Skola is evolving

[h16nning]

Hey everyone,

I would like to give a quick update on Skola, as I have been making several big changes over the course of the last few days.

A departure from Mantine

Skola's entire frontend has been refactored to use a self-built component system. I did this to make Skola feel more unique rather than just another Mantine web app. Furthermore, I wanted to reduce the package size. A good chunk of that work was done using LLMs, but I have tried to ensure high quality throughout and put a lot of focus in where it matters. Alongside that, I have also started to rethink Skola's design language in general. Skola now introduces texture—an almost physical feel—while remaining minimal. You will notice the decks on the front page look like real index cards, which I think looks incredible. I have put a lot of work into the sidebar to make it pixel-perfect. That being said, this redesign is not finished yet and will continue to evolve.

Improvements to Sync

I already had an experimental sync system using Dexie Cloud in place; now, I have made it more stable and improved the UX, added sync status, and more. You can use it now by going into Settings and then Cloud Sync. There are some limitations, which I explain in there, along with the reasons why.

Cognitive Prompts

Going forward, I would like to challenge what a spaced-repetition app can be, specifically by encouraging higher-order thinking. As a first step in this direction, Skola now tries to challenge users to rethink cards they are good at by offering cognitive prompts. This is definitely an early concept, and I will explore ways to improve it—perhaps through deck/topic-specific prompts or by using LLMs.

However, a quick note on AI: I don't want to throw AI onto Skola just to make it "cool." AI definitely has its place, but I don't want everything to become "+ AI" without a real purpose. Speaking of which, I am not a fan of writing your flashcards with AI. I believe a significant amount of learning happens while you write them, and Skola should assist in that process, not help you skip it.

Little features

• A switch between r e l a x e d and compact UI
• Tab to get studying directly

Limitations

I have disabled the statistics view because @mantine/charts, which it heavily relied on, was removed along with Mantine. I will look for more lightweight libraries and implement a really solid statistics page when the time is right.

The "Today" view is gone; it was never fully implemented anyway. Removing this page is part of my effort to strip Skola down to the core experience, focusing on making it solid and reliable before adding new features.

The Notebook view is a bit buggy right now. In general, I have mixed thoughts about it. I think I will either remove it entirely or commit to really fleshing it out properly.

You will probably notice a lot more bugs and quirks, if you do, please report them and I will try my best to fix them :)

##Closing words

I am excited about the future of Skola! My time continues to be a little limited, but I will put in work wherever possible. Contributions and feedback are very welcome!