thinkering
A mobile app for adults' personal learning. You tell thinkering what you want to learn and why; it builds a pedagogically sound path of well-scoped goals and generates short, interactive activities each day — introduce something new, strengthen what you know, and put it to use.
Status: in beta. Intake, Today, the activity player, Path, History, Me, backup and sync, the landing site and anonymous analytics are built; what's left before TestFlight is in RELEASING.md. Not built yet: a share extension, reminders, widgets, dark mode and an Android polish pass.
Getting started
pnpm install
cp apps/mobile/.env.example apps/mobile/.env # configure local app integrations as needed
pnpm verify # typecheck + lint + tests — the gate for every PR
pnpm --filter @thinkering/mobile dev # Expo dev server (press i for iOS simulator)
pnpm --filter @thinkering/web dev # landing page at localhost:3000
Dev builds run in fixture AI mode: every generation is a recorded response, so the whole app works offline, at no cost, with no API key. Set EXPO_PUBLIC_AI_MODE=proxy for real generations. To start over, Me → Settings → Developer clears or reseeds the data.
The development guide — repo layout, rules, commands, how to change the database or a prompt — is AGENTS.md. It's written for coding agents and applies to everyone. To contribute, see CONTRIBUTING.md.
Principles
- Local-first. Your learning data lives on your device (SQLite). Supabase backup and sync is optional and off by default.
- Small, honest AI. Claude generates paths and activities through a thin metered proxy; prompts are versioned, inspectable code, not black boxes.
- Calm interface. Minimal text, clear daily structure (Next / Strengthen / Go further), no gamification noise.
- Grounded in learning science. Activities are built from a library of learning strategies with research behind them.
Docs
| Doc | What it covers |
|---|
| 00-overview | Vision, vocabulary, decisions |
| 01-product-spec | How each part of the app behaves |
| 02-architecture | Stack, local-first storage, sync, AI access, security |
| 03-data-model | What each table is for, and the invariants |
| 04-ai-pipeline | Every model call: trigger, model, contract, cost controls, failures |
| 05-activity-format | The Activity Document format and renderer contract |
| 06-library | The activity library (learning strategies) |
| 07-design-system | Color, type, texture, components, voice |
| 08-analytics-and-privacy | What's collected, what isn't, and the privacy disclosures |
| 10-testing | What gets tested, and what deliberately doesn't |
|
Stack
pnpm monorepo · Expo (iOS-first, Android + web capable) · expo-router · TypeScript strict · expo-sqlite + Drizzle ORM · Next.js on Vercel (landing + API proxy) · Claude API · Supabase (optional backup/sync, usage metering) · Featurebase (community feedback) · Resend (private feedback) · PostHog (anonymous, on by default, off with one toggle) · NativeWind + shared Tailwind tokens.
License
The code is licensed under AGPL-3.0 (see LICENSE).
