Dev Diary #1: Building an Open Source PM Tool for Developers

As a software engineer, I've used almost every project management tool on the market. Jira, Asana, Linear, Trello, Monday... you name it, I've used it. While these tools have their place in massive corporations, I've realized that for many of us, Jira has become overbloated. It’s a labyrinth of loading spinners and nested menus that gets in the way of actually writing code. I wanted something that lived where I lived: the terminal.

The Vision: A Keyboard-First Experience

The plan is to build a blazingly fast TUI (Terminal User Interface) that prioritizes speed and simplicity. The goal is an issue tracker that feels like part of your development environment, not a separate chore you have to "log into" every morning.

The Architecture

To keep the tool lean but powerful, I’ve chosen a stack that balances performance with a robust backend:

• The Client (TUI): Built with Rust using ratatui. This allows for a highly responsive interface that handles instantaneous navigation and keyboard shortcuts without the overhead of a browser engine.
• Backend / API: .NET Core. I’m leveraging the mature ecosystem of .NET to handle persistent data and business logic.
• Database: PostgreSQL for a rock-solid relational foundation.

What's Next?

In this Dev Diary series, I'll be documenting the entire process of building this system in public. My goal is to open-source the entire codebase within the next 3 months. Next week, I'll dive deep into the communication layer between the Rust TUI and the .NET API, and how I'm handling state synchronization to ensure the terminal stays fast. Stay tuned!