Break It Down (BIT) — Campaign Mode + Entropy + Wizard Build Spec
0) Product idea in one sentence

BIT is the planning HQ (deep task decomposition). You can “Launch Campaign” on a project to switch into a low-friction operations mode that nudges you, runs timeboxed sessions, captures before/after photos, and visualizes “entropy” creeping back into recurring home zones via a strategy-game-style stability map.

1) Non-negotiable design principles

“Start a session” must be 1 tap from Campaign view. No forms before action.

Entropy features only apply to projects in entropy_space mode; standard projects remain unchanged.

Planning (Tree/Kanban) and Doing (Campaign) are separate routes and separate UI skins.

Wizard must generate “good enough” structure in <30 seconds and optionally auto-start the first session.

2) Core Concepts & Modes
2.1 Project Modes (enum)

standard: current BIT behavior (Tree + Kanban).

entropy_space: physical-space / recurring maintenance / territory reclaiming.

(future) pipeline_chores: chores with stages/recurrence (laundry/dishes).

(future) deep_work: focus sessions (pomodoro defaults).

2.2 Campaign Types (enum)

finite: one-off liberation (garage purge). Optional/slow entropy decay.

background: ongoing maintenance (bathroom/kitchen). Entropy decay enabled.

2.3 Zone (v1 implementation)

In entropy_space projects, a Zone is a top-level task (parent_task_id IS NULL).

2.4 Session (generic), with “Strike” as a label

Backend stores generic sessions. Campaign UI calls them “strikes” for entropy projects.

Session kinds (enum):

strike (entropy_space)

pomodoro (future deep_work)

run (future pipeline chores)

freeform (optional)

3) User Flows
3.1 HQ Planning Flow (existing, with additions)

Create project (standard or via Wizard).

In entropy projects, create top-level “zones” + subtasks.

Hit Launch Campaign button → opens Campaign route.

3.2 Campaign Operations Flow (new)

Campaign view shows only:

Zone cards (stability color + bar + last worked)

Recommended micro-missions

Big Start Strike button per zone

Flow:

Tap “Start Strike” on a Zone (1 tap)

Timer begins immediately (default length buttons: 8 / 12 / 25 min)

Optional prompt: “Snap BEFORE?” (default enabled for entropy_space)

End Strike → prompt “Snap AFTER”

Immediately show Before/After compare slider (dopamine)

Save: session record + optional quick note

Zone stability increases; decay continues over time

3.3 Wizard Flow (new)

Goal: generate project + zones + micro-missions + defaults quickly.

Wizard inputs:

Area template (Garage / Bathroom / Kitchen / Whole House / Office)

Campaign type (Finite vs Background)

Intensity (Light / Normal / Disaster)

Nudge window (e.g. 9am–9pm) + max nudges/day

Default strike buttons (8/12/25 or 10/20/30)

Wizard outputs:

Project with project_mode=entropy_space

Top-level zone tasks

Subtasks (micro-missions)

Decay defaults per zone (background campaigns)

Option: auto-launch campaign and auto-start first strike

4) Data Model Changes (SQLite + SQLAlchemy)
4.1 projects table additions

project_mode TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'standard'

campaign_type TEXT NULL (only meaningful if project_mode=entropy_space)

campaign_active BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT 0

nudge_enabled BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT 0

nudge_window_start TEXT NULL (HH:MM)

nudge_window_end TEXT NULL

nudge_min_interval_minutes INTEGER NULL

nudge_max_per_day INTEGER NULL

photo_proof_enabled BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT 0

default_session_kind TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'freeform'

default_session_minutes INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 12

Notes:

Keep these nullable/ignored for standard projects.

Don’t add auth/user tables yet unless you already have them.

4.2 tasks table additions (only used for entropy zones in v1)

stability_base INTEGER NULL (stored “as of last_update”; 0–100)

decay_rate_per_day REAL NULL

last_stability_update_at DATETIME NULL

last_strike_at DATETIME NULL

is_zone BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 (set true for top-level zone tasks in entropy projects; keeps logic explicit)

(optional) zone_preset TEXT NULL (bathroom/kitchen/garage for defaults)

4.3 New table: work_sessions

id PK

project_id FK

task_id FK NULL (zone task)

kind TEXT NOT NULL

started_at DATETIME NOT NULL

ended_at DATETIME NULL

duration_seconds INTEGER NULL (set on stop)

note TEXT NULL

4.4 New table: session_photos

id PK

session_id FK

phase TEXT NOT NULL (‘before’, ‘after’)

path TEXT NOT NULL

taken_at DATETIME NOT NULL

(optional) width, height, hash

4.5 Storage for images

Store files on disk in a Docker volume: /data/photos/...

DB stores only paths/keys

Provide /api/media/... endpoint to serve images (or configure nginx static)

5) Entropy / Stability Logic (v1)
5.1 Stability computation approach

Zones track stability via a base value plus decay since last update.

Fields used:

stability_base

last_stability_update_at

decay_rate_per_day

Derived:

stability_now = max(0, stability_base - decay_rate_per_day * days_elapsed)

On “strike completed”:

compute stability_now

apply boost: stability_base = min(100, stability_now + boost)

set last_stability_update_at = now

set last_strike_at = now

Boost rule (v1 simple):

boost = 20 for any completed strike
OR

boost = clamp(10, 35, round(duration_minutes * 1.5))

Pick one (fixed boost is easiest to reason about).

5.2 Color mapping (no raw numbers by default)

80–100: green

55–79: yellow

30–54: orange

0–29: red

5.3 Nudges (v1 simple scheduler)

A background job runs every X minutes (or on app open for v0):

For each entropy_space project with nudge_enabled:

for each zone:

compute stability_now

if stability_now <= threshold AND not nudged too recently AND within time window:

create “nudge event” (v0: show in UI inbox; v1: web push/email)

Start with in-app “Nudge Inbox” so you don’t need push infra immediately.

