# CalcText — Simplified Product Brief

**Date:** 2026-03-17
**Type:** Brownfield — Workspace Evolution
**Brief Level:** Simplified

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## Project Scope

CalcText is a cross-platform notepad calculator (Web, macOS, Windows) powered by a shared Rust calculation engine with 200+ unit conversions, 180+ fiat currencies, 50+ crypto, date/time math, and 50+ built-in functions.

The web app is evolving from a single-document, two-column calculator into a **full workspace application** with:

- **Multi-theme system** — Light, Dark, Matrix, and custom user-defined themes
- **Tabbed documents** — Multiple calctext files open simultaneously
- **File sidebar** — Left panel with folder organization, recent files, favorites, templates
- **localStorage persistence** — Documents survive page reloads without backend
- **Elevated results panel** — Richer, subtler result display

**Platform strategy:** Web-first design. Once established, replicate the UX patterns to macOS (SwiftUI) and Windows (iced/Rust). The design must be portable — avoid web-only paradigms that don't translate to native.

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## Challenge & Opportunity

CalcText has a powerful engine trapped in a basic single-document UI. The current web app is functional but doesn't reflect the depth of what the engine can do, and doesn't invite users to stay.

**The opportunity:** No competitor (Soulver, Numi, Numbr, PCalc) offers a true multi-document workspace with theming and file organization for calculations. CalcText can own this gap — becoming the app users open daily and live in, not just visit for a quick calculation.

**The gap:** Current UI is a text editor with results. The vision is a professional workspace where calculations are organized, styled, and persistent.

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## Design Goals

### Functional
- Multi-theme engine with preset themes and custom theme support
- Tab bar for multi-document management
- Collapsible file sidebar with tree view, folders, and templates
- Document model with create, rename, delete, organize
- localStorage persistence for all documents and preferences

### Experience
- Professional workspace feel — "VS Code/Notion for numbers"
- Complete experience shipped as one coherent product, not incremental phases
- Matrix theme as a brand differentiator and personality statement
- Intuitive for first-time users, powerful for daily users

### Business
- Web-first design that establishes reusable UX patterns
- Cross-platform portable design language
- Foundation for future premium features (cloud sync, accounts, collaboration)

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## Constraints

### Technical (locked in)
- React 19 + CodeMirror 6 + Vite 7
- Rust WASM engine running in Web Worker
- Custom CSS with CSS custom properties (no Tailwind, no shadcn)
- PWA architecture (service worker, manifest, offline support)

### Deferred (out of scope this phase)
- User accounts and authentication
- Cloud save and sync (Supabase planned)
- Collaborative real-time editing (CRDT)
- Shareable URL links
- Embeddable widget

### Cross-platform
- Design patterns must translate to SwiftUI (macOS) and iced (Windows)
- Avoid web-only interactions that don't port to native
- Shared engine means consistent calculation behavior across platforms

### Timeline & Budget
- Flexible — no hard deadline
- Stakes: enterprise/high — quality over speed

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## Current State Reference

See `01-brownfield-analysis.md` for complete codebase scan including:
- All CSS custom properties and values
- Component inventory and props
- Responsive breakpoints and behavior
- Accessibility audit
- Cross-platform comparison (macOS vs Web)

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_Created using Whiteport Design Studio (WDS) methodology_
