Modern Retros

What it is

A full-stack collaborative tool where distributed teams run structured retrospectives — writing feedback cards across three categories, reacting with emoji, and presenting findings together — all synchronized in real time.

What makes it special

• Real-time everything. Cards, reactions, comments, and participant presence sync instantly across all participants via Supabase Realtime channels, with custom React hooks managing complex bidirectional state.
• AI that stays out of the way. GPT-4o-mini groups similar cards by theme before presentation and generates session summaries — but both features gracefully degrade if the LLM fails, never blocking the team's workflow.
• Thoughtful interaction design. Floating emoji animations drift upward during presentations, a “DJ mode” lets someone set the mood with YouTube music, and a gentle three-tone chime (built with the Web Audio API) signals when writing time ends — replacing the obnoxious fanfare that came before it.
• Security by default. PostgreSQL Row-Level Security enforces workspace-scoped multi-tenancy, anonymous cards stay truly anonymous (with fixes for subtle real-name leaks via realtime events), and role-based access controls separate facilitators from participants.
• Mobile-first polish. The three-column desktop layout collapses into a tabbed mobile view, and keyboard arrow navigation works in presentation mode.