournalManager with CryptoKit AES-GCM encryption
• StatsCommand with weekly metrics
• 🏁 Milestone: Journal entries encrypted at rest on device

Phase 4 — Freemium + Biometric Lock (Days 51–65)

• PremiumManager with StoreKit 2 subscriptions ($1.99/mo · $14.99/yr)
• PaywallView + PremiumGate modifier
• Feature limits enforced (5 tasks, 3 habits, 7-day journal on free)
• FaceID / TouchID journal lock
• TermLifeWidget home screen widget
• 🏁 Milestone: Purchase + FaceID both work on TestFlight

Phase 5 — Polish + App Store Submission (Days 66–80)

• OnboardingView (first launch)
• Command autocomplete bar
• Full security audit
• Accessibility labels + privacy policy
• App Store screenshots + metadata
• 🏁 Milestone: Submitted to App Store

Phase 6 — Review Buffer + Launch (Days 81–100)

• Apple review buffer
• Fix any rejections
• 🏁 Milestone: TermLife live on the App Store

Support the Project

TermLife is indie software built by one person, in public, from day one. If you believe in the project and want to support the build, Patreon is the best way to do it.

You can also:

• ⭐ Star this repo — it genuinely helps with discoverability while the app is being built
• 📣 Share it — recommend it to someone who'd love a terminal productivity app
• 💬 Open an issue — ideas, suggestions, and feedback welcome at any stage of the build
• 📺 Follow the build — watch it happen in real time on YouTube and TikTok

Find TermLife online:

Getting Started (Development)

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/termlife.git
cd termlife
open TermLife.xcodeproj

Requires Xcode 16+, iOS 17+ device or simulator. A physical iPhone is recommended for testing biometric and StoreKit sandbox flows.

No external dependencies. No package manager. Pure Swift.

Contributing

Issues and PRs are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request.

For bug reports, include: iOS version, device model, steps to reproduce, and the exact terminal output you saw.

License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.

Journal encryption and biometric logic may not be repurposed in apps that weaken or bypass security guarantees described in this README.

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user@life %  ·  built by Ilayda  ·  terminal-inspired productivity

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