A private journaling app built on ikigai — the Japanese idea of finding meaning in small, everyday things. One minute a day: note one friction, one spark, one commitment. A living purpose map grows from your own words. macOS desktop app, free for a limited time.

I'm not a developer by background. I've spent over 20 years working in digital, from technical support to product management. AI coding tools let me start building the software I'd always wished existed. Ikigai Journal exists because I wanted a way to actually notice what matters in my day-to-day life, not just think about it once and forget. This app starts with a minute of journaling — what created friction, what gave you energy, what you'll do about it — and a purpose map builds itself from your real entries over time. There's an optional discovery deep-dive across ten areas of life, and AI reflections if you bring your own API key, but the journal works without either. I've never been good at keeping a journal, so I made it easy to use, and added helpful ai features to help review and reflect. Excited to launch this app, hope you find it useful!

The daily three-question format is deceptively simple, and watching the purpose map fill in over a couple weeks actually felt grounding. The macOS-only thing stings a bit since I'd want it on my phone too, but the friction-sparks-commitments framing beats any generic gratitude app I've tried.

Ikigai Journal

A journal for finding everyday meaning, built on ikigai

A journal for finding everyday meaning, built on ikigai