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An Electron desktop application that provides an enhanced frontend for a self-hosted JetBrains YouTrack instance.
Vermilian features a high-density work queue for triaging and managing YouTrack tasks across table and Kanban views.
I decided not to design yet another project-management backend because YouTrack already manages the projects and workflows I need.
So I created Vermilian as a better frontend alternative with a dense work queue, table view, task popouts, and a Pomodoro timer.
Vermilian also features a fully functional Kanban board for quick task review.
v1.0.0 — first public release. Vermilian is feature-complete against its specification and available from GitHub Releases and package managers (see Installation).
- Built and working: the monday.com-style task board (table + Kanban) with grouping, filtering, and sorting; the task detail panel with inline field editing; the full Pomodoro focus timer (state machine, focus-mode lock, quit protection, crash-recovery checkpointing, and an automatic YouTrack worklog on stop); the AI and daily stand-up flows; layered credential storage; and light/dark themes.
- Tested: unit tests cover the core logic (including 28 for the timer state machine), with an end-to-end (Playwright) suite over the board, detail panel, settings, timer, AI, and stand-up flows. Verified on Linux (Fedora 42); the macOS and Windows builds are published but less extensively exercised.
Vermilian is a cross-platform desktop app that connects to your self-hosted YouTrack via its REST API and provides a focused, opinionated interface for daily task and project management. YouTrack is the backend and source of truth; Vermilian is the client.
Each release is published to GitHub Releases and to a package manager per platform. Pick your platform below.
Download Vermilian-*-x86_64.AppImage from the latest release, then:
chmod +x Vermilian-*-x86_64.AppImage
./Vermilian-*-x86_64.AppImageAn AppImage is one self-contained file that runs on any modern x86_64 distribution — no install step. For a desktop menu entry, use AppImageLauncher.
Raspberry Pi (arm64): the x86_64 AppImage will not run on a Pi. Build a native arm64 AppImage on a 64-bit Pi yourself — see Target platforms.
Requires Homebrew. Add the tap once, then install the Cask:
brew tap kevinpinscoe/tap # add the tap (one time)
brew install --cask vermilian # install Vermilian.app into /Applications
# later:
brew upgrade --cask vermilian # update to the newest release
brew uninstall --cask vermilian # removeThe tap + Cask in one line also works: brew install --cask kevinpinscoe/tap/vermilian.
Prefer a manual install? Download the Apple Silicon (arm64) .dmg from the release and
drag Vermilian to Applications. (Intel Macs are not yet served — see Target platforms.)
Unsigned build: Vermilian is not yet notarized with an Apple Developer ID, so Gatekeeper reports that the app "cannot be opened" or "is damaged." The Homebrew Cask clears the quarantine flag for you automatically. For the manual
.dmg, run this once after dragging it in:xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Vermilian.app
Requires Scoop. Add the bucket once, then install:
scoop bucket add kevinpinscoe https://github.com/kevinpinscoe/scoop-bucket # add the bucket (one time)
scoop install vermilian # install
# later:
scoop update vermilian # update to the newest release
scoop uninstall vermilian # removePrefer a manual install? Download and run the Squirrel Vermilian-*Setup.exe from the release.
These are the features that shape Vermilian. They are built and working; the app is feature-complete against its spec and shipping as of v1.0.0 (see Status):
- Pomodoro focus timer — a single-task focus tool built around ADHD work patterns. Running a timer puts the app into a focus mode; stopping it logs the elapsed minutes as a YouTrack work item. Defaults to Pomodoro cycles (25-minute work blocks, breaks, long break every four), with an open-ended mode as well.
- monday.com-style board — a high-density task board with colour-coded status, priority, and category chips, grouping, filtering, and sorting; table and Kanban views.
- Layered credential sources — read your YouTrack token from a shell command (e.g. a secrets manager), a file path, or the OS keyring — whichever fits your setup.
- Cross-platform desktop — Linux (x86_64 AppImage), macOS (Apple Silicon
.dmg), and Windows. Intel macOS and Raspberry Pi / arm64 Linux can be built from source (see Target platforms).
Captured against built-in demo data — no real YouTrack instance required.
