Daily Journal Prompt Generator

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

1. Clone the repository:

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

2. 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
   

3. 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"
   

4. 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)
├── example.env              # Example environment configuration
├── .env                     # Your actual environment configuration (gitignored)
└── .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 6 new journal prompts
• historic_prompts.json: JSON array containing the last 60 generated prompts
• example.env: Template for your environment configuration
• .env: Your actual environment variables (not tracked in git for security)

🎯 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

Prompt Generation Process

1. The system reads the template from ds_prompt.txt
2. It loads the previous 60 prompts from the fixed length cyclic buffer historic_prompts.json
3. The AI generates 6 new prompts, attempting to minimize repetition
4. Six new prompts are displayed.
5. User selects one prompt for his/her journal writing session, which is added to the historic_prompts.json cyclic buffer.

📝 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:

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

🤝 Contributing

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

1. Add new prompt templates for different writing styles
2. Improve the AI prompt engineering for better results
3. Add support for more AI providers
4. Create a CLI interface for easier usage
5. 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:

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