Philosophy
Restraint is the product.
Every tool must reduce time on screen
This is the only test. A tool can be clever, beautiful and useful, and still fail it. If using the tool means looking at a phone for longer than not using it, the tool does not belong here. Most of these tools want to be used for under a minute and then ignored.
No accounts, no tracking, no backend
Nothing here needs to know who you are. There are no servers, no analytics, no cookies. The only place anything is remembered is your own device, in plain local storage that you can clear. Every tool works offline once it has loaded.
No feeds, no streaks, no notifications
These are the three mechanics that turn a tool into a habit. We use none of them. Nothing scrolls forever. Nothing counts your consecutive days. Nothing will ever buzz to bring you back. If a tool keeps a record, it shows you a plain count, once, when you ask.
Read aloud, not read alone
Wherever possible a tool produces something to be said out loud, printed, or handed to someone else. Large type that can be read from across a table. Prompts that make sense spoken. Paper where paper is better.
Calm by design
Muted colour on warm cream. Generous space. One typeface. Nothing flashes, bounces or begs. Dark mode is candlelight, not a terminal. Touch targets are large enough for a phone held at arm's length, because that is how far away we hope it stays.
Honour, not enforcement
Nothing here can stop you picking up your phone, and nothing tries very hard to. The tools trust the people using them. Where they measure anything, they measure gently and forget quickly.
Contributors: please read docs/principles.md before proposing a new tool.