Journal App

A personal desktop journal application built with Python and CustomTkinter. Write daily entries, track your mood, and navigate your past through a built-in calendar.

---

Features

• Password protected — secure login with bcrypt hashing and a password hint system
• Daily entries — write journal entries for any day, with auto-refresh after saving
• Mood tracking — tag each entry with a mood (Happy, Neutral, Sad, Angry, Tired, Energetic)
• Mood calendar — each day is color coded by mood
• Calendar navigation — browse any month and year to find past entries
• Entry indicators — days with entries are visually distinct from empty days
• Selected day highlight — always know which day you are viewing
• Password reset — use hint button for a previously set hint or reset password resetting all entries together

---

What I Explored Building This

This was my first real Python project after completing the Boot.dev Python and many other courses. Here is what I had an opportunity to do more of:

• CustomTkinter — build desktop UIs with frames, grids, buttons, labels, textboxes and popups
• SQLite3 — design a database, write SQL queries, using primary keys and INSERT OR REPLACE
• bcrypt — hash and verify passwords securely
• OOP — build classes, inheritance, pass callbacks between screens
• App architecture — separate concerns across multiple files (login.py, setup.py, journal.py, calendar_widget.py, database.py)
• Database client pattern — set up persistent connection instead of opening/closing per query
• Caching — cache month entries to reduce database calls on the calendar
• Git — commit, push and manage a lovely project on GitHub
• Debugging — read tracebacks, use print statements, fix scope and naming issues

---

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x+
• pip

Installation

Steps

1. Clone the repository:

git clone git@github.com:lillysilly3/journal.git
cd journal

2. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Run the app:

python main.py

On first launch you will be prompted to create a password. After that you can log in and start journaling!

---

Project Structure

journal/
├── main.py                    # App entry point
├── app/
│   ├── screens/
│   │   ├── login.py           # Login screen
│   │   ├── setup.py           # Password setup screen
│   │   └── journal.py         # Main journal screen
│   ├── components/
│   │   ├── calendar_widget.py # Calendar component
│   │   └── moods.py           # Mood definitions
│   └── utils/
│       ├── database.py        # SQLite database client
│       └── theme.py           # App color theme
├── assets/                    # Reserved for future assets
├── requirements.txt
├── LICENSE
└── .gitignore

---

Future Ideas

• Wallpaper customization
• Settings menu (change password, toggle mood tracker, customization)
• Search through entries by keyword
• Auto update after release