# BitPill
> **Work in progress.** A personal medication management application built in Rust.
BitPill helps individuals manage their daily medications — tracking pills, dosages, and schedules in one place.
It is being built with a focus on reliability and correctness, because when it comes to medication, errors matter.
---
## Why did I build this?
I built BitPill to solve a personal problem: managing my complex medication regimen for a chronic condition.
This was developed because my medications are expensive and if I don't take them correctly, I risk my health and waste money.
I can have convulsions if I miss doses, so I need a reliable way to track when to take each medication and ensure I dont forget.
By building my own, I can tailor it exactly to my needs and ensure it works correctly.
---
## Prerequisites
- [Rust](https://rustup.rs/) (edition 2024, stable toolchain)
- [just](https://github.com/casey/just) — task runner (`cargo install just` or via your package manager)
### Observation
BitPill is designed to be simple to run locally without a lot of external dependencies.
It uses **JSON** as the storage format and keeps data in memory for simplicity.
This means there are no database setup steps required.
If you have `Rust` and `just` installed you can install all dependency tools with `just tools`.
---
## Starting the application
BitPill ships a TUI built with [ratatui](https://ratatui.rs).
Run with `just run-tui` or `cargo run --release`.
### REST API (WIP)
The REST API is under development and not yet released. To enable it locally:
```bash
cargo build --features rest-api
```
---
## Terminal UI (TUI)
BitPill ships a TUI built with [ratatui](https://ratatui.rs).
This project was intended to be a terminal application from the start, so the TUI is the primary interface and the REST API is a secondary delivery adapter that still needs work.
### TUI keyboard shortcuts
#### VIM Modes
The TUI uses a VIM-like modal interface with two main modes:
- **Normal mode** for navigation.
- **Insert mode** for typing into form fields.
When you first open the app, you start in Normal mode. Press `i` to enter Insert mode when a form field is selected, and `Esc` to return to Normal mode.
##### Normal mode
| Medication list | `c` | Open the create-medication form |
| Medication list | `j` / `↓` / `l` | Move selection down |
| Medication list | `k` / `↑` / `h` | Move selection up |
| Medication list | `v` | Open medication details |
| Medication list | `Enter` | Open medication details |
| Medication list | `e` | Edit selected medication |
| Medication list | `d` | Delete selected medication |
| Medication list | `t` | Open mark-dose screen |
| Medication list | `s` | Show instruction (use `v` to open details first) |
| Medication list | `g` | Open settings |
| Medication list | `q` | Quit |
| Medication details | `s` | Open Mark-as-taken selection for today's slots/records |
| Medication details | `e` | Edit medication |
| Medication details | `Esc` | Go back to list |
| Confirm delete | `y` | Confirm delete |
| Confirm delete | `n` / `Esc` | Cancel and go back |
| Confirm quit | `y` | Confirm quit |
| Confirm quit | `n` / `Esc` | Cancel and go back |
| Create/Edit form | `Tab` / `→` / `l` | Next field |
| Create/Edit form | `j` / `↓` | Next field |
| Create/Edit form | `←` / `h` | Previous field |
| Create/Edit form | `k` / `↑` | Previous field |
| Create/Edit form | `i` | Enter insert mode |
| Create/Edit form | `Enter` | Submit the form |
| Create/Edit form | `Esc` | Exit insert mode / Cancel and go back |
| Create/Edit form | `d` | Delete custom time slot (when on times field with Custom frequency) |
| Mark dose | `j` / `↓` | Move selection down |
| Mark dose | `k` / `↑` | Move selection up |
| Mark dose | `Enter` | Confirm mark as taken |
| Mark dose | `Esc` | Cancel and go back |
| Schedule result | any key | Dismiss and go back |
##### Insert mode
You have to be in insert mode to type into form fields.
Press `i` to enter insert mode when a form field is selected, and `Esc` to exit back to normal mode.
### Validation and modals
- Input validation errors (e.g., invalid amount or malformed time slots) are shown in a modal over the current screen. The background is dimmed to focus the modal; press Esc or Enter (or any key) to dismiss and return to the form.
- Shortcuts are contextual: actions such as "mark as taken" are only available on screens that support them (for example, `s` for marking doses is only active inside the Medication Details screen).
### REST API
**Status: WIP** — The REST API is under development and not yet ready for production use.
---
## Development
### Running tests
```bash
just test # full suite with coverage (cargo llvm-cov)
```
### Default recipe (CI-equivalent)
Runs formatting check, lint, and tests with coverage in one command:
```bash
just
```
### All tasks
```bash
just build # cargo build
just run # cargo run --release (TUI)
just test # tests + coverage report
just lint # cargo clippy -- -D warnings
just fmt # cargo fmt
just fmt-check # formatting check only
just lint-workflows # validate .github/workflows/*.yml with actionlint
just clean # cargo clean
just tools # install rustfmt, clippy, cargo-llvm-cov
```
---
## Architecture
BitPill follows **Hexagonal Architecture** (Ports & Adapters). Dependencies always point inward — outer layers know about inner layers, never the reverse.
