A Python tool that uses OpenAI-compatible AI endpoints to generate creative writing prompts for daily journaling. The tool maintains awareness of previous prompts to minimize repetition while providing diverse, thought-provoking topics for journal writing.

✨ Features

AI-Powered Prompt Generation: Uses OpenAI-compatible APIs to generate creative writing prompts
Smart Repetition Avoidance: Maintains history of the last 60 prompts to minimize thematic overlap
Multiple Options: Generates 6 different prompt options for each session
Diverse Topics: Covers a wide range of themes including memories, creativity, self-reflection, and imagination
Simple Configuration: Easy setup with environment variables for API keys
JSON-Based History: Stores prompt history in a structured JSON format for easy management

📋 Prerequisites

Python 3.7+
An API key from an OpenAI-compatible service (DeepSeek, OpenAI, etc.)
Basic knowledge of Python and command line usage

🚀 Installation & Setup

Clone the repository:

git clone <repository-url>
cd daily-journal-prompt

Set up a Python virtual environment (recommended):

# Create a virtual environment
python -m venv venv

# Activate the virtual environment
# On Linux/macOS:
source venv/bin/activate
# On Windows:
# venv\Scripts\activate

Set up environment variables:

cp example.env .env

Edit the .env file and add your API key:

# DeepSeek
DEEPSEEK_API_KEY="sk-your-actual-api-key-here"

# Or for OpenAI
# OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-your-openai-api-key"

Install required Python packages:
```
pip install -r requirements.txt
```

📁 Project Structure

daily-journal-prompt/
├── README.md                 # This documentation
├── generate_prompts.py      # Main Python script with rich interface
├── simple_generate.py       # Lightweight version without rich dependency
├── run.sh                   # Convenience bash script
├── test_project.py          # Test suite for the project
├── requirements.txt         # Python dependencies
├── ds_prompt.txt            # AI prompt template for generating journal prompts
├── historic_prompts.json    # History of previous 60 prompts (JSON format)
├── pool_prompts.json        # Pool of available prompts for selection (JSON format)
├── example.env              # Example environment configuration
├── .env                     # Your actual environment configuration (gitignored)
├── settings.cfg            # Configuration file for prompt settings and pool size
└── .gitignore              # Git ignore rules

File Descriptions

generate_prompts.py: Main Python script with interactive mode, rich formatting, and full features
simple_generate.py: Lightweight version without rich dependency for basic usage
run.sh: Convenience bash script for easy execution
test_project.py: Test suite to verify project setup
requirements.txt: Python dependencies (openai, python-dotenv, rich)
ds_prompt.txt: The core prompt template that instructs the AI to generate new journal prompts
historic_prompts.json: JSON array containing the last 60 generated prompts (cyclic buffer)
pool_prompts.json: JSON array containing the pool of available prompts for selection
example.env: Template for your environment configuration
.env: Your actual environment variables (not tracked in git for security)
settings.cfg: Configuration file for prompt settings (length, count) and pool size

🎯 Quick Start

Using the Bash Script (Recommended)

# Make the script executable
chmod +x run.sh

# Generate prompts (default)
./run.sh

# Interactive mode with rich interface
./run.sh --interactive

# Simple version without rich dependency
./run.sh --simple

# Show statistics
./run.sh --stats

# Show help
./run.sh --help

Using Python Directly

# First, activate your virtual environment (if using one)
# On Linux/macOS:
# source venv/bin/activate
# On Windows:
# venv\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Generate prompts (default)
python generate_prompts.py

# Interactive mode
python generate_prompts.py --interactive

# Show statistics
python generate_prompts.py --stats

# Simple version (no rich dependency needed)
python simple_generate.py

Testing Your Setup

# Run the test suite
python test_project.py

🔧 Usage

New Pool-Based System

The system now uses a two-step process:

Fill the Prompt Pool: Generate prompts using AI and add them to the pool
Draw from Pool: Select prompts from the pool for journaling sessions

Command Line Options

# Default: Draw prompts from pool (no API call)
python generate_prompts.py

# Interactive mode with menu
python generate_prompts.py --interactive

# Fill the prompt pool using AI (makes API call)
python generate_prompts.py --fill-pool

# Show pool statistics
python generate_prompts.py --pool-stats

# Show history statistics
python generate_prompts.py --stats

# Help
python generate_prompts.py --help

Interactive Mode Options

Draw prompts from pool (no API call): Displays and consumes prompts from the pool file
Fill prompt pool using API: Generates new prompts using AI and adds them to pool
View pool statistics: Shows pool size, target size, and available sessions
View history statistics: Shows historic prompt count and capacity
Exit: Quit the program

Prompt Generation Process

User chooses to fill the prompt pool.
The system reads the template from ds_prompt.txt
It loads the previous 60 prompts from the fixed length cyclic buffer historic_prompts.json
The AI generates some number of new prompts, attempting to minimize repetition
The new prompts are used to fill the prompt pool to the settings.cfg configured value.

Prompt Selection Process

A settings.cfg configurable number of prompts are drawn from the prompt pool and displayed to the user.
User selects one prompt for his/her journal writing session, which is added to the historic_prompts.json cyclic buffer.
All prompts which were displayed are removed from the prompt pool permanently.

📝 Prompt Examples

The tool generates prompts like these (from historic_prompts.json):

Memory-based: "Describe a memory you have that is tied to a specific smell..."
Creative Writing: "Invent a mythological creature for a modern urban setting..."
Self-Reflection: "Write a dialogue between two aspects of yourself..."
Observational: "Describe your current emotional state as a weather system..."

Each prompt is designed to inspire 1-2 pages of journal writing and ranges from 500-1000 characters.

⚙️ Configuration

Environment Variables

Create a .env file with your API configuration:

# For DeepSeek
DEEPSEEK_API_KEY="sk-your-deepseek-api-key"

# For OpenAI
# OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-your-openai-api-key"

# Optional: Custom API base URL
# API_BASE_URL="https://api.deepseek.com"

Prompt Template Customization

You can modify ds_prompt.txt to change the prompt generation parameters:

Number of prompts generated (default: 6)
Prompt length requirements (default: 500-1000 characters)
Specific themes or constraints
Output format specifications

🔄 Maintaining Prompt History

The historic_prompts.json file maintains a rolling history of the last 60 prompts. This helps:

Avoid repetition: The AI references previous prompts to generate new, diverse topics
Track usage: See what types of prompts have been generated
Quality control: Monitor the variety and quality of generated prompts

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here are some ways you can contribute:

Add new prompt templates for different writing styles
Improve the AI prompt engineering for better results
Add support for more AI providers
Create a CLI interface for easier usage
Add tests to ensure reliability

📄 License

[Add appropriate license information here]

🙏 Acknowledgments

Inspired by the need for consistent journaling practice
Built with OpenAI-compatible AI services
Community contributions welcome

🆘 Support

For issues, questions, or suggestions:

Check the existing issues on GitHub
Create a new issue with detailed information
Provide examples of problematic prompts or errors