Mindwendel

Mindwendel is a lightweight, self‑hosted idea‑management platform built from the ground up with Elixir and the Phoenix Framework. Its core purpose is to enable teams to create, upvote, and organize ideas in real time using Phoenix LiveView, which eliminates the need for a separate client‑side framework. The application exposes a RESTful API for CRUD operations on brainstorms, ideas, comments, and labels, while the LiveView layer handles live updates via WebSockets. A PostgreSQL database stores all persistent data, and the system supports S3‑compatible object storage for encrypted file attachments.

• Language & Framework: Elixir 1.15+, Phoenix 1.7, LiveView 0.18
• Database: PostgreSQL (Ecto ORM) with migrations bundled in the repo.
• Storage: Optional S3‑compatible backend for attachments; encryption handled by the application before upload.
• Real‑time: Phoenix Channels + LiveView provide instant UI updates across all connected clients.
• Deployment: Docker‑based, with a docker-compose-prod.yml for production and a Dockerfile that builds a slim image. The stack is agnostic to cloud providers, making it suitable for on‑prem or VPS deployments.

• Anonymous Collaboration: Users can join a brainstorming session via a unique link; no registration required.
• Idea Lifecycle: Create, upvote, comment, label, and drag‑and‑drop reorder ideas. Lanes allow hierarchical organization.
• Rich Media: Attach files (auto‑encrypted) and preview URLs within ideas.
• AI Integration: Plug in any OpenAI‑compatible LLM to generate idea prompts.
• Export: Generate HTML or CSV exports for reporting or archival purposes.
• Localization: Built‑in gettext support with German and English translations; developers can add new locales easily.
• GDPR‑Friendly: Brainstorming sessions auto‑expire after 30 days, reducing data retention concerns.

Mindwendel’s Docker image is small (~150 MB) and can run on any Linux host with Docker. The docker-compose-prod.yml orchestrates the web service, PostgreSQL, and a local MinIO instance for S3 emulation. For larger deployments, swap the MinIO service with a real S3 bucket and adjust environment variables (MINDWENDEL_S3_BUCKET, MINDWENDEL_S3_REGION, etc.). The application scales horizontally by running multiple web containers behind a reverse proxy; LiveView sessions are sticky to preserve WebSocket connections.

• Webhooks: Expose endpoints that trigger on idea creation or upvote, allowing integration with CI/CD pipelines or notification services.
• Plugin Hooks: The codebase exposes a simple plug‑in architecture where developers can add custom LiveView components or Ecto schemas.
• API: A documented JSON API (via Phoenix Router) lets external services query or mutate brainstorm data programmatically.
• Custom Branding: CSS variables and asset overrides enable teams to match internal branding without touching core logic.

The project follows Phoenix conventions, making it familiar to Elixir developers. Documentation is comprehensive: a docs/ folder contains installation, contributing, and architecture guides. The CI pipeline runs tests on every push and builds Docker images automatically, ensuring code quality. Community support is modest but active; issues are triaged quickly, and pull requests receive prompt feedback. Configuration is handled through environment variables, with sensible defaults for local development.

• Remote Product Teams: Quickly surface feature ideas and vote on priorities during sprint planning.
• Hackathon Organizers: Provide a shared, anonymous idea board for participants to propose and refine concepts.
• Marketing Campaigns: Collect creative slogans or content ideas from distributed teams and filter by labels like “Social Media” or “Email.”
• Compliance‑Sensitive Environments: The auto‑deletion policy and encrypted attachments make it suitable for regulated industries that need tight data control.

• Performance: Phoenix LiveView delivers near‑real‑time updates with minimal overhead, outperforming typical SPA solutions.
• Flexibility: The open‑source stack allows full control over data storage, authentication, and UI customization.
• Licensing: MIT‑licensed codebase removes vendor lock‑in and permits internal or commercial use without fees.
• Scalability: Stateless web containers combined with PostgreSQL and S3 backend allow horizontal scaling for high‑traffic brainstorms.

Overall, Mindwendel offers a solid, developer‑friendly foundation for teams that need an instant, privacy‑first brainstorming tool without the complexity of a full SaaS stack.