Show HN: I rewrote my notepad calculator as a local-first app with CRDT syncing

Re:Show HN: I rewrote my notepad calculator as a local-first... by justusthane on Friday July 04, 2025 @06:28AM (#44463214)

I don't mean this as a knock on OP, but it's not a new idea — I think the best known apps in this category are Soulver and Numi.

I find them super useful. Using natural language and storing the context along with the calculations helps me to sort of think through problems.

Being able to define variables on the fly is also very useful — I often use them for pricing out materials for projects. E.g.:

  "8ft 4 × 4" = $15
  "8ft 2 × 4" = $4
  "8ft 2 × 8" = $12
  "8ft 2 × 6" = $6.50
  "3/8in x 8in carriage bolt" = $3.50
  
  Adjustable stand
  "8ft 4 × 4" × 4
  "8ft 2 × 4" × 2
  "3/8in x 8in carriage bolt" × 12
  Plans $12

(What you can't see here is that Soulver gives all the totals in a bar on the right).

Soulver has some examples of other uses on their homepage: https://soulver.app

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Re:Show HN: I rewrote my notepad calculator as a local-first... by tonyonodi on Thursday July 10, 2025 @05:52AM (#44519201)

There's a shout out to Soulver in the FAQ https://docs.numpad.io/#did-you-invent-the-notepad-calculato.... It's a great app, but Mac/iOS exclusive, and I think NumPad handles unit calculations a bit better (though I'm biased).

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