First, have a look at these pages for some ideas:

• https://github.com/driusan/PoormanIssueTracker

  A simple format for using the file system as an issue tracker

• https://github.com/driusan/bug

  Distributed bug tracking with the filesystem and hg or git, written in Go

• https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/11/08/painless-bug-tracking/

  Nice article by Joel Spolsky about setting up a small bug DB; might also be suitable for use with a spreadsheet

Have you ever used Midnight Commander or a filesystem browser? If you’re comfortable finding your way around a directory tree, here’s a quick and dirty example with your tickets under a folder called “issues”:

FILENAME                            CONTENTS

+--issues
|   +--mom
|   |   +--2023-1128-wifi
|   |   |   +--1-title              Cannot connect to youtube
|   |   |   +--2-computer           iMac, Mac OS 9.0, 128M RAM
|   |   |   +--3-description        Mom said the wifi won't let her out.
|   |   |   +--OPEN                 [empty file, not fixed yet]
|   +--pop
|   |   +--2023-0725-browser
|   |   |   +--1-title              Cannot display my favorite site
|   |   |   +--2-computer           Alien laptop, Windows 11
|   |   |   +--3-description        Firefox is crapping all over itself.
|   |   |   +--FIXED                [empty file, shows all good]
|   +--sis
|   |   +--2023-0901-ms-word
|   |   |   +--1-title              My thesis is ruined!
|   |   |   +--2-computer           Dell Desktop, Windows 10
|   |   |   +--3-description        Word just mangled a file.
|   |   |   +--OPEN                 [empty file, not fixed yet]

You don’t need a bunch of separate files; I like directories in case there are screenshots, email messages, etc. Something like this would also work using (say) dokuwiki.

Stuff can disappear or stop being free at any time for no reason, with no notice.