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Prashant Gupta
Prashant Gupta

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DevOps Future Task Reminders

#automation #aws #devops

Future Task Reminders

Node.js/Express dashboard to create and manage task reminders, store them in a MySQL database, and send reminder emails via SMTP when their trigger date/time is reached.

Features

  • Dashboard summary: See all tasks with counts of high, medium, and low priority.
  • Task form: Create a task with name, description, priority, trigger date/time, type, execution protection, and email recipients.
  • Execution Protection: Control how reminders are sent:
    • None (default): Reminder is sent once when trigger time is reached
    • Daily: Reminder is sent daily after trigger time until manually stopped
    • Weekly: Reminder is sent weekly after trigger time until manually stopped
    • Monthly: Reminder is sent monthly after trigger time until manually stopped
  • MySQL persistence: Tasks are stored in a MySQL table.
  • SMTP reminders: Dual schedulers check for due tasks and send emails via SMTP:
    • Immediate scheduler (REMINDER_CRON): Runs frequently for one-time reminders
    • Daily scheduler (DAILY_CRON): Runs daily for recurring reminders with execution protection

UI Screenshots

  • Create Account

Create Account

  • Login

Login

  • Task Dashboard

Task Dashboard

  • Task Lists

Task Lists

  • Email Reminder

Email Reminder

Prerequisites

  • Node.js (LTS recommended)
  • MySQL server
  • SMTP credentials (can be from any provider that supports SMTP)

1. Clone and install 

cd future-task-reminders
npm install
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2. Create the MySQL database

In MySQL:

CREATE DATABASE task_reminders CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
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You do not need to manually create the tasks table; it will be created automatically on server start via initializeSchema().

3. Environment variables

Create a .env file in the project root, for example:

PORT=3000

# MySQL
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=3306
DB_USER=root
DB_PASSWORD=your_db_password
DB_NAME=task_reminders

# SMTP
SMTP_HOST=smtp.your-email-provider.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_SECURE=false
SMTP_USER=your_smtp_username
SMTP_PASS=your_smtp_password
SMTP_FROM="Task Reminders <no-reply@example.com>"

# Reminder check schedule (cron expression, default is every minute)
# This scheduler handles immediate reminders for tasks with execution_protection='none'
REMINDER_CRON=*/1 * * * *

# Daily reminder check schedule (cron expression, default is 9 AM daily)
# This scheduler handles recurring reminders for tasks with execution_protection='daily' or 'weekly'
DAILY_CRON=0 9 * * *

# Session secret
SESSION_SECRET=change_me_for_production
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4. Run the app 

npm start
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Then open http://localhost:3000 in your browser.

5. Usage

  • Create tasks from the form on the dashboard with the following fields:
    • Task Name: Name of the task
    • Description: Optional description
    • Priority: High, Medium, or Low
    • Trigger Date & Time: When the reminder should be sent
    • Task Type: Public (visible to all) or Private (visible only to creator)
    • Execution Protection:
    • None: Send reminder once when trigger time is reached
    • Daily: Send reminder daily after trigger time (continues until changed to 'none')
    • Weekly: Send reminder weekly after trigger time (continues until changed to 'none')
    • Monthly: Send reminder monthly after trigger time (continues until changed to 'none')
    • Email Recipients: Comma-separated list of email addresses
  • View all tasks in the table, including their priority, trigger time, execution protection status, recipients, and whether the reminder email has been sent.
  • Edit tasks to update any field, including changing execution protection to stop recurring reminders.
  • Duplicate tasks to create new tasks based on existing ones.
  • The schedulers run at the intervals specified by REMINDER_CRON and DAILY_CRON:
    • Tasks with execution_protection='none' are sent once when trigger_at <= NOW() and is_reminded = 0
    • Tasks with execution_protection='daily' are sent daily after trigger time (if last_reminded_at is NULL or more than 1 day ago)
    • Tasks with execution_protection='weekly' are sent weekly after trigger time (if last_reminded_at is NULL or more than 1 week ago)
    • Tasks with execution_protection='monthly' are sent monthly after trigger time (if last_reminded_at is NULL or more than 1 month ago)
    • Tasks are prioritized by execution protection (daily > weekly > monthly > none), then by priority

6. Production deployment checklist

  • Environment variables
    • Set strong values for SESSION_SECRET, DB password, and SMTP credentials.
    • Use a production MySQL instance (managed service or your own server).
    • Point DB_HOST to the production DB host.
    • Configure REMINDER_CRON for immediate reminders (e.g., */1 * * * * for every minute).
    • Configure DAILY_CRON for recurring reminders (e.g., 0 9 * * * for 9 AM daily).
  • Security
    • Serve the app behind HTTPS (e.g. with Nginx/Traefik or a cloud load balancer).
    • Restrict MySQL and SMTP access to trusted networks only.
    • Rotate SMTP and DB credentials regularly.
  • App runtime
    • Run with NODE_ENV=production.
    • Use a process manager (e.g. pm2) or a container orchestration platform (Docker/Kubernetes) for restarts and health checks.
  • Email
    • Ensure your SMTP provider is configured for production (SPF/DKIM/DMARC) so reminder emails don’t land in spam.
  • Backups & monitoring
    • Enable regular backups for the task_reminders database.
    • Add basic monitoring/alerts for app errors and DB health.

7. Docker build & run

A simple Dockerfile is included to run the app in a container.

Build 

docker build -t future-task-reminders .
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Run (with external MySQL) 

docker run -d \
  --name future-task-reminders \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -e NODE_ENV=production \
  -e PORT=3000 \
  -e DB_HOST=your-mysql-host \
  -e DB_PORT=3306 \
  -e DB_USER=your_db_user \
  -e DB_PASSWORD=your_db_password \
  -e DB_NAME=task_reminders \
  -e SMTP_HOST=smtp.your-email-provider.com \
  -e SMTP_PORT=587 \
  -e SMTP_SECURE=false \
  -e SMTP_USER=your_smtp_username \
  -e SMTP_PASS=your_smtp_password \
  -e SMTP_FROM="Task Reminders <no-reply@example.com>" \
  -e REMINDER_CRON="*/1 * * * *" \
  -e DAILY_CRON="0 9 * * *" \
  -e SESSION_SECRET="your_strong_random_secret" \
  future-task-reminders
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Then access the app at http://localhost:3000.

Run with Docker Compose

A docker-compose.yml file is included for easier deployment with MySQL:

docker-compose up -d
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This will start both the MySQL database and the application. Make sure to update the environment variables in docker-compose.yml with your actual SMTP credentials and other configuration before running.

The compose file includes:

  • MySQL 8.0 database service
  • Application service with all required environment variables
  • Automatic volume persistence for database data

GitHub Link

https://github.com/prashantgupta123/future-task-reminders/tree/main

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