nullboard

Nullboard

Nullboard is a minimalist take on a kanban board / a task list manager, designed to be compact, readable and quick in use.

https://nullboard.io/preview

The name also happens to abbreviate to NB, which I think is a nice touch.

Dead simple

• Single-page web app - just one HTML file, an ancient jQuery package and a webfont pack.
• Can be used completely offline. In fact, it's written exactly with this use in mind.

Locally stored

• All data is stored locally, for now using localStorage.
• The data can be exported to- or imported from a plain text file in a simple JSON format.
• The data can also be automatically backed up to a local disk with the help of:
  • Nullboard Agent - a native Windows app
  • Nullboard Agent Express Port - an express.js-based portable app
  • nbagent - a version for Unix systems, in Python

Still very much in beta. Caveat emptor and all that.

UI & UX

The whole thing is largely about making it convenient to use.

Everything is editable in place, all changes are saved automatically and last 50 revisions are kept for undo/redo:

New notes can be quickly added directly where they are needed, e.g. before or after existing notes:

Notes can also be dragged around, including to and from other lists:

Nearly all controls are hidden by default to reduce visual clutter to its minimum:

Longer notes can be collapsed to show just the first line, for even more compact view of the board:

The default font is Barlow - it's both narrow and still very legible. Absolutely fantastic design!

Notes can also be set to look a bit different. This is useful for partitioning lists into sections:

Links starting with https:// and http:// are recognized. They will "pulse" on mouse hover and can be opened via the right-click menu.

Pressing CapsLock will highlight all links and make them left-clickable.

Lists can be moved around as well, though not as flashy as notes:

The font can be changed; its size and line height can be adjusted:

The color theme can be inverted:

Also:

• Support for multiple boards with near-instant switching
• Undo/redo for 50 revisions per board (configurable in the code)
• Keyboard shortcuts, including Tab'ing through notes

Caveats

• Written for desktop and keyboard/mouse use
• Essentially untested on mobile devices and against tap/touch input
• Works in Firefox, tested in Chrome, should work in Safari and may work in Edge (or what it's called now)
• Uses localStorage for storing boards/lists/notes, so be careful around clearing your cache

You spot a bug, file an issue.

Dockerized version

See this fork.

Background

Nullboard is something that handles ToDo lists in the way that works really well. For me that is.

Tried a lot of options, some were almost it, but none was 100%.

Trello wasn't bad, but never was comfortable with the idea of storing my data in cloud without any actual need.

Wekan looked promising, but ultimately too heavy and had no offline usage support or a local storage option.

Things was beautiful, but not the right tool for the job.

Inkscape - I kid you not - with a laundry list of text items was actually OK, but didn't scale well.

Ditto for the plain text files.

Pieces of paper were almost there, but rearranging items can be quite a hassle.

So finally got annoyed enough to sit down and write exactly what I wanted.

And, voilà, Nullboard came out => https://nullboard.io/preview

License

The 2-clause BSD license with the Commons Clause.

That is, you can use, change and re-distribute it for as long as you don't try and sell it.

Updates

Primary feed is through @nullboard on Twitter.

The changelog is here => https://nullboard.io/changes