You download a productivity app to track simple tasks, then spend 20 minutes setting up projects, categories, and integrations just to add "buy milk" to a list.
I got fed up and built Zenith - a task manager that strips away everything except what you actually need.
The Problem with Modern Todo Apps
Most task managers suffer from feature creep. They want to be project management systems, team platforms, and life coaches all in one. The result? Apps that take longer to set up than your actual tasks.
What frustrated me most:
- Complex onboarding and account creation
- Feature overload (subtasks, dependencies, custom fields)
- Web-based limitations requiring constant internet
- Too many ways to organize one simple task
What I Built Instead
Zenith is a desktop app with one philosophy: task management should be fast and simple.
Core Features
- Visual calendar - Click any date to add tasks
- Drag & drop - Move tasks between dates easily
- One-click completion - No ceremony, just check it off
- Color coding - Six colors for visual organization
- Analytics dashboard - Simple productivity trends
What I Left Out
- No user accounts or cloud sync
- No team collaboration
- No complex project hierarchies
- No integrations with dozens of services
- No subscription pricing
Technical Stack
I kept it as simple as the UX:
- Frontend: Vanilla JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3
- Backend: Express.js with REST API
- Database: SQLite (single file)
- Desktop: Electron for cross-platform
The entire database is one table with 12 fields. The API is 5 endpoints. That's it.
Design Philosophy
Every feature decision came down to: "Does this help someone quickly add, complete, or reschedule a task?"
If no, it didn't make it in. This led to interesting constraints:
- No subtasks (break complex tasks into separate ones)
- Same-day deadlines only (focus on today)
- Limited time estimates (30 min to 8 hours)
Why It Works
It's fast. Adding a task takes 5 seconds vs navigating menus and forms.
It stays hidden. No upgrade prompts, no feature tips, no social elements.
Constraints help. Fewer options make you more decisive about priorities.
What's Next
Probably nothing major. The whole point is that it's done. It does what it needs to do.
I might fix bugs, but I won't add AI assistants or any bs. Zenith will remain a tool that gets out of your way.
Try Zenith: https://github.com/sardanioss/zenith
Built for people who believe task management should be simple, not complicated.
Top comments (8)
I enjoyed how simple and straightforward the code is, nicely done =D
No "fancy tooling" nor complex dependencies.
Congrats on the app!
Thankyou! I'm not really a js dev, thanks to claude code for helping me along the way in this project but being a dev I was able to make sure that dependency hell does not ruin the simplicity of it, please do checkout the program and lemme know if you like it or not. Thankyou!
🔥🔥🔥
Thank you for checking out my tool!
The best todo apps don’t add features, they remove friction. If the tool disappears and you just get work done, that’s when it’s designed right.
Indeed! Todo applications are supposed to save you time and act as a simple journal, that's it.
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