Caption Queue

A caption scheduler app idea: a week of captions in one sitting. Weekend build with React, Supabase and Tailwind, for creators who post daily.

See the spec
Why now

Why now

Scheduling tools are crowded, but Dev.to creators keep describing the same workflow: batch on Sunday, post daily. A tool built around that habit is still small and clear.

The spec

The spec

Write or generate a week of captions in one sitting, schedule them, and copy each one with hashtags at the right moment.

Build time

WeekendBasic logic / CRUD · Level 2 of 5

Audience

Creators who post daily.

Stack

  • React
  • Supabase
  • Tailwind

Fun factor

Sunday you, looking after weekday you.

Core features

  • Weekly board with one slot per day
  • Caption editor with hashtag sets
  • Reminders at post time
  • Copy with platform formatting

AI features

  • Caption variations in your voice
  • Hashtag suggestions from past performance

Stretch goals

  • Direct posting via platform APIs
  • Analytics import
  • Team approvals

First version

A seven-column board where each card is a caption you can copy.

Build plan

Build plan

3 milestones, in the order you would build them. Saved ideas get this plan with checkboxes and notes.

Weekly boardDrag captions between days.
Start here
Hashtag setsReusable groups per platform.
RemindersEmail or push at post time.
The build prompt

The build prompt

Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude, Codex, or Cursor, then build the first version before anything else.

caption-queue.prompt.md
# Build Caption Queue

You are a senior full-stack engineer pairing with me on a side project. Build a working first version of the product described below. Read the whole brief before writing any code, then follow "How to work" at the end.

## The idea

**Caption Queue.** Write or generate a week of captions in one sitting, schedule them, and copy each one with hashtags at the right moment.

**Why now:** Scheduling tools are crowded, but Dev.to creators keep describing the same workflow: batch on Sunday, post daily. A tool built around that habit is still small and clear.

**Who it is for:** Creators who post daily

**What makes it fun:** Sunday you, looking after weekday you.

## Scope

- **Build time:** Weekend. Size every decision to ship a working first version inside this window.
- **Technical ambition:** Level 2 of 5, "Basic logic / CRUD". A few screens over a simple data model with create, read, update, and delete. One lightweight persistence layer, no heavy infrastructure.
- **First version only.** Ship the core features below end to end. Stretch goals are listed so you can design around them, not build them.

## Core features (each must work end to end in the first version)

1. Weekly board with one slot per day
2. Caption editor with hashtag sets
3. Reminders at post time
4. Copy with platform formatting

## AI features

- Caption variations in your voice
- Hashtag suggestions from past performance

How to build them:
- Put every model call behind one server-side module with a typed interface, so the provider can change without touching the UI.
- Read API keys from environment variables only, and document each one in `.env.example`.
- Write prompts as versioned constants with clear instructions and an example of the expected output; parse and validate responses before using them.
- Handle timeouts, rate limits, and malformed output with a graceful fallback the user can understand. Stream responses where a wait would exceed a couple of seconds.
- Never let a feature depend on the model being perfect. Show the result, let the user edit or retry.

## Stretch goals (later, not in the first version)

- Direct posting via platform APIs
- Analytics import
- Team approvals

Leave clean seams for these (a module boundary, a nullable column, a feature flag), but do not implement them unless I ask.

## Tech stack

Use exactly: React, Supabase, Tailwind.

Stay on current stable versions, follow each tool's official conventions, and add a library only when the standard library or the chosen stack cannot do the job cleanly. If part of this stack is a poor fit for a specific requirement, say so and propose the smallest change.

## Owner's notes

Written by me, the project owner. Treat these as requirements and preferences that override the generated material above when they conflict.

The first version should be exactly this, and no bigger: A seven-column board where each card is a caption you can copy.

## Build plan (with saved progress)

0 of 3 steps complete. Resume at step 1: Weekly board. Before you start it, check what is already implemented so you do not repeat finished work.

1. **Weekly board** [not started]
   Drag captions between days.

2. **Hashtag sets** [not started]
   Reusable groups per platform.

3. **Reminders** [not started]
   Email or push at post time.

## Definition of done for the first version

- [ ] Weekly board with one slot per day works end to end, with real data, not a placeholder.
- [ ] Caption editor with hashtag sets works end to end, with real data, not a placeholder.
- [ ] Reminders at post time works end to end, with real data, not a placeholder.
- [ ] Copy with platform formatting works end to end, with real data, not a placeholder.
- [ ] Every screen handles loading, empty, and error states.
- [ ] Typecheck, lint, and any tests pass, and the main user flow was exercised by hand.
- [ ] A README explains setup, environment variables, and how to run it locally.

## Quality bar

- Responsive from a phone to a desktop, keyboard-accessible, semantic HTML, visible focus states, labelled inputs, and sensible contrast.
- Loading, empty, and error states for every screen that reads or writes data. Errors say what happened and what to do next.
- Validate on the server, never trust the client, and keep secrets in environment variables with a committed `.env.example`.
- Type-safe end to end. No `any` without a comment explaining why.
- Small, readable modules named after what they do. No premature abstraction, no dead code, no TODOs left for later without a note.
- Sensible defaults over settings. If a choice is not in this brief, pick the simplest option that keeps the product coherent and say what you chose.

## How to work

1. **Read, then restate.** Summarize the product in three sentences and list your assumptions. Ask only the questions that block implementation. For everything else, decide and note the decision.
2. **Plan before code.** List the files and modules you will create, in build order, mapped to the core features. If a build plan is included above, use it instead: resume at the first step not marked done and check what already exists before touching it.
3. **Set up.** If a project already exists, inspect its code, instructions, and conventions first and build on them. Otherwise scaffold the stack above with linting, formatting, a typecheck script, `.env.example`, and a README stub.
4. **Model the data first.** Define the types, schema, and any migrations before the UI, so the shape of the product is settled early.
5. **Build in vertical slices.** Finish one core feature end to end (data, logic, UI) before starting the next. Keep the app runnable after every slice and commit each slice with a message that says what changed and why.
6. **Then the interface.** Apply the quality bar above to each screen as it lands, not as a final pass.
7. **Verify.** Run typecheck, lint, and tests. Exercise the main user flow by hand. Check each item in the definition of done and each acceptance criterion.
8. **Report.** Tell me what works, what you tested and how, what is not done, every setup step I must complete myself, and the three most useful next steps. Never claim a service, test, or flow was verified when it was not.

If you can edit and run the project, start implementing right after the short plan. If you cannot, give me concrete code and the exact commands to run for the next step.

Rules: keep the product name and the scope as written, do not invent features, prefer boring and proven choices, and stop to ask me when a decision would be expensive to reverse.

How to use

  1. Copy the prompt above.
  2. Open ChatGPT, Claude, or your AI editor and paste it into a new conversation.
  3. Build milestone one, run it, then move to the next. Add stretch goals only after the first version works.

Want ideas built around you instead? Generate four from your own interests, time, and stack.

Frequently asked questions

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Answers on what Caption Queue is, how to build it, and where example ideas come from.

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