Milk, eggs, detergent, tissues, and many other household purchases repeat regularly. Rebuilding a shopping note from scratch each time means retyping the same names and trying to remember what is still at home.
At the other extreme, tracking exact inventory counts for everyday household goods can create more maintenance than the problem deserves. Restock List uses a middle ground: keep regular items in just three states—in stock, low, or out—and automatically collect only the items that need buying now.
Track whether restocking is needed rather than exact inventory counts
For many household items, knowing whether you have three or four units left matters less than knowing that you have enough, should restock soon, or have run out. Requiring exact counts every time can make the tracking system more work than the shopping itself.
Using only in-stock, low, and out states keeps updates quick. You decide what low means for each item; the goal is a practical restock signal rather than exact inventory accounting.
Collect only low and out-of-stock items into the current shopping list
After registering regular items, update only their state based on what you have at home. Anything marked low or out automatically appears in the current shopping list, while items that are still in stock remain registered without cluttering today's list.
One-off purchases such as ingredients for a special meal can be added separately. Restock List suggests names from a lightweight dictionary embedded in the HTML and from your saved regular items, reducing repeated typing.
Group items while shopping and return regular items to in-stock after purchase
As the list grows, grouping by store—such as supermarket or drugstore—or by categories such as food and household goods makes it easier to scan while shopping. Previously used store and category values can be reused, so you are not forced into a fixed taxonomy.
When you check off a purchase, a regular item returns to in-stock automatically. One-off items leave the current list, while purchase history remains local. This reduces the cleanup needed after the shopping trip.
Separate sharing with family from a full personal backup
When sending a shopping list to family, you usually want to share only what should be bought now—not every regular-item state, purchase-history entry, or setting. The share link contains only item names, stores, and categories from the current list, and the recipient's data changes only after they explicitly choose to add those items.
On supporting browsers, the shared payload is gzip-compressed and placed after # in the URL. Compression is not encryption, and anyone with the URL can recover the list contents. Use JSON backup when you need to preserve your full set of regular items, purchase history, and settings.
Step by step
- Open Restock List, try the sample workflow, and clear only the sample data when you are ready to start using it for your own items.
- Register items you buy regularly, such as milk, eggs, or detergent, and add a store or category when useful.
- Look at what you have at home and switch each regular item to in stock, low, or out.
- Confirm that low and out items appear automatically in the current shopping list, then add any one-off purchases you need this time.
- While shopping, check off purchases from the list grouped by store or category. Regular items automatically return to in-stock.
- Use a share link when sending only the current list to someone else, and use JSON backup when preserving your regular items, history, and settings.
Restock List
A local-first restock list that tracks regular items as in stock, low, or out and collects only what needs buying now.
Tips and limitations
- You do not need one strict definition of low. For each item, use the point at which you would want to restock it on the next shopping trip.
- Keep true repeat purchases as regular items and leave occasional purchases as one-offs so the regular-item list stays useful.
- Share links contain recoverable shopping data. Do not use them for addresses, personal information, or other details you would not want included in a URL.
Frequently asked questions
Can I track exact inventory quantities?
Restock List is not designed for exact inventory accounting. It uses in-stock, low, and out states to track whether restocking is needed.
Does opening a share link replace existing data?
No. Opening the link only presents the shared list. It is merged into current data only after the recipient explicitly chooses to add it.
Is a shared shopping link encrypted?
No. Supporting browsers use gzip compression, not encryption. Anyone who receives the URL can recover the item names, stores, and categories.
Is shopping data uploaded to a server?
No. Regular-item management, the current list, purchase history, suggestions, share-link generation, and JSON backup are processed in the browser.