kiri icon

kiri

kiri is a Go-based terminal app for tracking plant care locally in SQLite. It helps users manage watering schedules, review care history, and script plant status output from the command line.

kiri

Overview

kiri is a Go-based terminal user interface for plant care tracking. It keeps plant data locally in a lightweight SQLite database and combines watering reminders, care history, and weather-aware adjustments for outdoor plants.

The app is designed for both interactive and scriptable use. In the terminal, it offers tabbed navigation, a calendar task view, and mouse/keyboard support; outside the TUI, it can print plant status or JSON for system bars and custom scripts.

Core features

Interactive TUI dashboard

Track watering needs in a terminal interface with tabbed navigation, a card grid, a monthly calendar task view, and mouse/keyboard controls.

Dynamic hydration model

Estimate moisture decline over time instead of using a fixed daily drop, so plant status updates smoothly between care events.

Weather-aware watering calculations

For outdoor plants, kiri factors in seasonal variation, live air temperature, and precipitation from Open-Meteo when weather data is available.

Calendar and history log

Plan upcoming watering tasks and review previous actions in a chronological care log, all inside the same app.

Scriptable command-line output

Use built-in flags such as --status, --summary, and --json to print plant information for scripts, terminals bars, and other non-interactive workflows.

Transparent terminal mode

Run the app with transparent mode to avoid background terminal fills when you want it to blend into a custom terminal theme or tiling window manager.

Common use cases

  • Local plant tracking

    Useful for plant owners who want a terminal-based way to track watering schedules, history, and upcoming tasks without moving data into a separate web service.

  • Weather-aware care planning

    Helpful for people managing outdoor plants who want watering calculations that respond to temperature and precipitation instead of using a fixed reminder schedule.

  • Terminal automation and dashboards

    Suited to users who prefer shell workflows, since kiri can print status, summary lines, or JSON for scripts and terminal status bars.

  • Quick trial and interface review

    Works for people who want to evaluate the interface quickly, because the first run can populate the database with demo plants and show the calendar and charts immediately.

  • Themed terminal setups

    Appropriate for users who value terminal theming or tiling window manager setups and want the app to blend into a custom layout with transparent mode.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Keeps plant data locally in SQLite instead of relying on a remote account or cloud database.
  • Supports both a visual TUI workflow and non-interactive command-line outputs for scripts and status bars.
  • Includes weather-aware logic for outdoor plants while still supporting indoor plants and fallback calculations.
  • Provides a built-in calendar and history log, which helps users plan future watering and review past care.

Cons

  • The README says Go 1.22 or higher is required to run from source.
  • Weather-based calculations depend on available Open-Meteo data; when weather is unavailable, kiri falls back to a configurable temperature value.
  • Some installation paths are still in progress, including Homebrew support and official AUR packages mentioned in the README roadmap/notes.

FAQ

Can I try kiri without adding my plants first?

Yes. The README describes kiri as a local TUI companion for plant care, and the first run can auto-populate the database with demo plants so you can try the interface without manual setup.

What do I need to run kiri?

The README says kiri is built in Go, uses a local SQLite database, and requires Go 1.22 or higher when running from source. It also notes that the app targets modern terminal emulators.

Does kiri work outside the interactive TUI?

Yes. kiri supports built-in output flags such as --status, --summary, and --json, which are intended for scripts and system bars like Waybar, Polybar, i3blocks, and tmux.

Where does kiri store its data and settings?

The project stores plant data locally in ~/.config/kiri/data.db and configuration in ~/.config/kiri/settings.toml, with backups in the same XDG config location.

How can kiri be installed?

The repository states that a standalone binary and a .deb package are available from the Releases page. It also documents source builds, Nix, Go install, and Makefile-based installation.

Quick Facts

Category
Developer Tool
Primary interface
Terminal user interface (TUI)
Data storage
Local SQLite database
Weather source
Open-Meteo API
Pricing shape
Open source project hosted on GitHub; GitHub provides a free plan for public repositories and paid plans for teams and enterprises
Repository domain
github.com