Task board — grouped by status, with priority and category chips:
Dark theme:
Task detail panel — inline field editing and a built-in Pomodoro timer:
Pomodoro focus timer — focus mode with a work-block countdown; stopping logs a YouTrack worklog:
Settings — the Connection section, with layered credential sources (shell command, file path, or OS keyring):
| Platform | Artifact | Architecture | v1.0.0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux (Fedora / Ubuntu) | AppImage | x86_64 | published |
| macOS (Apple Silicon) | .dmg |
arm64 | published |
| Windows 11 | Squirrel installer + Scoop | x86_64 | published |
| macOS (Intel) | .dmg |
x86_64 | build from source |
| Raspberry Pi OS | AppImage | arm64 (64-bit only) | build from source |
CI currently publishes Linux x86_64, macOS arm64, and Windows x86_64. The other two architectures build natively from source with the same command (run on the target machine):
cd app
mise install && corepack enable pnpm
pnpm install
pnpm make
# Intel Mac → app/out/make/Vermilian-<ver>-x64.dmg
# 64-bit Pi → app/out/make/AppImage/x64/Vermilian-<ver>-arm64.AppImageAutomated Intel-macOS (macos-13) and arm64-Linux (ubuntu-24.04-arm) runners are planned for a
follow-up release.
| Layer | Choice |
|---|---|
| App shell | Electron (electron-forge) |
| UI framework | React 18 + TypeScript |
| Design system | monday.com Vibe — React component library for monday.com-style UI |
| Package manager | pnpm |
| Diagramming | D2, Mermaid (Kroki) |
The app lives in app/. The toolchain is pinned by mise.toml (Node 24.15.0); pnpm comes from corepack, not the system. Neither is active in a stock non-interactive shell, so each session needs the mise node bin on PATH:
# one-time
mise trust # trust the pinned mise.toml
mise install # install Node 24.15.0
corepack enable pnpm # enable pnpm 11 (uses the mise node)
# every session
export PATH="$HOME/.local/share/mise/installs/node/24.15.0/bin:$PATH"Then, from app/:
pnpm install
pnpm start # run app in development (Electron + Vite HMR)
pnpm lint # ESLint
pnpm package # electron-forge bundle (no GUI needed)
./node_modules/.bin/tsc --noEmit # type-check onlySystem /usr/bin/node on Fedora is v22 — too old. Always use the mise-managed v24.
pnpm 11.5 config gotcha: block-exotic-subdeps=false in app/.npmrc is silently ignored by pnpm 11.5+ and pnpm add fails with ERR_PNPM_EXOTIC_SUBDEP on @electron/rebuild's git subdep. The canonical form is blockExoticSubdeps: false in app/pnpm-workspace.yaml, mirroring how nodeLinker is configured there. The .npmrc line is kept as a legacy marker.
Vermilian targets a monday.com-style visual experience: high-density boards, strong colour-coded status and priority chips, left-rail navigation, and inline editing without full-page reloads. The monday.com Vibe Design System provides the React component library, theming tokens, and accessibility guidelines used throughout the app.
Theme colours are defined in app/src/renderer/theme.ts. Two independent palettes let the left nav and the main board have different text colours:
| Variable | Where it applies |
|---|---|
--nav-header-text-color |
Left rail — workspace name, "All tasks" link |
--nav-primary-text-color |
Left rail — project names |
--nav-secondary-text-color |
Left rail — folder names, issue-count badges |
--primary-text-color |
Board — task titles, column headers |
--secondary-text-color |
Board — issue IDs, secondary labels |
To tune colours live without editing source, use the Electron DevTools colour picker:
- Run the app (
pnpm startfromapp/). - Press Cmd+Option+I (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+I (Linux/Windows) to open DevTools.
- In the Elements panel, find
<style id="vermilian-theme-overrides">. - Click any hex colour value — the browser's built-in colour picker opens.
- Adjust until satisfied, then copy the final hex values back into
DARK_PALETTEintheme.ts.
Vermilian is built spec-first using Spec Driven Design (SDD). Feature specs in spec/features/ define what the app must do before any code is written. Claude Code implements against those specs.
