Indirimbo
A Kinyarwanda hymnal with offline lyrics and fuzzy search, on iOS, Android and web
- Year
- 2026
- Role
- Design & development
- Status
- iOS · Android · Web
- Stack
- React Native, Expo, Expo Router, TypeScript, Fuse.js
- Links
- Website ↗ (opens in a new tab)App Store ↗ (opens in a new tab)Google Play ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Overview
Indirimbo puts the Agakiza and Gushimisha Imana hymnbooks on your phone. You can browse by book or topic, search by title, number or a line you remember, and read every song offline.
The problem
Churchgoers carry heavy printed hymnals or search for lyrics in WhatsApp groups. Finding a hymn when you only remember one line is slow, and many churches have weak or no mobile data.
What I did
- Built one Expo codebase that ships to iOS, Android and the web.
- Added fuzzy search with Fuse.js over titles, numbers and full lyrics.
- Bundled all lyrics in the app so it works with no connection, and shipped content fixes over the air.
- Designed the reading view: adjustable text size, light and dark themes, and swipe between songs.
- Added favourites, recent songs and share links that open a song directly.
Outcome
Indirimbo is live on the App Store, Google Play and the web, from a single codebase. It taught me how to ship one React Native app to three platforms, and how far over-the-air updates go in keeping content fresh between store releases.