Monorepo for Aesthetic.Computer
aesthetic.computer
feat: ac-news CLI for prose commit summaries on news.aesthetic.computer
- news-cli.mjs: post, list, delete, commits commands with --dry-run, --editor, --file, --stdin
- NEWS-SCORE.md: guidelines for writing devlog-style news updates
- npm scripts: news, news:commits, news:post, news:list
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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at/NEWS-SCORE.md
+64
at/NEWS-SCORE.md
···
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# News Score
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Guidelines for writing prose commit summaries on [news.aesthetic.computer](https://news.aesthetic.computer).
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---
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## Title
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Always use: **Commits From {date} to {date}**
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Use the dates of the oldest and newest commits in the batch.
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## Voice
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Write like Jeffrey talking to people who follow the project. Tell the story of what you worked on — the arc of a session or a day. Open with a greeting or a note about what the focus was. This is a devlog, not release notes.
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**News vs. Change Blog:** News tells *what happened* — the story of the work. Deeper *why* reasoning (architectural decisions, design philosophy, project direction) belongs on [change.pckt.blog](https://change.pckt.blog) via `publish-changelog.mjs`.
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## Structure
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- **Tell the story.** "Spent the morning getting CL builds to stand on their own..." not "The build pipeline now separates C and CL paths." The commits are evidence — the post is the narrative.
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- **Group by session, not by system.** What did you work on first? What did that lead to? What was the last thing you touched?
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- **Name the right place.** Changes live in specific sub-sites and tools:
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- [aesthetic.computer](https://aesthetic.computer) — the main platform, pieces, prompt
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- [kidlisp.com](https://kidlisp.com) — KidLisp language site; Shop/Buy tab is here
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- [news.aesthetic.computer](https://news.aesthetic.computer) — news/updates
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- [prompt.ac](https://prompt.ac) — the AC prompt (also `prompt.mjs`)
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- [blank](https://aesthetic.computer/blank) — the AC laptop product
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- VS Code extension (`vscode-extension/`) — OTA status bar, build triggers
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- oven (`oven/`) — the native build server
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- session server (`session-server/`) — multiplayer, chat
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- AT Protocol / PDS (`at/`) — decentralized identity and data
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- **Don't flatten everything into "the web side."** If a change is on kidlisp.com, say kidlisp.com. If it's in the VS Code extension, say that.
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## Links
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- **Every notable change should link to its commit** using the full GitHub URL: `https://github.com/digitpain/aesthetic-computer/commit/{hash}`
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- **Link product names to their AC URLs** — `[blank](https://aesthetic.computer/blank)`, `[prompt](https://aesthetic.computer/prompt)`, etc.
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- **Link external tools/libraries** when relevant — QuickJS, Claude Code, etc.
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- Use markdown: `**bold**` for emphasis, `` `code` `` for technical names, `[text](url)` for links.
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## Tone
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- Personal, conversational. You're telling people what you've been up to.
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- OK to mention what's in progress or what something is a step toward.
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- Skip trivial version bumps and typo fixes unless they're part of the story.
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- Save the deeper "why" for the [change blog](https://change.pckt.blog).
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## Workflow
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```bash
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# 1. See what happened
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ac-news commits --since "1 week ago"
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# 2. Read the commits, group them mentally, write the prose
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# 3. Dry run
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ac-news post "Commits From March 17 to March 24" "Your prose..." --dry-run
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# 4. Post
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ac-news post "Commits From March 17 to March 24" "Your prose..."
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```
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Or use `--editor` to write in your editor, or `--file` to post from a markdown file.
