# Feature Research

**Domain:** Personal Task/Notes Web App (self-hosted, single-user)
**Researched:** 2026-01-29
**Confidence:** MEDIUM (based on competitor analysis via WebFetch + domain knowledge)

## Feature Landscape

### Table Stakes (Users Expect These)

Features users assume exist. Missing these = product feels incomplete.

| Feature | Why Expected | Complexity | Notes |
|---------|--------------|------------|-------|
| Create/Edit/Delete items | Basic CRUD is fundamental | LOW | Text input with persistence |
| Distinguish tasks vs thoughts | Project requirement; users expect to filter by type | LOW | Boolean or enum field |
| Mark tasks complete | Core task management; every competitor has this | LOW | Status toggle |
| Cross-device access | Project requirement; web app enables this inherently | LOW | Responsive design |
| Search | Users expect to find content quickly; all competitors offer this | MEDIUM | Full-text search on title + content |
| Tags/labels | Standard organization pattern (Todoist, Bear, Simplenote all have) | MEDIUM | Many-to-many relationship |
| Image attachments | Project requirement for digitizing paper notes | MEDIUM | File upload, storage, display |
| Mobile-friendly UI | "Any device" access means mobile must work | MEDIUM | Responsive design, touch targets |
| Data persistence | Notes must survive restart | LOW | Database storage |
| Quick capture | Fast entry is table stakes (Todoist: "Capture...the moment they come to you") | LOW | Minimal friction input |

### Differentiators (Competitive Advantage)

Features that set the product apart. Not required, but valuable.

| Feature | Value Proposition | Complexity | Notes |
|---------|-------------------|------------|-------|
| OCR on images | Search text within uploaded images (Evernote, Bear Pro have this) | HIGH | Requires OCR library/service |
| Image annotation | Mark up photos of paper notes | HIGH | Canvas drawing, save state |
| Natural language dates | "tomorrow", "next Monday" (Todoist signature feature) | MEDIUM | Date parsing library |
| Recurring tasks | Habits and repeated items (Todoist core feature) | MEDIUM | RRULE or simple patterns |
| Offline support | Work without internet, sync later | HIGH | Service worker, conflict resolution |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Power user efficiency | LOW | Event handlers |
| Dark mode | User preference, reduces eye strain | LOW | CSS variables, theme toggle |
| Markdown support | Rich formatting without WYSIWYG complexity (Simplenote, Bear, Obsidian) | MEDIUM | Markdown parser + preview |
| Note linking | Connect related items (Obsidian's core feature) | MEDIUM | Internal link syntax, backlinks |
| Document scanning | Camera capture with perspective correction (Evernote) | HIGH | Camera API, image processing |
| Export/backup | Data portability, user owns data (Obsidian philosophy) | LOW | JSON/Markdown export |
| Drag-and-drop reorder | Intuitive organization (Todoist Upcoming view) | MEDIUM | Sortable library, persist order |
| Pin/favorite items | Quick access to important items (Bear) | LOW | Boolean field, UI section |
| Due dates with reminders | Time-sensitive tasks (all task apps have this) | MEDIUM | Date field + notification system |

### Anti-Features (Commonly Requested, Often Problematic)

Features that seem good but create problems for a personal, single-user app.

| Feature | Why Requested | Why Problematic | Alternative |
|---------|---------------|-----------------|-------------|
| Real-time collaboration | "Maybe I'll share with family" | Massive complexity (OT/CRDT), scope creep, conflicts with "personal" app | Export/share single notes manually |
| AI-powered categorization | Trendy, seems smart | Over-engineering for personal use; manual tags are clearer | Good tag UX + search |
| Complex folder hierarchies | "I want to organize everything" | Deep nesting causes friction; flat + tags is more flexible | Tags with hierarchy (nested tags) |
| Kanban boards | Looks nice, seems productive | Overhead for personal tasks; simple list often better | Optional board view later |
| Multiple note types | "Journals, wikis, tasks, etc." | Complicates data model, UI; blur the simple task/thought distinction | Two types (task/thought) with tags |
| Social features | Share achievements, collaborate | Out of scope for self-hosted personal app | None |
| Heavy WYSIWYG editor | "I want formatting" | Bloated, complex, mobile-unfriendly | Markdown with preview |
| Notifications/alerts on web | Keep me on track | Browser notifications are annoying, unreliable | Focus on capture, not nagging |
| Version history | "I might want to undo" | Storage overhead, complexity for personal use | Simple edit; consider soft-delete |
| Multi-user/auth | "Maybe I'll share the server" | Security complexity, out of scope | Single-user by design |

## Feature Dependencies

```
[Search]
    └──requires──> [Data persistence]

[Tags]
    └──requires──> [Data persistence]
    └──enhances──> [Search] (filter by tag)

[Image attachments]
    └──requires──> [Data persistence]
    └──requires──> [File storage]

[OCR on images]
    └──requires──> [Image attachments]

[Image annotation]
    └──requires──> [Image attachments]

[Markdown support]
    └──enhances──> [Create/Edit items]

[Note linking]
    └──requires──> [Data persistence]
    └──enhances──> [Search] (backlink discovery)

[Recurring tasks]
    └──requires──> [Mark tasks complete]

[Due dates with reminders]
    └──requires──> [Distinguish tasks vs thoughts]

[Offline support]
    └──conflicts──> [Real-time collaboration] (sync conflicts)
    └──requires──> [Data persistence]

[Export/backup]
    └──requires──> [Data persistence]
```

