From Notion to Desktop: How AI Reveals the Radical Malleability of Software

Software is called "soft" for a reason. Unlike hardware, which is bound by the rigid laws of physics, software is infinitely malleable—a digital clay that can be shaped and reshaped to fit our needs. To explore this idea, I decided to take a static Notion template and transform it into a fully functional desktop application. Along the way, I enlisted the help of Cursor AI, an AI-powered coding assistant, to see just how far we could push the boundaries of adaptability.

This experiment isn’t just about building an app; it’s about demonstrating how software can evolve, adapt, and take on new forms with minimal effort. It’s also a testament to how AI is accelerating this process, turning what used to be weeks of work into a matter of hours.

The Spark: An Egg Timer and a Notion Template

The inspiration for this project came from an unlikely source: a video of a girl who built an egg timer app for her crush. What struck me wasn’t the complexity of the app, but its simplicity and the sheer versatility of software. With just a few lines of code, she had created something personal, functional, and deeply meaningful.

I wondered: Could I do something similar? Could I take a Notion template I use daily—a tracker for The Master Key System by Charles F. Haanel, designed to log and reflect on five key points from each chapter—and turn it into a desktop app? More importantly, could I do it quickly and with minimal manual coding, using AI as my guide?

Part 1: Exporting HTML – The Illusion of Fixity

The first step was to export my Notion template to HTML. Notion’s export feature is handy, but it produces a static, lifeless version of your content. The exported files look like a webpage, but they lack interactivity, platform integration, and any semblance of dynamism.

Here’s what I started with:

A folder of HTML files.
A CSS file for styling.
No JavaScript, no interactivity, no persistence.

It felt like looking at a photograph of a living, breathing organism—a snapshot frozen in time. My goal was to bring it back to life.

Part 2: Wrapping with Electron – Breathing Life Back In

To turn this static export into a desktop app, I needed a way to package it and reintroduce interactivity. Enter Electron, a framework for building cross-platform desktop apps using web technologies. With Cursor AI’s help, I began the process of injecting functionality back into the template.

The AI’s Role

The Agent quickly generated a project structure and pages based on the exported documents, it choose to implement its own design based on tailwind.

All it took just an hour, I haven't written any functionality myself only guided the agent.

The Friction

It wasn’t all smooth sailing. The AI’s attempt to implement interactivity and logic for buttons was wonky at first and took some time to get the right database operations. I suggested using Ultralight, a lightweight alternative to Electron. While promising, Ultralight produced a skewed design, so I reverted to Electron for its reliability and ease of use.

Part 3: Packaging – The Final Shape

With the app functional, the final step was packaging it for distribution. Here, I explored two approaches:

1. Ultralight: Promised native performance but struggled with rendering the design correctly (probably my bad).

2. Electron: Reliable but bloated, resulting in a 150MB app for what was essentially a glorified Notion export.

I chose Electron for this experiment, but I couldn’t help wondering if a Progressive Web App (PWA) might have been a better fit.

Cursor AI also drafted the bundling scripts to package and distribute for Mac, Windows and Linux, automating a process I'd never attempted manually. The result? A distributable app that, while not perfect, was functional and polished.

Reflection: What This Reveals About Software

This experiment was a microcosm of software’s unique superpower: its malleability. Unlike physical tools, which are bound by their form and function, software can be endlessly reshaped. A Notion export isn’t an endpoint—it’s raw material, waiting to be transformed.

AI as an Accelerant

Cursor AI didn’t write the app for me, but it compressed weeks of learning into hours. It handled the grunt work—Electron quirks, SQLite integration, packaging scripts—freeing me to focus on the bigger picture.

A Call to Remix

If a fellow dev can turn an egg timer into a love note, and I can morph a Notion template into a desktop app, what could you create? Software’s malleability invites us to rethink our tools, not as fixed products, but as starting points for innovation.

Conclusion: Software as Clay

Software is more than code—it’s a medium for creativity, a tool for problem-solving, and a testament to human ingenuity. By embracing its malleability, we can bend reality to our will, turning static templates into dynamic tools, and ideas into reality.

So, the next time you use an app, ask yourself: Could I reshape this? Could I make it better? The answer, more often than not, is yes. And with AI by your side, the possibilities are endless.

Link to GitHub repo: https://github.com/jellyninjadev/the-master-key

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