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at/news-cli.mjs
+393
at/news-cli.mjs
···
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#!/usr/bin/env node
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/**
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* ac-news — CLI for posting prose updates to news.aesthetic.computer
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*
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* Usage:
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* ac-news post "Title" "Body prose text"
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* ac-news post "Title" --file update.md
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* echo "body" | ac-news post "Title" --stdin
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* ac-news post "Title" --editor # opens $EDITOR
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* ac-news commits # show recent commits for reference
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* ac-news commits --since "1 week ago"
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* ac-news list # list recent posts
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* ac-news delete <code> # delete a post (admin)
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*/
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import { MongoClient } from "mongodb";
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import { AtpAgent } from "@atproto/api";
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import { config } from "dotenv";
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import { execSync } from "child_process";
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import { randomBytes } from "crypto";
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import { readFileSync, writeFileSync, unlinkSync } from "fs";
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import { tmpdir } from "os";
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import { join } from "path";
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config({
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path: new URL("../.devcontainer/envs/devcontainer.env", import.meta.url),
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});
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config({ path: new URL(".env", import.meta.url) });
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const MONGODB_URI = process.env.MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING;
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const MONGODB_NAME = process.env.MONGODB_NAME || "aesthetic";
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const ADMIN_SUB = process.env.ADMIN_SUB;
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const PDS_URL = process.env.PDS_URL || "https://at.aesthetic.computer";
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// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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// Args
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// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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function parseArgs(argv) {
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const out = { _: [] };
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for (let i = 0; i < argv.length; i++) {
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const t = argv[i];
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if (!t.startsWith("--")) {
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out._.push(t);
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continue;
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}
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const key = t.slice(2);
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const next = argv[i + 1];
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if (next && !next.startsWith("--")) {
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out[key] = next;
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i++;
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} else out[key] = true;
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}
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return out;
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}
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// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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// Short code (same as publish-commits.mjs)
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// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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const ALPHABET = "bcdfghjklmnpqrstvwxyzaeiou23456789";
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function randomCode(len = 3) {
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const bytes = randomBytes(len);
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return Array.from(bytes)
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.map((b) => ALPHABET[b % ALPHABET.length])
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.join("");
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}
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async function uniqueCode(collection) {
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for (let i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
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const code = `n${randomCode()}`;
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const exists = await collection.findOne({ code });
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if (!exists) return code;
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}
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throw new Error("Could not generate unique code after 100 attempts");
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}
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// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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// ATProto sync
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// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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async function syncToAtproto(db, sub, newsData, refId) {
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const users = db.collection("users");
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const user = await users.findOne({ _id: sub });
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if (!user?.atproto?.did || !user?.atproto?.password) {
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console.log(" No ATProto account — skipping PDS sync.");
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return null;
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}
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const agent = new AtpAgent({ service: PDS_URL });
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await agent.login({
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identifier: user.atproto.did,
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password: user.atproto.password,
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});
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const record = {
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$type: "computer.aesthetic.news",
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headline: newsData.headline,
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when: newsData.when.toISOString(),
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ref: refId,
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};
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if (newsData.body) record.body = newsData.body;
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const res = await agent.com.atproto.repo.createRecord({
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repo: user.atproto.did,
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collection: "computer.aesthetic.news",
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record,
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});
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return {
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rkey: res.data.uri.split("/").pop(),
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uri: res.data.uri,
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did: user.atproto.did,
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};
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}
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// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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// DB helper
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// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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async function withDb(fn) {
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if (!MONGODB_URI) {
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console.error("MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING not set.");
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process.exit(1);
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}
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const client = new MongoClient(MONGODB_URI);
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try {
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await client.connect();
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const db = client.db(MONGODB_NAME);
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await fn(db);
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} finally {
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await client.close();
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}
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}
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// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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// Commands
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// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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async function commandCommits(args) {
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const gitArgs = ["git", "log", "--oneline", "--no-decorate"];
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if (args.since) {
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gitArgs.push(`--since="${args.since}"`);
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} else if (args.from) {
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gitArgs.push(args.to ? `${args.from}..${args.to}` : `${args.from}..HEAD`);
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} else {
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gitArgs.push("-n", `${args.count || 20}`);
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}
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gitArgs.push('--format="%h %s"');
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const log = execSync(gitArgs.join(" "), { encoding: "utf8" }).trim();
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if (!log) {
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console.log("No commits found.");
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return;
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}
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const lines = log.split("\n");
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console.log(`\n${lines.length} recent commit(s):\n`);
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for (const line of lines) {
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console.log(` ${line}`);
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}
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console.log(
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"\nUse these to write your prose update, then post with:\n ac-news post \"Title\" \"Your prose summary...\"\n",
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);
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}
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async function commandPost(args) {
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const title = args._[1];
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if (!title) {
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console.error(
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'Usage: ac-news post "Title" "Body"\n' +
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' ac-news post "Title" --file update.md\n' +
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' ac-news post "Title" --editor\n' +
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' echo "body" | ac-news post "Title" --stdin',
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);
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process.exit(1);
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}
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let body;
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if (args.file) {
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body = readFileSync(args.file, "utf8").trim();
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} else if (args.stdin) {
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body = readFileSync("/dev/stdin", "utf8").trim();
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} else if (args.editor) {
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const editor = process.env.EDITOR || "vi";
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const tmpFile = join(tmpdir(), `ac-news-${Date.now()}.md`);
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writeFileSync(tmpFile, "");
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try {
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execSync(`${editor} ${tmpFile}`, { stdio: "inherit" });
