Clothinv

Clothinv is a minimalist application for clothing inventory management. It allows cataloging and browsing your wardrobe. By default, Clothinv operates entirely within your browser, using private, configuration-free local storage.

Core Features

• Catalog clothing items with images and essential metadata (e.g., owner, category, location).
• Interface for browsing and searching your inventory.
• Responsive design for desktop and mobile screen sizes.
• Data export and import functionality (as a ZIP file) for backup and migration.
• Modular data provider architecture supporting different data storage options:
  • Browser-local IndexedDB (default, zero-configuration).
  • Self-hosted Datasette backend.
  • Self-hosted PostgREST backend (with PostgreSQL).

Getting Started

There are several ways to use Clothinv:

1. Online Version (Recommended)

Clothinv can be used via the publicly hosted version:

https://teekuningas.github.io/clothinv

No setup is required. All data is stored locally in your web browser's IndexedDB and localStorage. This provides a private and client-side solution.

2. Self-Hosting with Docker (Static Files)

For users who prefer to host their own instance, Clothinv is available as a Docker image. This image serves the static application files using Nginx.

1. Pull the Docker image:

   • The official image is hosted on GitHub Container Registry (ghcr.io). You can use the latest tag for the most recent version or a specific version tag.
   • Example: docker pull ghcr.io/teekuningas/clothinv:latest

2. Run the container:

   • Example: docker run -d -p 8080:80 ghcr.io/teekuningas/clothinv:latest
   • Access Clothinv at http://localhost:8080.

By default, this self-hosted version also uses browser-local storage (IndexedDB). For advanced local development or building the image yourself, refer to the Makefile.

3. Connecting to a Persistent Backend (Advanced)

Clothinv can connect to external database backends via Datasette or PostgREST. This enables persistent storage beyond a single browser session and allows for data sharing across multiple devices or users. Configure the connection details in the application's "Settings" page.

a. Datasette Backend

Datasette provides a web interface and API for SQLite databases.

• Important: Clothinv requires Datasette version 1.0-alpha or newer. Earlier versions (0.x) have a JSON API incompatible with Clothinv's requirements. The Makefile uses 1.0a19 by default.
• To run a local Datasette instance for development or personal use (refer to the Makefile for full command details and configuration):

  make start-backend-datasette ENV=dev

• This command will set up a Datasette instance using a SQLite database (inventory.db by default), initialize the schema, and output the Datasette URL and an API token.
• Enter the provided Datasette Base URL and API Token into Clothinv's settings page under the "Datasette" provider.

b. PostgreSQL + PostgREST Backend

PostgREST serves a RESTful API directly from a PostgreSQL database.

• To run local PostgreSQL and PostgREST instances for development or personal use (refer to the Makefile for full command details and configuration):

  make start-backend-postgrest ENV=dev

• This command performs the following:
  1. Starts a PostgreSQL Docker container.
  2. Initializes the database (e.g., inventory_db_dev) with the required schema from backend/schema_postgres.sql. This schema defines tables for items, locations, categories, owners, and images.
  3. Starts a PostgREST Docker container connected to the PostgreSQL database.
  4. Outputs the PostgREST API URL (e.g., http://localhost:4000) and a JWT token for authentication.
• Enter the provided PostgREST API URL and JWT Token into Clothinv's settings page under the "PostgREST" provider.
• The Makefile uses default credentials (e.g., user inventory_user_dev, password supersecretpassword). For any deployment beyond local testing, ensure you use strong, unique credentials and manage your PostgreSQL instance securely. The schema (backend/schema_postgres.sql) is designed for a dedicated user (e.g., inventory_user_dev) who owns the tables.

Data Management

Export and Import

Clothinv allows you to export your entire inventory (metadata and images) as a single .zip file. This file can be used for:

• Backing up your data.
• Migrating your inventory to another Clothinv instance or a different backend.

The import function allows restoring data from such a .zip file. This feature is available regardless of the chosen storage backend.

Sharing Configuration (with a Persistent Backend)

When Clothinv is configured to use a persistent backend (Datasette or PostgREST), you can share access to your inventory:

1. Set up Clothinv with your chosen persistent backend.
2. Navigate to the "Settings" page.
3. Under the "Share Configuration" section, a shareable URL can be generated.
4. Copy this URL and open it on another device, or share it with others.

Opening this URL will pre-configure their Clothinv instance to connect to the same backend, enabling shared access to the inventory data.

Note: Clothinv does not implement user accounts, fine-grained permissions, or user groups. All users accessing a shared backend via the configuration URL will have the same level of access to the data.