6) API Spec (FastAPI)
6.1 Projects

POST /api/projects (add project_mode + campaign settings fields)

PUT /api/projects/{id} (update campaign settings and campaign_active)

POST /api/projects/{id}/launch_campaign (sets campaign_active true; returns campaign URL)

6.2 Tasks

Existing endpoints unchanged, but:

POST /api/tasks should allow is_zone, decay_rate_per_day, etc. when project_mode=entropy_space.

New:

GET /api/projects/{id}/zones → list top-level zone tasks with computed stability_now and color

6.3 Sessions

POST /api/sessions/start

body: {project_id, task_id?, kind?, planned_minutes?}

returns: {session_id, started_at}

POST /api/sessions/{id}/stop

body: {note?}

server sets ended_at + duration_seconds; updates zone stability if task_id references a zone

GET /api/projects/{id}/sessions (filters by kind/date optional)

GET /api/tasks/{id}/sessions

6.4 Photos

POST /api/sessions/{id}/photos (multipart: file + phase)

GET /api/sessions/{id}/photos → returns URLs/paths

(optional) GET /api/media/{path} or nginx static mapping

6.5 Wizard

POST /api/wizard/build_project

input: {template_id, intensity, campaign_type, nudge_settings, strike_defaults, auto_launch, auto_start}

output: {project_id, campaign_url, session_id?}

7) Frontend Spec (React + Tailwind)
7.1 Routes

/projects (existing)

/projects/:id (HQ planning view: Tree/Kanban)

/projects/:id/campaign (Campaign view)

7.2 Campaign View Components

CampaignHeader

project name

“Back to HQ” link

campaign settings shortcut

ZoneGrid

list of ZoneCards

ZoneCard

zone name

stability bar (color only)

“Start Strike” button

quick duration buttons (8/12/25)

last strike text (“3d ago”)

recommended micro-missions (top 1–3 subtasks)

StrikeModal (or full-screen on mobile)

timer running

optional “Snap Before”

“End Strike”

PhotoCapture

file input / camera capture on mobile

BeforeAfterCompare

slider compare (immediate reward)

NudgeInbox (v0 notifications)

list of pending nudges; tap takes you to zone

7.3 Wizard UI

NewProjectWizard

choose template card

choose campaign type + intensity

choose nudge window + max/day

review zones generated (editable list)

“Create + Launch Campaign” button

8) Templates (Wizard v1)

Store templates as JSON files in repo (e.g. backend/app/templates/*.json) or in frontend.

Template structure (conceptual):

project: name, description, mode=entropy_space

zones: list with zone_preset, default_decay, starter_subtasks (micro-missions)

intensity_modifiers: disaster adds extra subtasks + higher starting entropy or lower initial stability

Starter templates:

Garage (finite default)

Bathroom (background default)

Kitchen (background default)

Whole House Reset (finite, multiple zones)

Office/Desk (background or finite selectable)

9) Phased Build (so you actually ship it)
Phase 0: “Usable Tonight”

Add project_mode + campaign route

Zones list with stability bar (computed simply)

Start/stop session (strike) updates stability

No photos yet, no nudges

Phase 1: “Dopamine Injector”

Before/after photos tied to sessions

Compare slider immediately after session

Campaign view defaults for entropy projects

Phase 2: “Gentle Push”

Nudge Inbox + simple scheduler (no push)

Nudge thresholds + per-project window settings

Phase 3: “Grand Strategy”

Optional hex-grid visualization (C)

Zone tiles table + aggregation

Light “liberation” progress summary per project

Phase 4: “AI Wizard”

Replace/augment templates with LLM-generated breakdowns

Maintain wizard output contract (same JSON schema)

10) Codex Work Instructions (copy/paste to Codex)
Prompt 1 — Backend schema + models

“Implement Phase 0 backend changes for Break-It-Down:

Add fields to projects and tasks as specified (project_mode, campaign fields; zone stability fields).

Add new tables work_sessions and session_photos.

Update SQLAlchemy models and Pydantic schemas.

Add endpoints: /api/projects/{id}/zones, /api/sessions/start, /api/sessions/{id}/stop.

Implement stability calculation and strike boost on stop.

Ensure existing endpoints still work for standard projects.

Provide migration approach for SQLite (simple ‘ALTER TABLE’ + create tables).”

Prompt 2 — Campaign frontend (Phase 0)

“Implement Campaign view route /projects/:id/campaign:

Fetch zones via /api/projects/{id}/zones

Render ZoneCards with stability bar color mapping.

Add Start Strike flow (start session, timer UI, stop session).

Ensure 1-tap Start Strike from ZoneCard starts session immediately.

Keep HQ view unchanged.”

Prompt 3 — Photos + compare (Phase 1)

“Add session photo upload and compare slider:

Backend: /api/sessions/{id}/photos multipart upload; store files under /data/photos with unique paths; return URLs.

Frontend: After stopping strike, prompt for after photo; show before/after compare slider.

Add optional before photo prompt at strike start.

Make it mobile-friendly (use capture attribute).”

Prompt 4 — Wizard (Phase 1–2)

“Add New Project Wizard:

Use local JSON templates to generate project + zones + subtasks.

Implement backend endpoint /api/wizard/build_project that creates project and tasks from template.

Wizard should optionally auto-launch campaign and auto-start first strike.”

Prompt 5 — Nudges (Phase 2)

“Implement in-app Nudges:

Backend job that evaluates stability and writes nudge events to DB.

Frontend Nudge Inbox list and click-through to zone.

Respect per-project windows, min interval, max/day.”