1 pointby heypradyumn3 hours ago1 comment
  • heypradyumn2 hours ago
    Hi HN, I'm Pradyumn, a CS student. To clarify the title right out of the gate: this is an "execution engine" for human habits, not a backend WASM runtime or task scheduler. I built Criene to solve my own problem with the "Execution Gap." Standard to-do apps don't work for me because there are zero consequences for ignoring them. So, I built a strict, active system that uses loss-aversion psychology to force discipline.

    How the core loop works: The Brain (Not a wrapper): You give the app a goal. It hits the Gemini API once to generate a structured JSON daily roadmap. The Stakes: You set custom "Iron Rules" and get exactly 3 "Lives" for the month. The Engine: The app tracks daily execution on a GitHub-style heatmap. If you break your rules, the backend deducts a life. If you skip a day completely, your visual streak is killed. The $70 Stack: I wanted to build a zero-latency production app with virtually no budget. The $70 breakdown: Google Play Console Lifetime Fee ($25) + Domain/assets (~$45). Compute: Cloudflare Workers (running on the 100k/day free tier). Database: Neon Serverless Postgres. Frontend: React Native (Expo). I would love some brutal, honest feedback from this community on the database architecture, the gamification loop, or how I can better optimize this stack as traffic grows. Happy to answer technical questions!