I tried every habit tracker app. Most are overkill — streaks, gamification, analytics, social sharing. I just want to know: did I do my habits today?
So I built Habit Tracker New Tab for Firefox — a minimal monthly grid that replaces your new tab page.
The design
A simple calendar grid: rows are habits, columns are days. Click a cell to mark it done. That is it.
No streaks, no scores, no notifications. Just a visual record of the month.
The extension has four themes: Journal (warm parchment), Night (dark blue), Ocean (light blue), Rose (pink). One-click switch between them.
Why monthly view, not daily
Most habit tracker apps show you today's habits. This is useful, but the motivation comes from seeing the month.
A full month on screen shows you patterns: you exercise every weekday but skip weekends; you read consistently but missed a week; the first week of the month is always your best.
That visual context is what makes the monthly grid more motivating than a daily checklist.
Technical notes
Everything lives in localStorage. The habit list and check state are both stored locally.
const HABITS_KEY = 'ht_habits'; const CHECKS_KEY = 'ht_checks'; function getChecks() { const raw = localStorage.getItem(CHECKS_KEY); return raw ? JSON.parse(raw) : {}; } function markDone(habitId, day) { const checks = getChecks(); const key = `${habitId}_${day}`; checks[key] = !checks[key]; // toggle localStorage.setItem(CHECKS_KEY, JSON.stringify(checks)); } The table renders from the in-memory state on every new tab open. No server, no sync, no account.
What it does not have
No reminders — browser extensions cannot send push notifications without special permissions. And honestly, if you are relying on reminders to do your habits, the habit has not formed yet.
No analytics — tracking your 7-day rolling average completion rate adds complexity without changing behavior. The grid itself is the feedback.
No social features — habit tracking is personal. Sharing streaks is gamification. I wanted the pure version.
Install it
Habit Tracker New Tab on Firefox Add-ons
Free, local, no account. If you want a minimal monthly habit grid on every new tab, install it.
The simplest version of a tool is often the most sustainable. No gamification means no fatigue.
