AuggieTaskManager

Desktop task manager built with Electron and React (TypeScript), backed by a Django REST API and PostgreSQL. Users can manage tasks (including Moodle calendar import), profiles, authentication, and study groups.

Stack

Layer	Technologies
Desktop UI	Electron (Electron Forge, Webpack), React 19, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS 4, DaisyUI
API	Django 5.2, Django REST Framework, token authentication
Database	PostgreSQL (default: 127.0.0.1:5432)

Linting: Ruff (Python, config in repo-root pyproject.toml), ESLint / Prettier (frontend npm run lint / npm run format).

Prerequisites

• Node.js (LTS) and npm (Node.js downloads)
• Python 3.10+
• PostgreSQL running and reachable on port 5432 (PostgreSQL downloads)

1. PostgreSQL setup

Create the database role and database Django expects (defaults in backend/auggietaskmanager/auggietaskmanager/settings.py: user auggie, password auggie, database auggietaskmanager).

Windows (PowerShell, psql):

# Connect as a superuser (e.g. postgres). Use the password you set for the postgres user.
psql -U postgres

# In the psql prompt:
CREATE USER auggie WITH PASSWORD 'auggie';
CREATE DATABASE auggietaskmanager OWNER auggie;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE auggietaskmanager TO auggie;
\c auggietaskmanager
GRANT ALL ON SCHEMA public TO auggie;
\q

macOS / Linux:

sudo -u postgres psql

# In the psql prompt:
CREATE USER auggie WITH PASSWORD 'auggie';
CREATE DATABASE auggietaskmanager OWNER auggie;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE auggietaskmanager TO auggie;
\c auggietaskmanager
GRANT ALL ON SCHEMA public TO auggie;
\q

On macOS with Homebrew, you can often use psql postgres instead of sudo -u postgres psql, depending on your install.

2. Backend (Django)

Create and use a virtual environment, install dependencies, and apply migrations.

Windows:

cd backend
python -m venv venv
.\venv\Scripts\activate
cd auggietaskmanager
pip install -r requirements.txt
python manage.py migrate
cd ..\..

macOS / Linux:

cd backend
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
cd auggietaskmanager
pip install -r requirements.txt
python manage.py migrate
cd ../..

Optional: Django admin at http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin/:

cd backend/auggietaskmanager
../venv/bin/python manage.py createsuperuser   # macOS / Linux
# Windows: ..\venv\Scripts\python.exe manage.py createsuperuser

The app also exposes REST routes under /tasks/, /users/, and /groups/ (see backend/auggietaskmanager/auggietaskmanager/urls.py).

3. Frontend (Electron + React)

From the repository root:

cd frontend/AuggieTaskManagerFrontend
npm install

On Windows, use cd frontend\AuggieTaskManagerFrontend.

4. Run the app

The Electron client calls the API at http://127.0.0.1:8000 by default (frontend/AuggieTaskManagerFrontend/src/config.ts). The dev server policy in forge.config.ts allows requests to that host. If you change the backend host or port, update API_BASE (and CSP connect-src if needed).

Start PostgreSQL, then run both the Django server and the Electron app.

Option A: VS Code

1. Open the repo in VS Code or Cursor.
2. Terminal -> Run Task... (or Command Palette -> Tasks: Run Task).
3. Choose Start App (Windows) or Start App (macOS).

• On Windows, Ctrl+Shift+B runs the default build task (Start App (Windows)).

Two terminals open: Django and Electron. Keep both running while developing.

Option B: Two terminals manually

Terminal 1 (Backend)

Windows:

cd backend\auggietaskmanager
..\venv\Scripts\python.exe manage.py runserver

macOS / Linux:

cd backend/auggietaskmanager
../venv/bin/python manage.py runserver

This serves the API at http://127.0.0.1:8000 by default.

Terminal 2 (Frontend)

Windows:

cd frontend\AuggieTaskManagerFrontend
npm start

macOS / Linux:

cd frontend/AuggieTaskManagerFrontend
npm start

npm start runs Electron Forge (electron-forge start) with the Webpack plugin.

5. Linting and formatting

From the repository root (with the backend venv activated if ruff is only installed there, or install ruff globally):

ruff check backend
ruff format backend

Frontend (from frontend/AuggieTaskManagerFrontend):

npm run lint
npm run format

Project layout

• backend/venv/: Python virtualenv for Django (create locally; not committed by default).
• backend/auggietaskmanager/: Django project (manage.py, auggietaskmanager/settings.py) and apps such as moodle (tasks / Moodle-related API), users, groups.
• frontend/AuggieTaskManagerFrontend/: Electron Forge app (main, preload, React renderer).
• pyproject.toml: Ruff configuration for the backend tree.
• .vscode/tasks.json: Start App (Windows) and Start App (macOS) composite tasks (backend + frontend in parallel).

For more detail on the renderer’s folder conventions, see frontend/AuggieTaskManagerFrontend/README.md.