Etu

Etu is a simple journaling tool that talks to the etu-backend API over gRPC (default: grpc.etu.natwelch.com).

It should be noted the main goal of Etu is to write interstitial journals. See https://betterhumans.pub/replace-your-to-do-list-with-interstitial-journaling-to-increase-productivity-4e43109d15ef for more on this topic.

Installation

Homebrew

brew tap icco/tap
brew install etu

Local Build

Dependencies: Go 1.25 or later, Task (optional).

1. git clone the repo
2. task build (or go build -o etu .)
3. Run ./etu

Usage

Before running you need an API key for the etu-backend. You can:

1. Put your API key in ~/.config/etu/config.json with keys api_key and optionally grpc_target (default: grpc.etu.natwelch.com:443), or
2. Set the ETU_API_KEY environment variable (and optionally ETU_GRPC_TARGET).

Example config file:

{
  "api_key": "your-64-char-hex-api-key",
  "grpc_target": "grpc.etu.natwelch.com:443"
}

Config and the "time since last post" cache live under ~/.config/etu/. Tag generation and storage are handled by the backend; see etu-backend for setup.

$ etu
Etu. A personal command line journal.

Usage:
  etu [flags]
  etu [command]

Available Commands:
  create      Create a new journal entry (attach images via drag & drop in TUI or -i/--image).
  delete      Delete a journal entry.
  help        Help about any command
  last        Output a string of time since last post.
  list        List journal entries, with an optional starting datetime.
  search      Search journal entries using fuzzy search.
  timesince   Output a string of time since last post.

Flags:
  -h, --help      help for etu
  -v, --version   version for etu

Use "etu [command] --help" for more information about a command.

Inspiration

Etu is the personification of time according to the Lakota.

Etu is inspired heavily by the work of @neauoire at wiki.xxiivv.com, Time Travelers, and the screenshots in the inspiration folder.

Other projects that inspired me:

• https://github.com/charmbracelet/glow
• https://github.com/caarlos0/tasktimer
• https://github.com/achannarasappa/ticker

History

I've rewritten this approximately seven times. Originally a location-based blogging app, then time tracking, wiki, journaling. Backends: Charm, SQLite, Notion, and now the etu-backend gRPC API.