Deep-Session

See today and this week at a glance, then start a session.
Pick a template, one-line purpose, and duration — then start today’s one unit of work.
Capture progressed / stuck / next in three short prompts.
Browse on-device history with the reflection still attached.
Settings for Pro, Markdown export, and reviewer promo entry.

Inspiration

As a researcher, “being busy” and “shipping one outcome” are not the same thing. Pomodoro timers cut time well, but they don’t leave a usable record of what progressed, what blocked you, and what to do next. I wanted a lightweight journal for wet lab, analysis, reading, and writing—one session, one unit of work, then a short reflection that becomes an asset (especially for Obsidian later). Shipaton was the forcing function to ship a real Android app with billing, not another unfinished idea.

What it does

Deep Session is a research session journal (not another pomodoro):

Pick today’s one unit of work (templates: experiment, analysis, reading, writing, other)
Focus with a timer (pause / complete / end-and-reflect)
Save a 3-question reflection: progressed / stuck / next
Keep history on device (no account required)
Free: weekly session cap + limited history
Pro (RevenueCat + Google Play Billing): unlimited use + Markdown export for Obsidian
Reviewer promo codes: SHIPATON2026, DEEPSESSION-JUDGE

How we built it

Expo (React Native) SDK 57 for a solo-friendly Android path to Google Play
Local persistence with AsyncStorage
RevenueCat for subscriptions / entitlements, with Play Console products linked
EAS Build for production AAB and internal/closed testing tracks
Store readiness: privacy policy, Data safety, listing assets, and a closed-test path toward production

Built primarily with Cursor across laptop → desktop handoff, keeping scope gated: Shipaton publish first; deeper literature/RAG ideas only as a Markdown export bridge for now.

Challenges we ran into

Play Store Expo Go ≠ SDK 57 support (needed the official SDK 57 APK for early device QA)
Android edge-to-edge: status bar overlap and keyboard covering reflection inputs required a real safe-area + keyboard-aware fix and a rebuild
Closed testing vs internal testing: email list + opt-in link + “Become a tester” are all required; installs alone don’t count toward the 12 testers / 14 days production gate
Account work (Play, EAS, RevenueCat, store declarations) took as much time as product code

Accomplishments that we're proud of

A complete session loop on real Android devices
Free/Pro limits, Paywall, restore, and promo unlock for judges
Markdown export as an Obsidian-ready bridge without building a full knowledge base yet
Play Console setup largely completed (listing, privacy policy, Data safety, closed-test release published)

What we learned

Shipping is a pipeline, not a feature list. For a solo builder, the bottleneck is often review, billing configuration, and tester ops. Keeping a two-layer strategy helped: must-ship (store + RevenueCat) as a hard gate, and “north star” (EndNote × Obsidian × RAG) as direction—implemented only as export for Shipaton.

What's next for Deep-Session

Finish closed testing (12+ opted-in testers for 14 days) and apply for production access
Public Google Play launch inside the Shipaton window
Polish Markdown export and light history UX
After Shipaton: explore literature/notes layers and optional RAG—without breaking the simple session core