How to build a project management app in Bubble

A simple and valid way to build a project‑management app in Bubble is to first define clear data types (like Project, Task, and Comment), then build pages and repeating groups that display this data, and finally add workflows for creating, updating, and assigning tasks. Bubble’s database, privacy rules, backend workflows, and reusable elements let you scale this without writing code.

Core Data Structure

Use Bubble’s Data Types to store everything your app needs. Common types:

• Project: fields like name (text), description (text), team (list of Users).
• Task: title (text), description (text), status (text), due\_date (date), project (Project), assignee (User).
• Comment: text (text), task (Task), author (User).

Linking types (like Task → Project) lets you pull related data easily inside repeating groups.

Pages and UI

• Create a Dashboard page with repeating groups for Projects and Tasks. Set the data source to “Do a search for Projects” or “Current User’s Projects”.
• Build a Project page where the page’s Type of content is Project, allowing all groups to reference “Parent group’s Project”.
• Add Reusable Elements for top navigation and task cards to keep the app consistent.

Workflows

• When clicking “Create Project”: run a workflow → Create a new thing (Project) → add current user to team list.
• For tasks: buttons that trigger Make changes to thing to update status, assign users, or set due dates.
• Add Custom events when multiple steps need to be reused (like notifying assignees and refreshing task lists).

Notifications (Optional)

Use backend workflows to send emails or webhook calls when a task changes. Example of webhook call inside API Connector:

{
  "task_id": "<task_id>",
  "status": "<new_status>" // Send updates to external system
}

Privacy Rules

• In Data → Privacy, create a rule for Project: “When Current User is in This Project’s team → allow find and read”.
• For Tasks, reference the parent project: “This Task’s Project’s team contains Current User”.

This ensures users only see what they are allowed to see.

Scaling Tips

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• Use Backend Workflows for heavy operations like bulk‑creating tasks.
• Limit searches in repeating groups with constraints to avoid slow queries.
• Store frequently used lookups (like user’s projects) as lists on the User when appropriate.