Homie

Homie is your offline, secure house-hunting companion, organize homes, notes, and deadlines, encrypt documents, and generate renter profiles, all in one place.

Comment

Inspiration

We were inspired by a loved one’s recent move across the state—the chaos of juggling multiple rental listings while handling all the moving prep showed us how hard it is to stay organized.

What it does

Homie lets users save apartments or rentals of interest as detailed profiles, complete with notes and attached documents. It also provides a way to build a personal “renter’s profile” with key information that can be shared easily with landlords when applying. All sensitive files are stored securely with encryption, while still being simple to access whenever they’re needed.

It comes with various features for rental management:

  • Smart Dashboard with quick access to documents and favorite listings
  • Interactive Checklist System for task and document tracking
  • Profile Management for personal info, employment, and documents
  • Listing Management to browse, favorite, and track applications
  • Responsive Design with beautiful light/dark themes

How we built it

Frontend:

  • Next.js 15 with TypeScript
  • Tailwind CSS with custom design system
  • Radix UI components Backend:
  • Tauri framework with Rust backend
  • SQLite database with SQLx
  • SQLCipher for encrypting sensitive documents with SHA256 Tools:
  • Biome for linting
  • Vitest for testing
  • structured Git workflow

The architecture follows modern best practices with component-based design and semantic styling.

Challenges we ran into

  • Team communication while learning to collaborate for the first time
  • Adapting to new frameworks and technologies
  • Balancing time management alongside school and other commitments

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Gained hands-on experience with Rust + Tauri
  • Built a smooth, modern, and appealing UI
  • Implemented secure document storage with encryption
  • Designed the app to run completely offline, with no AI dependencies

What we learned

  • Full-stack integration between Rust and React
  • Advanced React patterns and component composition
  • Type-safe database operations with SQLx
  • Importance of semantic design tokens and scalable styling
  • User-centered development prioritizing experience over complexity

What's next for Homie

  • Refining database–frontend integration for more reliable performance
  • Enhancing the user experience with smoother interactions
  • Expanding customization options to better fit individual needs

Built With

Share this project:

Updates