See spec/README.md for the full SDD workflow.
| Phase | Goal |
|---|---|
| 0 | Dev environment — tools installed, YouTrack API verified |
| 1 | SDD design — specs, wireframes, ADRs, API contracts |
| 2 | Coding — implement from specs |
| 3 | Testing — unit + E2E tests, cross-platform smoke tests |
| 4 | Public release — GitHub migration, CI/CD, first versioned release |
Phase 2 increment 1 (Foundation + Settings) is shipped but has a few known deviations from the specs/wireframes that will be cleaned up in follow-up work:
- Confirmations are inline
AttentionBoxpanels, not VibeModal/AlertDialog. The Reset-to-defaults confirm is implemented; the Cancel-with-unsaved-credentials confirm is not yet (Cancel currently discards immediately). - Test connection messages show the raw API error string rather than the friendly 401-vs-network strings the Settings spec calls for (e.g. "Invalid token or insufficient permissions.").
- Theme switching toggles
light-app-theme/dark-app-themeclasses on the app root div. These are the standard Vibe theme classes, but the visual switch has not been confirmed in a graphical session yet. blockExoticSubdepsconfig moved (see Local development above) —app/.npmrckeeps the legacy entry for older pnpm; pnpm 11.5+ requires the canonical form inapp/pnpm-workspace.yaml.
vermilian/
├── app/ # Electron app root (electron-forge, Vite, React 18, Vibe)
│ ├── src/
│ │ ├── main/ # Electron main process modules
│ │ ├── renderer/ # React renderer — components, hooks, stores, API client
│ │ ├── shared/ # Types and utilities shared across processes
│ │ ├── main.ts # Electron main process entry
│ │ ├── preload.ts # Electron preload (contextBridge IPC)
│ │ └── renderer.tsx # React app entry — mounts <App>
│ ├── forge.config.ts # electron-forge config
│ ├── vite.*.config.ts # per-process Vite configs
│ ├── pnpm-workspace.yaml # pnpm compat settings (must not be removed)
│ └── package.json
├── spec/
│ ├── features/ # authoritative feature specs (SDD workflow)
│ └── phases/ # phase-level specs with exit criteria
├── docs/
│ ├── adr/ # Architecture Decision Records
│ ├── architecture/ # D2 component diagrams
│ ├── design/ # D2 / Mermaid UI wireframes
│ └── requirements.md
├── cli/YouTrack/ # planned Go CLI (in progress)
├── mise.toml # Node 24.15.0 toolchain pin
├── CONTRIBUTING.md
├── LICENSE
├── README.md
└── RUNBOOK.md
The default Electron icon can be replaced by dropping three files into app/build/ and updating the forge config.
| Platform | Format | Minimum size |
|---|---|---|
| macOS | .icns |
1024×1024 source |
| Windows | .ico |
256×256 source (multi-resolution container) |
| Linux | .png |
512×512 (1024×1024 recommended) |
Start with a single 1024×1024 PNG and convert to the platform formats. Tools: Iconset (macOS app), icotool (Linux CLI), or the npm package electron-icon-maker.
1. Place the files:
app/build/
icon.icns
icon.ico
icon.png
2. Update app/forge.config.ts:
packagerConfig: {
asar: true,
icon: './build/icon', // no extension — forge picks the right format per platform
},
// ...
new MakerDMG({ icon: './build/icon.icns' }, ['darwin']),
new MakerAppImage({ options: { icon: './build/icon.png' } }, ['linux']),3. Set the runtime window icon in app/src/main/window.ts (shown in the taskbar/dock while the app is running, independently of the packaged installer icon):
new BrowserWindow({
icon: path.join(__dirname, '../build/icon.png'),
// ...
})pnpm start picks up the window icon immediately; pnpm make bakes it into the installer packages.
See CONTRIBUTING.md for the PR workflow and diagram conventions.
Copyright © Kevin P. Inscoe.
Vermilian is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 only (GPL-3.0-only).
You may use, study, share, and modify it under the terms of that license; distributed
modifications must also be released under the GPL-3.0. See the LICENSE file for
the full text, or https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html.