Most of us did not set out to collect project-management subscriptions. It happened slowly: Jira for the sprint board, Asana for the client list, Notion for notes that were supposed to stay notes, something else for the timeline, and a spreadsheet because the timeline lied. Every tool wanted an account, a sync server, and a monthly line on the card. Your tasks lived in their cloud. Your focus lived in their notifications.
That stack is expensive in money and attention. You are always one login screen away from the work.
ARPA Hellenic Logical Systems just shipped HPPM — High Priority Project Manager — a local-first Windows app that treats your disk as the source of truth. No cloud. No account. No rent. Apache 2.0 on GitHub.
The pain is familiar
Modern PM tools optimize for retention, not clarity. You upload your life, pay to access your own notes, and sit through upsells while trying to finish one task. Tabs multiply. Context scatters. If the vendor changes pricing or policy, your history is hostage.
HPPM starts from a different assumption: your work should stay in plain files you can read without anyone's permission.
What HPPM actually is
HPPM is not a social network, a sync service, or an ad surface. It is a desk you spread your work on.
Your tasks live in numbered markdown trackers — 01-work.md, 02-personal.md, and so on — with priority sections, checkboxes, and titles you can edit in any editor. Metadata (tags, dates, links, notes, audit history) sits in a .hppm/ folder beside those files. Nothing phones home.
The app adds what markdown alone cannot: six views, filters, drag-and-drop, analytics, and an audit trail — all offline.
Overview for open/done/overdue at a glance. Table (sheet or list) for spreadsheet scans. Kanban by priority or tracker. Timeline as Gantt lanes or calendar. Neural as a force-directed graph of links and clusters. Fruits as a "what should I tackle next?" ranker when the list is too long to parse.
Keyboard shortcuts (? for the full cheat sheet), fourteen themes, seven UI languages, and 36 persona templates if you want a seeded project on day one — resort ops, software sprint, clinic, indie founder, and others.
How it works (without the magic)
- Install the Windows app — HPPM_v026.exe from the v0.26 release.
- Pick a workspace folder or create a project from a template.
- Work. Drag cards, stretch timeline bars, filter by tag, complete tasks. HPPM writes back to markdown.
If the internet vanishes tomorrow, your trackers are still on your drive. Back them up like any folder. Diff them in git. Open them in Obsidian or VS Code. The app is the lens — not the landlord.
Developers can also run from source:
git clone https://github.com/ARPAHLS/hppm.git
cd hppm
npm install
npm run dev
Opens http://localhost:5173 — same UI, same API, no installer required.
Who it is for
Builders, operators, privacy-minded professionals, and anyone tired of SaaS sprawl — people who want one calm desk for priorities: offline, auditable, and free of recurring fees.
It is not for teams that need real-time multi-user sync out of the box. It is for individuals and small groups who value ownership over features that require a server bill.
Try it
- Download: HPPM_v026.exe
- Source & docs: github.com/ARPAHLS/hppm
- Publisher: arpacorp.net
We built HPPM because project management should feel like a workspace, not a subscription. If that resonates, take it for a spin — and tell us what breaks. Contributions and suggestions more than welcome.
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