Design
It began as a design
115
saved changes built the prototype, between 20 August and 14 September 2026
Before a line of the production app was written, the whole experience was designed and tested as a working prototype.
Mockup
Then a working mockup
16
designed pages: the wireframes, the interactive mobile mockup, the structure map and the design explorations
That work set the navigation, the screens, the card and colour system and the Te Taiao look that the finished app still follows.
First build
Built, tested, then replaced
The first plan was a New Zealand cloud host called Catalyst Cloud and a content system called Directus. Both were built, tested and then replaced when better options proved themselves.
53,092
lines were written into the Directus editing studio over six weeks, across 202 saved changes
- 39,516lines removed in one change on 25 October, once Sanity had proved itself. Today none of that studio remains.
Hosting
Hosted in New Zealand
The app's servers and its backup database run in Amazon's Auckland region, so the backups of people's records are kept in New Zealand.
8
infrastructure blueprints describe every server, network and database, so the whole setup can be rebuilt the same way every time
- 22automated workflows build, check, publish and watch the app
Content
Where the content is edited
Sanity is the content system the Manawaora team uses to edit the app's words and pages.
123
pieces of published content are live in it, including 8 heart conditions, 94 trusted resources and 9 sets of screen words
- 13,338lines were written for Prismic on 19 October, and the same day all of them came out again when Sanity proved the better fit
Offline
Built local first
A person's own records live on their phone and work without a signal. A New Zealand hosted backup lets a person restore their kete after a new or lost phone.
19
dedicated test files check offline use, storage, backup and restore
Audits
Audited at every step
Every change runs through automated checks before it can reach anyone's phone.
5,049
automated checks passed on the final build at completion, with none failing. By 11 November that had grown to 5,414.
- 636security scans looked for leaked secrets and checked the app's building blocks for known weaknesses
- 1,174times the full check suite ran
1 November 2026
A full practice restore
11.6minutes
until the database was rebuilt and back online
7.2minutes
of changes were at risk, at most
Shipping
Live on phones
The first production release reached phones on 16 October.
22
successful production releases of the app by completion
- 14successful releases of the Sanity Studio by completion
Since completion
The work did not stop
On 11 November, Add a card went live: editors can now add cards to a section on purpose, with a preview that follows the card.
3
how to videos, made from 13 short task clips, show the team how to edit content, manage user accounts and manage editors
Safeguards
Safe by design
14days
The database is backed up automatically and can be restored to a point in time within the last 14 days.
- Each person can reach only their own records, and the database itself enforces it.
- Information is encrypted on the way and where it is stored, including the database and its backups.
- Sign in uses Google or a one time email code, so the Kete server never sees a password.
- A person can export their records at any time. Delete everywhere removes the phone copy and the New Zealand copy at once, and backup copies age out within 14 days.
- No advertising or analytics tools are in the app.