$ cd ../journal
[Engineering][Dev Journal]

Dev Journal: Jan 13, 2026

>Richard Hallett#Tuesday, January 13, 2026

The day focused on building robust, systematic approaches to development workflow - implementing automated backup infrastructure in dotarch and completing a fully-featured CLI Task Manager with comprehensive testing in ralphff. Both projects emphasized reliability, automation, and systematic veri...

Development Journal - 2026-01-13

Overview

The day focused on building robust, systematic approaches to development workflow - implementing automated backup infrastructure in dotarch and completing a fully-featured CLI Task Manager with comprehensive testing in ralphff. Both projects emphasized reliability, automation, and systematic verification of functionality.

Active Projects: 2 Total Commits: 16

Cross-Project Themes

  • Systematic automation and workflow optimization

  • Infrastructure and maintenance tooling development

  • Comprehensive implementation with thorough verification

  • Focus on reliability and systematic approaches to development

Projects

dotarch

Commits: 1 | Files Changed: 4

Implemented an automated daily backup system using systemd user services and timers, establishing a systematic approach to repository maintenance.

Highlights

  • Set up automated daily backup system using systemd timers

  • Configured gitmaxxing service for automated git operations

  • Established systematic backup workflow

Technical Decisions

  • Used systemd user services instead of cron for automation

  • Implemented timer-based scheduling for backup operations

  • Integrated backup automation into shell environment via bashrc

Learning Moments

  • Exploring systemd user services for personal automation

  • Setting up systemd timers and targets for scheduled tasks

ralphff

Commits: 15 | Files Changed: 6

Successfully completed development of a comprehensive CLI Task Manager application with full CRUD functionality, persistence, and testing. The day involved iterative development sessions resulting in a feature-complete application with comprehensive verification.

Highlights

  • Successfully completed a fully functional CLI Task Manager with all 5 required commands (add, list, complete, delete, search)

  • Implemented comprehensive feature set including JSON persistence, due dates with overdue detection, priority levels, and tags support

  • Achieved comprehensive test coverage with 40 unit tests and >85% coverage

  • Added color support for overdue tasks and clean error handling

  • Created detailed verification documentation confirming all success criteria were met

Technical Decisions

  • Chose JSON for data persistence over other storage options

  • Implemented comprehensive test suite with focus on high coverage (>85%)

  • Added color coding for task status visualization

  • Used tag-based search functionality alongside title search

Learning Moments

  • Appears to be working with Claude Code AI pair programming workflow

  • Exploring comprehensive testing strategies with focus on coverage metrics

  • Learning session-based development workflow with checkpoint commits

Originally generated by gitmaxxing

$ git remote -v

dotarchralphff
$ git log --oneline -1 HEAD~1Dev Journal: Jan 12, 2026$ git log --oneline -1 HEAD@{1}Dev Journal: Jan 14, 2026