a self-hosted version of postbaby.org

This was created out of necessity for a sticky-note solution with rapid arrangement, editing, and color-coding capability, thanks to its intuitive key-bindings.

🖼️ Supported on both landscape and portrait-oriented monitors, as well as mobile devices.

Important

Docker users upgrading: this is not a drop-in upgrade for old Docker deployments. The old static/Caddy container behavior is gone. The container now runs the Go app on port 8080, Compose maps 8080:8080, /app/data is required for persistence, and first run uses /setup. Read docs/NAS.md before upgrading.

Important

Browser-local v1.35 users upgrading: old flat localStorage["items"] notes are not auto-migrated in this release. Upgrading will usually show a fresh board or default notes instead of the old v1.35 notes. The old raw browser storage may still exist in the browser profile, but the current app does not surface or import it.

Important

After upgrading: if the app looks broken, hard refresh once. Installed PWA users should close and reopen the app, and if needed clear site data. Static/PWA upgrades can behave oddly when filenames and paths change.

⚡Install

Browser-local / ephemeral

• Clone the repository and open index.html directly, or serve the repo root as static files.
• No backend, login, or server sync is required.
• Notes stay in this browser only.

Self-hosted Docker / NAS

1. Rename .env.example to .env.
2. Run:

docker compose up --build -d

3. Open http://localhost:8080/.
4. On a fresh database, Postbaby redirects to /setup.
5. Create the bootstrap user and sign in.

The default Compose setup persists data in ./postbaby-data on the host and mounts it to /app/data in the container. For NAS and Portainer-specific setups, see docs/NAS.md.

🧭 Modes

• static: browser-local / ephemeral behavior, no login, no server sync.
• selfhosted: Go backend + SQLite + /setup + /login + cookie-session sync.
• cloud: hosted signup/login/logout + entitlement-gated account sync + billing-aware flows.

💾 Storage

• The current app uses IndexedDB as the primary browser-local store.
• Current-era browser-local keys can be migrated into IndexedDB or used as fallback data if needed.
• In self-hosted mode, the browser stays local-first and syncs account-backed snapshots to the server.
• Export and import are available from Settings in the current app.

Origin warning: browser-local notes live in the storage bucket for the exact origin you used. https://postbaby.org, http://localhost:8080, and file://... do not share data. If you test locally on a different origin, do not expect notes from another origin to appear automatically.

🧱 Frontend Artifact

• The app serves the committed js/script.js file directly.
• Self-hosters do not need to build or regenerate frontend assets for normal deployment.
• Maintainer-only scripts such as npm run build:public-js, npm run verify:public-js, and npm run test:public-js-build are used only when updating the generated frontend artifact.

⌨️ Desktop Usage Instructions

• Right-click on blank canvas or press n to create a new item.
• Right-click on an existing item (or tab) to delete it, or drag the item to the toilet roll to delete.
• Left-click on an existing item (or tab) to cycle through its colors.
• Double-click on an existing item (or tab) to edit its text.
• Press Delete to remove the current multi-selection.
• Press c to clear all items in the active tab.
• Press Tab to cycle tabs and Shift + Tab to cycle in reverse.
• Press keys 1-9 to jump to corresponding tabs.
• Press g to cycle grid modes in the active tab.
• Press CTRL + right-click to move to the next shape.
• Press SHIFT + CTRL + right-click to move to the previous shape.
• Drag on empty canvas to create a multi-selection box.
• Hold Shift and drag from an item to draw a line.
• Hold Ctrl and drag from an item to draw an arrow.
• Press CTRL + ALT + H to re-enable first-time-run welcome notes.
• Left-click the toilet roll / trash icon to open settings.

📱 Mobile Usage Instructions

• Long-press to create a new item.
• Long-press an existing item (or tab) to delete it.
• Double tap to edit an existing item (or tab) text.
• Single tap an existing item (or tab) to change its color.
• Single tap the toilet roll / trash icon to open settings.
• Desktop keyboard shortcuts still work if a physical keyboard is connected.

🐳 Upgrade Notes

• Old static/Caddy Docker deployments are not interchangeable with this build.
• The app now ships as one codebase with a Go backend for self-hosted sync mode.
• The self-hosted container listens on 8080, not 80.
• Persistent data must be mounted to /app/data.
• First-run account setup happens at /setup.
• Existing users should read docs/NAS.md before upgrading.

📜 License

Please see the accompanying LICENSE document contained within this repository.

🧑🏻 Social & Donate

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