Thinky

Thinky is an “innovator’s notebook” that pulls reading, note-taking, and idea management into one desktop application.

Features

Core Functionality

• Real-time PDF Annotation – highlight, comment, and tag passages without leaving the reading flow
• Hierarchical Tags – organise concepts in a flexible tree and filter by any branch
• Workspace Manager – keep unlimited projects open at once with a nested workspace tree
• Instant Retrieval – a global Item Finder surfaces any annotation, document, or note in milliseconds

Advanced Features

• Windowing System – split-screen editors & PDFs that can be minimised, resized, or zoomed to focus
• Annotation Library – saved filters combine content, tag, folder, and workspace scopes for powerful queries
• Vim Mode & Keyboard-first UX – optional Vim key-bindings plus fast directory navigation in the Item Finder
• Offline-First – local storage makes the app fully usable on flights or in the field; changes sync when back online.

Technical Implementation

Frontend

Built with ClojureScript + Reagent/re-frame for a purely functional, event-driven UI running inside Electron. Re-frame’s unidirectional data-flow keeps the growing workspace/tree state predictable, while Reagent delivers React-like components with React’s virtual-DOM performance.

Desktop Packaging & CI

• electron-builder produces signed installers for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

What I Learned

Building Thinky deepened my expertise in functional UI architecture, local‑first data syncing, and developer‑tested desktop distribution pipelines. Most importantly, continual feedback loops with real researchers taught me to balance power‑user flexibility with first‑run approachability.