Hi

\"\n});\n```\n\n## Val Town Utility Functions\n\nVal Town provides several utility functions to help with common project tasks.\n\n### Importing Utilities\n\nAlways import utilities with version pins to avoid breaking changes:\n\n```ts\nimport { readFile, serveFile } from \"https://esm.town/v/std/utils@85-main/index.ts\";\n```\n\n### Available Utilities\n\n\n#### **serveFile** - Serve project files with proper content types\n\nFor example, in Hono:\n\n```ts\n// serve all files in frontend/ and shared/\napp.get(\"/frontend/*\", c => serveFile(c.req.path, import.meta.url));\napp.get(\"/shared/*\", c => serveFile(c.req.path, import.meta.url));\n```\n\n#### **readFile** - Read files from within the project:\n\n```ts\n// Read a file from the project\nconst fileContent = await readFile(\"/frontend/index.html\", import.meta.url);\n```\n\n#### **listFiles** - List all files in the project\n\n```ts\nconst files = await listFiles(import.meta.url);\n```\n\n## Val Town Platform Specifics\n\n- **Redirects:** Use `c.redirect()` if you're using Hono. If not, use `return new Response(null, { status: 302, headers: { Location: \"/place/to/redirect\" }})` instead of `Response.redirect` which is broken\n- **Images:** Avoid external images or base64 images. Use emojis, unicode symbols, or icon fonts/libraries instead\n- **AI Image:** To inline generate an AI image use: `

`\n- **Storage:** DO NOT use the Deno KV module for storage\n- **Browser APIs:** DO NOT use the `alert()`, `prompt()`, or `confirm()` methods\n- **Weather Data:** Use open-meteo for weather data (doesn't require API keys) unless otherwise specified. wttr.in is a good backup.\n- **Error Debugging:** Add `` to HTML to capture client-side errors\n- **Error Handling:** Only use try...catch when there's a clear local resolution; Avoid catches that merely log or return 500s. Let errors bubble up with full context\n- **Environment Variables:** Use `Deno.env.get('keyname')` when you need to, but generally prefer APIs that don't require keys\n- **Imports:** Use `https://esm.sh` for npm and Deno dependencies to ensure compatibility on server and browser\n- **Storage Strategy:** Only use backend storage if explicitly required; prefer simple static client-side sites\n- **React Configuration:** When using React libraries, pin versions with `?deps=react@18.2.0,react-dom@18.2.0` and start the file with `/** @jsxImportSource https://esm.sh/react@18.2.0 */`\n- Ensure all React dependencies and sub-dependencies are pinned to the same version\n- **Styling:** Default to using TailwindCSS via `` unless otherwise specified\n- Val Town does not accept incoming websocket connections. Use polling, long polling, or server-sent events.\n\n## Project Structure and Design Patterns\n\n### Recommended Directory Structure\n```\n├── backend/\n│ ├── database/\n│ │ ├── migrations.ts # Schema definitions\n│ │ ├── queries.ts # DB query functions\n│ │ └── README.md\n│ └── routes/ # Route modules\n│ ├── [route].ts\n│ └── static.ts # Static file serving\n│ ├── index.ts # Main entry point\n│ └── README.md\n├── frontend/\n│ ├── components/\n│ │ ├── App.tsx\n│ │ └── [Component].tsx\n│ ├── favicon.svg\n│ ├── index.html # Main HTML template\n│ ├── index.tsx # Frontend JS entry point\n│ ├── README.md\n│ └── style.css\n├── README.md\n└── shared/\n ├── README.md\n └── utils.ts # Shared types and functions\n```\n\n### Backend (Hono) Best Practices\n\n- Hono is the recommended API framework\n- Main entry point should be `backend/index.ts`\n- Do NOT use Hono serveStatic middleware\n- **Static asset serving:** Use the utility functions to read and serve project files:\n ```ts\n import { readFile, serveFile } from \"https://esm.town/v/std/utils/index.ts\";\n\n // serve all files in frontend/ and shared/\n app.get(\"/frontend/*\", c => serveFile(c.req.path, import.meta.url));\n app.get(\"/shared/*\", c => serveFile(c.req.path, import.meta.url));\n\n // For index.html, often you'll want to bootstrap with initial data\n app.get(\"/\", async c => {\n let html = await readFile(\"/frontend/index.html\", import.meta.url);\n\n // Inject data to avoid extra round-trips\n const initialData = await fetchInitialData();\n const dataScript = ``;\n\n html = html.replace(\"\", `${dataScript}`);\n return c.html(html);\n });\n ```\n- Create RESTful API routes for CRUD operations\n- Always include this snippet at the top-level Hono app to re-throwing errors to see full stack traces:\n```ts\n// Unwrap Hono errors to see original error details\napp.onError((err) => Promise.reject(err));\n```\n\n### Database Patterns\n- Run migrations on startup or comment out for performance\n- Change table names when modifying schemas rather than altering\n- Export clear query functions with proper TypeScript typing\n\n## Common Gotchas and Solutions\n\n1. **Environment Limitations:**\n - Val Town runs on Deno in a serverless context, not Node.js\n - Code in `shared/` must work in both frontend and backend environments\n - Cannot use `Deno` keyword in shared code\n - Use `https://esm.sh` for imports that work in both environments\n\n2. **SQLite Peculiarities:**\n - Limited support for ALTER TABLE operations\n - Create new tables with updated schemas and copy data when needed\n - Always run table creation before querying\n\n3. **React Configuration:**\n - All React dependencies must be pinned to 18.2.0\n - Always include `@jsxImportSource https://esm.sh/react@18.2.0` at the top of React files\n - Rendering issues often come from mismatched React versions\n\n4. **File Handling:**\n - Val Town only supports text files, not binary\n - Use the provided utilities to read files across branches and forks\n - For files in the project, use `readFile` helpers\n\n5. **API Design:**\n - `fetch` handler is the entry point for HTTP vals\n - Run the Hono app with `export default app.fetch // This is the entry point for HTTP vals`\n\n6. **Hono Peculiarities:**\n - NEVER EVER write this line: `import { serveStatic } from 'https://esm.sh/hono@3.11.7/middleware';`\n - Instead use: `import { readFile, serveFile } from \"https://esm.town/v/std/utils/index.ts\";`\n - NEVER EVER write this line: `import { cors } from \"https://esm.sh/@hono/cors@0.0.6\";`. \n - Val Town automatically handles CORS.\n - If you need cookies, use: import { deleteCookie, getCookie, setCookie } from \"npm:hono/cookie\";","deleted","label",[169,153],"prompts","permalink","https://www.val.town/x/malcolmocean/Townie/code/prompts/system_prompt.txt","extension","txt","actionData","errors"]