Build a shopping list app sorted by aisle that works in the shop without signal

Sorted by aisle, in your shop's order

Generic list apps group items by category, but every supermarket orders its aisles differently. The time saver is a list that follows your route: fruit and veg, bakery, chilled, tins and dry goods, household, frozen, then the tills. Ask for aisles you can reorder by dragging, and for each item to remember which aisle you put it in, so the second week is quicker than the first.

If you use two shops, a supermarket and a market, say, give each its own aisle order and let an item belong to either. Switching shop at the top re-sorts the list.

Features that make it quicker than paper

• Staples. A list of things you buy most weeks, added with one tap, or all at once.
• Autocomplete from history. Typing "oat" offers oat milk and oats, with the aisle already set.
• Quantities and notes. "2 × tinned tomatoes", "ripe for Thursday".
• Ticking that stays put. Ticked items move to the bottom or fade, with an undo, and the list keeps them until you clear it, in case you need to check.
• One-handed use. Big rows and tick targets, readable in bright shop lighting.
• Meal links. Add ingredients for a recipe in one go; see the meal planner app for planning the week.

Describe it to Anticode

"A shopping list app for my weekly supermarket shop. Aisles in my shop's order, reorderable by dragging: fruit and veg, bakery, meat and fish, dairy, tins and jars, pasta and rice, breakfast, snacks, drinks, household, frozen. A second shop, the Saturday market, with its own sections. Items remember their aisle. A staples list I can add in one tap. Quantities and short notes. Autocomplete from things I've bought before. Ticked items fade and drop to the bottom, with undo and a clear-ticked button. Large text and tick boxes, high contrast. Save everything in this browser. Installable to my phone's home screen."

Working without signal

Anticode's apps make no network requests at all, so once the list is open nothing depends on a connection: ticking, adding and re-sorting all happen on the phone. Install the published app to your home screen so it opens like any other app. Installed sites include an offline fallback, but phones and browsers vary in how they treat a home-screen app opened in a dead spot, so before relying on it, put your phone in flight mode and open it from the home screen to check.

Why it doesn't share between phones

Many households want one list that two people add to. That needs a server holding the list and pushing changes to each phone, and Anticode's apps have no network, so each phone keeps its own separate list. Some workarounds:

1. One shopper, one list. Others message their additions and the shopper adds them, which is how many families work anyway.
2. Copy and paste. Ask for a button that copies the list as text, to send in a message; the other phone can paste it in.
3. A shared list app. If live sharing is essential, use one built for it, with accounts.

Limits

• No sharing or sync between devices, as above.
• No prices or offers. The app can't fetch supermarket prices, stock or deals. You can type a price per item yourself to estimate the total.
• No barcode scanning. Apps have no camera access.
• No online ordering. It can link to your supermarket's website, which opens in a new tab, but can't place an order.
• Local data. Clearing site data removes the list and history; the staples list is worth exporting once you've set it up.

For trips rather than shops, the packing list app uses the same tick-off pattern; for household routines, see the chore chart app.

Questions people ask

Does this shopping list app work offline?

The app makes no network requests, so it works once open. Install it to your home screen and test it in flight mode before relying on it.

Can my partner and I share a list?

Not live. Each phone keeps its own list. Copy the list as text to send it, or use a shared-list app.

Does it need an account?

No. There's no sign-in; the list is saved in the browser on your phone.