Built a local-first mood journal in React Native — and the boring sync parts nearly broke it

Description and use

MoodMO is a local‑first mood journal built with React Native/Expo, offering optional Supabase sync and privacy‑focused design.

Problem

Need a private, single-player mood journal that records relationship context without forcing social or therapeutic framing.

Outcome

MoodMO delivers a private, local-first mood journal with optional cloud sync, respecting user privacy and avoiding common pitfalls of generic mood apps.

Workflow

• 1. Record entry locally in AsyncStorage as JSON.
• 2. Optionally sign in to enable Supabase sync.
• 3. Use Profile to upload (push) or pull data; pull replaces server‑shared IDs, push uploads rows with updatedAt newer than last sync.
• 4. Soft delete stamps deletedAt; permanent delete inserts tombstone in cloud table.
• 5. Widget (Soft Stack) displays weather/garden snapshot via App Group UserDefaults.
• 6. AI features run only if Groq key present at build time, sending aggregates to provider.
• 7. No telemetry or Sentry; data sent over HTTPS when synced.

Evidence

I built MoodMO for myself first, in React Native / Expo. It is currently published on the iOS App Store —not Android.

Source

Local-first storage (and an honest at-rest gap). Entries live on-device first as JSON in AsyncStorage (guest key vs per-user key).

Source

Optional sync uses Supabase when you sign in. Auth session tokens use SecureStore; diary entries do not.

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Soft delete stamps deletedAt (recycle bin can restore). Permanent delete inserts a tombstone id for signed-in users; pull/push filter those ids so another device cannot resurrect a purged entry.

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Upload and pull are separate actions—not one automatic pipeline.

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Widget as hostile multi-process storage (iOS). Soft Stack never receives diary body, people names, or audio paths—only a whitelist snapshot.

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