A rough start

Ten days ago, the first version, 0.1.0, was released. Even though the beginning has been rough, I was pleasantly surprised by the warm reception Grimoire has received, and I'm deeply appreciative of all the positive feedback and encouragement Grimoire has received thus far.

In this post, I want to give you a new and more detailed roadmap and answer some questions from HN and Reddit in a short Q&A format, so please bear with me.

Fixes, fixes, fixes

First things first, let me apologize for the state of the application during the first few days. Finding an interesting project and not being able to try it out is not fun. I've been working constantly to fix the most critical issues related to the deployment and configuration, and while there is still a lot to do, the situation is much better now. Still, you just cannot expect people to forget about the first impression, but I hope you'll give Grimoire another chance.

At its current state, Grimoire is just the foundation for what I want it to be. It won't be a simple task, though. I'm mostly working on it on my own, and I'm doing it in my spare time, so it's not going to be a quick trip, but I'm pretty sure it'll be worth it. Not everything that could be expected from even a more basic bookmark manager is there yet or behaves as expected, so it is my top priority to fix that. If you are a Svelte enthusiast and want to help, or know someone who might be interested, please get in touch!

This step is very important to me, as it will allow for easier and faster development in the future. So, what's next?

The refreshed roadmap

Official browser extension is a given in the near future

You want it, I want it, and Grimoire needs it, so it's a no-brainer. When the time comes that there are no issues with the core functionality, I'll start working on it. The extension will be designed to work with every major browser, so you won't be left out.

The features are yet to be defined, but you can expect the basic ones, like adding bookmarks, searching, and maybe even some AI-powered features. I'm open to suggestions, so if you have any ideas, please share them!

Better documentation, because we all deserve it

From the basic definitions, through the installation and configuration, to the usage and troubleshooting, it will all be covered. If you have your own configuration that you want to share that can be useful for others, please do so! I'll be happy to include it in the official documentation and give you credit for it!

Imports and exports

I know that many of you are waiting for this one. I'm planning to add support for importing bookmarks from other services and exporting them to most popular file formats, like HTML (Netscape Bookmark File Format) and more content-rich JSON. Stay tuned for more details!

External API for smooth and safe external integrations

We all have our favorite tools and services, so why not put them to good use with Grimoire? The external API will allow you to integrate Grimoire with other services - safely and securely. I'm a big fan of open source and open standards, so I'll do my best to keep it that way.

The initial versions of it will be crafted alongside the browser extension, AI capabilities, and the initial batch of importers. After that, it will be stabilized and documented (planned compatibility with the OpenAPI specification). It will be exciting to see what you come up with!

Open AI compatible APIs integration

Did I mention AI? I did, and the whole thing does feel a little magical, doesn't it? I'm aiming to integrate Grimoire with free AI solutions, giving you handy options like auto-tagging suggestions, content summarization, and more. Work on this was already underway before the first release, but it will take some time to get it right.

You can expect support for OpenAI-compatible APIs and Ollama! It's completely up to you if you'd like to, and you can choose to join or not at any time.

Let's share our knowledge

The support for public profiles and categories will probably not be a surprise to anyone. You'll have full control over what you're going to share and what you're going to keep private.

Are you looking to share a great collection of bookmarks with the world? Or maybe you hope to see that remarkable collection of neat recipes your friend has? No problem, you will be able to do that!

Admin panel improvements

It's not a secret that the admin panel is still a work in progress, to put it mildly. Don't expect much from it yet, but with the addition of the above features, it will be improved as well.

Archive it!

Dealing with dead links is a pain, so we'll fight them with the power of archiving! I'm planning to add support for archiving bookmarks using The Wayback Machine, so you won't have to worry about their expiration anymore.

There are more very interesting solutions out there, so I'll be looking into them as well.

What about the rest?

You have been very vocal about the features you want to see in Grimoire, and I have a good batch of ideas myself. But as you can see, there is a lot to do already, so they will have to wait a bit.

Meanwhile, we can discuss them, create mockups, and fill the backlog with them. Let's not let any knowledge or ideas be lost!

Q&A

And last but not least, the Q&A part. I've tried to group the questions and ideas together, so it's easier to follow.

Q: Will there be an option to to save the pages locally?

A: At the moment, the HTML content is fetched and saved in its raw form and text-only version. However, it isnt working for all websites. But with the addition of the archiving feature, and possible custom integrations, it won't be long before you will be able to safely store your precious bookmarks as PDFs or images.

Q: Thought about a semantic search?

A: It would be great to have, but it's not a priority at the moment. The search currently focuses on the title, description, URL, and tags, and it also supports fuzzy search. The system has been improved in the last few days and should work faster and be more reliable now.

Q: How about a way to add bookmarks from the browser?

A: The browser extension is meant to be the way to go, but I'm also planning to add a bookmarklet. It will be a rather simple, temporary solution, but still more convenient than copy-pasting the URL all the time.

Let's get back to work!

That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed this post and are as excited about the future of Grimoire as I am. If you have any questions or ideas, please share them by creating an issue on GitHub or by sending me an email. I'll be happy to hear from you!

May the magic be in your favor ✨️