Backlogz is a mobile application developed using React Native and Expo, conceived during the SF Hacks 2025 hackathon. It helps you manage a backlog of topics or ideas and quickly generate listenable AI-powered audio summaries for review.
- Topic Management: Add, view, and manage your list of topics or ideas within the app.
- AI-Generated Audio Summaries: Select a topic and Backlogz uses the Google Gemini API to generate a concise, podcast-style script.
- Text-to-Speech Playback: Listen to the generated summaries directly within the app using the device's native TTS capabilities.
- Quick Play: Randomly select and play a topic from your backlog for spontaneous review.
- Intuitive UI: Simple navigation using tabs for managing your backlog and playing summaries.
- (Planned/Partial): Cloud storage integration (potentially Firebase) and note management associated with topics.
- Frontend: React Native, Expo
- Language: TypeScript
- Navigation: Expo Router (File-based routing)
- AI: Google Gemini API
- Speech: Expo Speech
- Local Storage: AsyncStorage (for topic list)
- (Potential): Firebase (for cloud storage/other features)
Managing and reviewing a growing backlog of ideas, articles, or notes can be overwhelming and time-consuming. It's easy for valuable thoughts to get lost. Backlogz addresses this by transforming static text entries into easily digestible AI-generated audio summaries, making review effortless and passive.
- Node.js (LTS version recommended)
- npm or yarn
- Expo Go app on your mobile device or an Android/iOS simulator setup.
- Google Gemini API Key: You need an API key from Google AI Studio. Get one here.
-
Clone the repository:
git clone <your-repository-url> cd back-logz
-
Install dependencies:
npm install # or # yarn install
-
Add your Gemini API Key:
- Open the file
app/(tabs)/index.tsx. - Find the line:
const GEMINI_API_KEY = 'YOUR_API_KEY_HERE'; - Replace
'YOUR_API_KEY_HERE'with your actual Google Gemini API key. - Note: For production apps, it's strongly recommended to use environment variables (e.g., via a
.envfile andexpo-constants) instead of hardcoding keys directly in the source code.
- Open the file
-
Start the development server:
npx expo start
-
Run the app:
- Scan the QR code shown in the terminal with the Expo Go app on your device.
- Or, press
ato run on an Android emulator,ifor an iOS simulator, orwfor web (if configured).
- Add Topics: Navigate to the "My Topics" (or similarly named) tab. Use the interface provided to add the topics or ideas you want to keep track of.
- Quick Play: Go to the "Quick Play" tab. Tap the large play button to have the app randomly select a topic from your list, generate an audio summary using Gemini, and play it back using Text-to-Speech.
- Stop Playback: While playing, a stop button will appear if you wish to interrupt the audio.
- Notes Feature: Implement functionality to add, view, and edit detailed notes associated with each topic.
- Cloud Storage/Sync: Explore integrating Firebase (or another cloud solution) for backing up topics and potentially enabling cross-device synchronization.
- Improved Error Handling: Enhance feedback for API errors or speech generation issues.
- Configuration: Allow users to configure voice/speed for Text-to-Speech.
- User Accounts: Implement user authentication for personalized backlogs.
- Topic Organization: Add features like tagging or categorization for topics.
- Web Interface: Consider a web-based version for managing topics.
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details. (Ensure a LICENSE file exists in the repo).
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to fork the repository, make your changes, and submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.
This project was created during SF Hacks 2025.