taskplaner/.planning/research/FEATURES.md

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:

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

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