### Dependency Notes

- **OCR requires Image attachments:** Cannot search images if they don't exist
- **Tags enhance Search:** Tag filtering is a search feature
- **Offline conflicts with Real-time collab:** Sync conflict resolution is hard; single-user sidesteps this
- **Recurring tasks require completion status:** Need to know when to regenerate

## MVP Definition

### Launch With (v1)

Minimum viable product based on project requirements:

- [x] Create/Edit/Delete items (task or thought) -- core CRUD
- [x] Distinguish tasks vs thoughts -- project requirement
- [x] Mark tasks complete -- essential task management
- [x] Image attachments -- project requirement for digitizing paper notes
- [x] Tags for organization -- project requirement
- [x] Search -- project requirement
- [x] Mobile-responsive UI -- "any device" requirement
- [x] Containerized deployment -- project requirement

### Add After Validation (v1.x)

Features to add once core is working:

- [ ] Dark mode -- low complexity, high user satisfaction
- [ ] Keyboard shortcuts -- power user efficiency
- [ ] Pin/favorite items -- quick access to important items
- [ ] Export to JSON/Markdown -- data portability
- [ ] Due dates on tasks -- natural extension of task type
- [ ] Drag-and-drop reorder -- better organization UX

### Future Consideration (v2+)

Features to defer until product-market fit is established:

- [ ] Markdown support -- adds complexity to editing
- [ ] Natural language dates -- requires parsing library
- [ ] Recurring tasks -- adds state machine complexity
- [ ] OCR on images -- requires external service/library
- [ ] Note linking -- changes how users think about the app
- [ ] Offline support -- significant complexity (service worker, sync)

## Feature Prioritization Matrix

| Feature | User Value | Implementation Cost | Priority |
|---------|------------|---------------------|----------|
| Create/Edit/Delete | HIGH | LOW | P1 |
| Task vs Thought distinction | HIGH | LOW | P1 |
| Mark complete | HIGH | LOW | P1 |
| Image attachments | HIGH | MEDIUM | P1 |
| Tags | HIGH | MEDIUM | P1 |
| Search | HIGH | MEDIUM | P1 |
| Mobile-responsive | HIGH | MEDIUM | P1 |
| Dark mode | MEDIUM | LOW | P2 |
| Keyboard shortcuts | MEDIUM | LOW | P2 |
| Pin/favorite | MEDIUM | LOW | P2 |
| Export | MEDIUM | LOW | P2 |
| Due dates | MEDIUM | MEDIUM | P2 |
| Drag-and-drop | MEDIUM | MEDIUM | P2 |
| Markdown | MEDIUM | MEDIUM | P3 |
| Natural language dates | LOW | MEDIUM | P3 |
| Recurring tasks | MEDIUM | HIGH | P3 |
| OCR | LOW | HIGH | P3 |
| Note linking | LOW | MEDIUM | P3 |
| Offline support | LOW | HIGH | P3 |

**Priority key:**
- P1: Must have for launch (MVP)
- P2: Should have, add when possible (v1.x)
- P3: Nice to have, future consideration (v2+)

## Competitor Feature Analysis

| Feature | Todoist | Bear | Simplenote | Obsidian | Our Approach |
|---------|---------|------|------------|----------|--------------|
| Task management | Core focus | Checkbox in notes | Basic lists | Plugin | First-class task type |
| Notes/thoughts | Via descriptions | Core focus | Core focus | Core focus | First-class thought type |
| Image attachments | Yes | Yes (with sketching) | No | Yes | Yes, for paper note capture |
| Tags | Yes (labels) | Yes (with icons) | Yes | Yes | Yes, simple tags |
| Search | Advanced filters | OCR search (Pro) | Instant search | Full-text | Full-text + tag filter |
| Sync | Cloud (their servers) | iCloud | Cloud (their servers) | Local-first, optional sync | Self-hosted, cross-device via web |
| Markdown | Limited | Yes | Yes | Yes (core) | Defer to v2 |
| Offline | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (local-first) | Defer to v2 |
| Mobile | Native apps | Native (Apple only) | Native apps | Native apps | Responsive web |

**Our differentiation:** Self-hosted, single-user simplicity with explicit task/thought distinction and image attachment for digitizing paper notes. No account required, no cloud dependency, you own your data.

## Confidence Notes

| Section | Confidence | Rationale |
|---------|------------|-----------|
| Table Stakes | HIGH | Verified against Todoist, Bear, Simplenote, Evernote via WebFetch |
| Differentiators | MEDIUM | Based on competitor features; value proposition is hypothesis |
| Anti-Features | MEDIUM | Based on domain experience; specific to single-user context |
| Dependencies | HIGH | Logical dependencies from requirements |
| MVP Definition | HIGH | Derived directly from project requirements |

## Sources

- Todoist features page (verified via WebFetch)
- Obsidian home page (verified via WebFetch)
- Bear app home page (verified via WebFetch)
- Simplenote home page (verified via WebFetch)
- Evernote features page (verified via WebFetch)

---
*Feature research for: Personal Task/Notes Web App*
*Researched: 2026-01-29*
