I Built a Free Pantry Inventory App — And I'm Building It in Public
What if a small restaurant didn't need to pay for expensive inventory software just to know what's in its pantry?
That question led me to build something.
👉 Pantry Inventory App: https://pantryinventoryapp.com/
The idea is simple: create a lightweight, practical inventory management application that can be useful for small and medium-sized restaurants, cafés, cloud kitchens, and food businesses — without adding another expensive monthly subscription.
But there's another part of this project that I'm excited about.
🚀 I'm Building It in Public
Why build another inventory application?
There are plenty of inventory management products available today.
Many of them are powerful, polished, and designed for businesses with larger budgets.
But small restaurants often have different needs.
They don't necessarily need a huge enterprise platform with hundreds of features.
Sometimes they just need to answer simple questions:
What ingredients do I have?
How much stock is left?
What's running low?
What is going to expire?
What did I use?
What do I need to purchase?
I wanted to explore whether a simple application could solve these problems without making the software itself another financial burden.
🛠️ The Stack
For this project, I deliberately kept the technology relatively simple.
Backend
ASP.NET Core / .NET
The application is built using .NET, providing the backend APIs and application logic.
Database
SQLite
I'm using SQLite because the application doesn't need a massive database infrastructure at this stage.
It's lightweight, easy to deploy, easy to back up, and works particularly well for a project like this.
Hosting
Linux
The application is hosted on a Linux VPS.
The current setup is roughly:
Internet
│
▼
pantryinventoryapp.com
│
▼
Nginx
│
├── HTTPS / SSL
│
▼
ASP.NET Core
│
▼
SQLite
Nginx handles the public-facing web traffic and HTTPS, while the .NET application runs behind it.
The SSL certificate is provided by Let's Encrypt and is configured for automatic renewal using Certbot.
Why SQLite?
For this particular project, I didn't want to introduce infrastructure just because it was available.
SQLite gives me:
A simple deployment model
No separate database server
Minimal infrastructure
Easy backups
Easy local development
Low operational overhead
As the project grows, I may eventually move to another database depending on actual usage and requirements.
But right now, SQLite is doing exactly what I need.
🌍 Building in Public
This is perhaps the most important part of the project.
I'm not presenting this as a finished enterprise product.
I'm building it openly and learning along the way.
That means the application will evolve based on:
Real users → Real feedback → Real problems → Real improvements
I want to hear from restaurant owners.
I want to hear from developers.
I want to hear from people who have managed inventory manually with spreadsheets, notebooks, WhatsApp messages, or a dozen different tools.
What would actually make your life easier?
👨💻 I'm Asking the DEV Community for Help
If you're a developer, I'd love for you to take a look at the project.
Try the application.
Break it.
Give me feedback.
Tell me what you think is missing.
Tell me what you would build differently.
And most importantly:
📢 Please share it.
If you know a restaurant owner, café owner, cloud kitchen operator, or small food business that might benefit from a simple inventory tool, send them the link.
👉 https://pantryinventoryapp.com/
Even one restaurant using it and giving feedback would be incredibly valuable.
❤️ This Is More Than Just Another Side Project
For me, this project is an experiment in something I believe strongly in:
Useful software doesn't always have to be expensive software.
A small business deserves access to good technology too.
And as developers, we have an opportunity to build tools that solve real problems — not just chase the next feature or framework.
So I'm going to keep building in public.
I'll share what I learn about:
.NET and ASP.NET Core
SQLite
Linux hosting
Nginx
HTTPS and Certbot
Deployment
Performance
Security
Product decisions
User feedback
And, inevitably, the things that go wrong 😄
🙏 Help Me Find the First Users
If you're interested in following the journey, I'd really appreciate a follow, share, comment, or contribution.
And if you have a restaurant or food business:
Please try it and tell me what you think.
👉 Pantry Inventory App: https://pantryinventoryapp.com/
I'm especially interested in hearing from small and medium-sized restaurants that currently use spreadsheets, notebooks, or expensive inventory software.
Your feedback could directly influence what gets built next.
🚀 Let's Build This in Public
This is just the beginning.
One application.
One problem.
One user at a time.
Let's see what we can build in public.
Top comments (0)