```
┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Presentation Layer │
│ (TUI) │
├──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Infrastructure Layer │
│ (Persistence, Clock, Notifications) │
├──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Application Layer │
│ (Use-Case Services, Ports) │
├──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Domain Layer │
│ (Entities, Value Objects) │
└──────────────────────────────────────────┘
↑ Dependencies point inward ↑
```
### Layer responsibilities
| **Domain** | Core business rules — `Medication`, `DoseRecord`, `Dosage`, `ScheduledTime`, etc. Zero external dependencies; pure logic only. |
| **Application** | Use-case services (`CreateMedicationService`, `MarkDoseTakenService`, `ScheduleDoseService`, `ListAllMedicationsService`). Defines port traits that infrastructure implements. |
| **Infrastructure** | Concrete adapters: `InMemoryMedicationRepository`, `InMemoryDoseRecordRepository`, `SystemClock`, `ConsoleNotificationAdapter`. Wired together in `container.rs`. |
| **Presentation** | Delivery adapters — `tui/` (ratatui terminal UI, **WIP**: `rest/` actix-web HTTP API) |
### Module layout
```
src/
├── domain/
│ ├── entities/ # Medication, DoseRecord
│ └── value_objects/ # Dosage, MedicationId, ScheduledTime, TakenAt, …
├── application/
│ ├── dtos/ # Request/response DTOs
│ │ ├── requests.rs
│ │ └── responses.rs
│ ├── ports/ # Trait definitions + fakes/ (test doubles)
│ │ ├── inbound/
│ │ ├── outbound/
│ │ └── fakes/
│ └── services/ # Use-case implementations
├── infrastructure/
│ ├── clock/ # SystemClock, SystemScheduledTimeSupplier
│ ├── notifications/ # ConsoleNotificationAdapter
│ ├── persistence/ # JSON repositories
│ └── container.rs # Composition root
└── presentation/
└── tui/ # ratatui app + screens + event handling
```
### Dependency rule
| `presentation` → `application` ✅ | `domain` → anything outer ❌ |
| `presentation` → `domain` ✅ | `application` → `infrastructure` ❌ |
| `infrastructure` → `application` ✅ | `application` → `presentation` ❌ |
| `application` → `domain` ✅ | `infrastructure` → `presentation` ❌ |
---
## Contributing
### Software structure
```
src/application/
├── dtos/
│ ├── requests.rs # All request DTOs (one file)
│ └── responses.rs # All response DTOs (one file)
├── ports/
│ ├── inbound/ # Port traits (one per file)
│ ├── outbound/ # Repository/trait ports
│ └── fakes/ # Test doubles
└── services/ # Use-case implementations
```
### Adding a new use case
1. **Add DTOs** — add `Request` and `Response` structs to `dtos/requests.rs` and `dtos/responses.rs`.
2. **Define the port** — create `src/application/ports/my_action_port.rs` with a trait.
3. **Implement the service** — create `src/application/services/my_action_service.rs`. No I/O allowed.
4. **Add a fake** — create test doubles in `src/application/ports/fakes/`.
5. **Wire the container** — add concrete adapters in `src/infrastructure/`, then wire in `container.rs`.
6. **Expose in presentation** — add a TUI handler (REST is WIP).
### Code conventions
- **One primary type per file** — filename matches the type.
- **DTOs in one file** — all requests in `requests.rs`, all responses in `responses.rs`.
- **Imports grouped at file top** — use the `crate::application::{ ... }` pattern.
- **Unit tests** — in `#[cfg(test)]` at bottom of source file.
- **Integration tests** — in `tests/` at crate root.
- **No magic numbers** — use named constants.
- **Domain stays pure** — no `chrono`, `uuid`, `async`, or I/O in `src/domain/`.
### Running the full check suite
This is equivalent to what CI runs:
```bash
just # fmt-check + lint + test with coverage
```
All of these must pass before a contribution is considered complete.
### Validating workflows before push
Use [`actionlint`](https://github.com/rhysd/actionlint) to statically validate all workflow files without needing a runner or Docker:
```bash
# Install (one-time)
# Validate
just lint-workflows
```
`actionlint` checks: YAML syntax, `${{ }}` expression types, shell scripts (via shellcheck), action inputs, and `env:` variable usage.
To also *run* workflows locally end-to-end (requires Docker), use [`act`](https://github.com/nektos/act):
```bash
# Install
# Dry-run (resolves actions, validates steps without executing)
act push --dry-run
act pull_request --dry-run
# Run a specific workflow
act push -W .forgejo/workflows/lint.yml
act push -W .forgejo/workflows/run-tests.yml
act pull_request -W .forgejo/workflows/commit-check.yml
act pull_request -W .forgejo/workflows/check-branch.yml
```
> **Forgejo note:** workflows use `actions/checkout@v4` and `actions/cache@v4`. These resolve from GitHub if your instance has `DEFAULT_ACTIONS_URL = https://github.com` in `app.ini`, or from `code.forgejo.org` if you prefix them with `https://code.forgejo.org/`.