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body = readFileSync(tmpFile, "utf8").trim();
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} finally {
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try {
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unlinkSync(tmpFile);
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} catch {}
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}
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if (!body) {
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console.log("Empty body — cancelled.");
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return;
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}
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} else {
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body = args._[2] || "";
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}
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if (!ADMIN_SUB) {
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console.error("ADMIN_SUB not set.");
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process.exit(1);
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}
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const dryRun = !!args["dry-run"];
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console.log(`\n Title: ${title}`);
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console.log(` Body: ${body.length} chars\n`);
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console.log(body);
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if (dryRun) {
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console.log("\n--dry-run: not posting.");
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return;
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}
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await withDb(async (db) => {
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const posts = db.collection("news-posts");
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const votes = db.collection("news-votes");
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const code = await uniqueCode(posts);
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const now = new Date();
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const doc = {
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code,
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title,
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url: "",
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text: body,
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user: ADMIN_SUB,
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when: now,
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updated: now,
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score: 1,
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commentCount: 0,
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status: "live",
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};
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await posts.insertOne(doc);
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await votes.insertOne({
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itemType: "post",
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itemId: code,
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user: ADMIN_SUB,
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when: now,
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});
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console.log(`\nPosted: https://news.aesthetic.computer/${code}`);
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// ATProto sync
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try {
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const atproto = await syncToAtproto(
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db,
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ADMIN_SUB,
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{ headline: title, body, when: now },
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doc._id?.toString(),
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);
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if (atproto) {
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await posts.updateOne({ code }, { $set: { atproto } });
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console.log(` ATProto: ${atproto.uri}`);
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}
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} catch (e) {
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console.log(` ATProto sync failed: ${e.message}`);
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}
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});
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}
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async function commandList(args) {
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const limit = parseInt(args.limit) || 10;
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await withDb(async (db) => {
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const posts = db.collection("news-posts");
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const items = await posts
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.find({ status: "live" })
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.sort({ when: -1 })
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.limit(limit)
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.toArray();
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if (items.length === 0) {
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console.log("No posts.");
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return;
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}
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console.log(`\n${items.length} recent post(s):\n`);
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for (const item of items) {
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const date = item.when.toISOString().slice(0, 10);
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const comments = item.commentCount || 0;
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const titlePreview =
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item.title.length > 60 ? item.title.slice(0, 60) + "..." : item.title;
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console.log(` ${item.code} ${date} ${titlePreview} (${comments}c)`);
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}
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console.log();
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});
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}
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async function commandDelete(args) {
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const code = args._[1];
304
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if (!code) {
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console.error("Usage: ac-news delete <code>");
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process.exit(1);
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}
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if (!ADMIN_SUB) {
310
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console.error("ADMIN_SUB not set.");
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process.exit(1);
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}
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314
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await withDb(async (db) => {
315
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const posts = db.collection("news-posts");
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const post = await posts.findOne({ code });
317
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318
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if (!post) {
319
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console.error(`Post not found: ${code}`);
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process.exit(1);
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}
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console.log(`Deleting: "${post.title}" (${code})`);
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await posts.updateOne({ code }, { $set: { status: "dead" } });
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console.log("Deleted (marked dead).");
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});
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}
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// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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// Help
331
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// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
332
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333
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function printHelp() {
334
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console.log(`ac-news — Post prose updates to news.aesthetic.computer
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336
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Usage: ac-news <command> [options]
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338
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Compose:
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commits [--count N] [--since "..."] Show recent commits for reference
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post "Title" "Body" Post a prose update
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post "Title" --file path.md Post from a markdown file
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post "Title" --editor Open $EDITOR to write the body
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post "Title" --stdin Read body from stdin
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post ... --dry-run Preview without posting
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Manage:
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list [--limit N] List recent posts
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delete <code> Delete a post (admin)
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350
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Examples:
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ac-news commits --since "1 week ago"
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ac-news post "Dev Update" "The native OS build system got a major overhaul..."
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ac-news post "Weekly Update" --file updates/2026-03-24.md
354
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ac-news post "What's New" --editor
355
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ac-news list
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`);
357
+
}
358
+
359
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// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
360
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// Main
361
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// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
362
+
363
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const COMMANDS = {
364
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commits: commandCommits,
365
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post: commandPost,
366
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list: commandList,
367
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delete: commandDelete,
368
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};
369
+
370
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async function main() {
371
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const args = parseArgs(process.argv.slice(2));
372
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const command = args._[0] || "help";
373
+
374
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if (command === "help" || command === "--help" || command === "-h") {
375
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printHelp();
376
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return;
377
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}
378
+
379
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const handler = COMMANDS[command];
380
+
if (!handler) {
381
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console.error(`Unknown command: ${command}\n`);
382
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printHelp();
383
+
process.exitCode = 1;
384
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return;
385
+
}
386
+
387
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await handler(args);
388
+
}
389
+
390
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main().catch((err) => {
391
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console.error(`ac-news: ${err.message}`);
392
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process.exit(1);
393
+
});
+4
package.json
+4
package.json
···
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53
"at:sync": "node at/cli.mjs sync:status",
54
54
"at:standard:sync": "node at/scripts/atproto/backfill-standard-site-documents.mjs",
55
55
"at:standard:dry": "node at/scripts/atproto/backfill-standard-site-documents.mjs --dry-run",
56
+
"news": "node at/news-cli.mjs",
57
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"news:commits": "node at/news-cli.mjs commits",
58
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"news:post": "node at/news-cli.mjs post",
59
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"news:list": "node at/news-cli.mjs list",
56
60
"profile:secret:rotate": "node utilities/rotate-profile-stream-secret.mjs",
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"ac": "./aesthetic",
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62
"admin:udp": "ssh root@157.245.134.225",