You are an advanced assistant specialized in generating Val Town code.
- Ask clarifying questions when requirements are ambiguous
- Provide complete, functional solutions rather than skeleton implementations
- Test your logic against edge cases before presenting the final solution
- Ensure all code follows Val Town's specific platform requirements
- If a section of code that you're working on is getting too complex, consider refactoring it into subcomponents
- Generate code in TypeScript or TSX
- Add appropriate TypeScript types and interfaces for all data structures
- Prefer official SDKs or libraries than writing API calls directly
- Ask the user to supply API or library documentation if you are at all unsure about it
- Never bake in secrets into the code - always use environment variables
- Include comments explaining complex logic (avoid commenting obvious operations)
- Follow modern ES6+ conventions and functional programming practices if possible
- Create web APIs and endpoints
- Handle HTTP requests and responses
- Example structure:
Files that are HTTP triggers have http in their name like foobar.http.tsx
- Run on a schedule
- Use cron expressions for timing
- Example structure:
Files that are Cron triggers have cron in their name like foobar.cron.tsx
- Process incoming emails
- Handle email-based workflows
- Example structure:
Files that are Email triggers have email in their name like foobar.email.tsx
Val Town provides several hosted services and utility functions.
import { blob } from "https://esm.town/v/std/blob";
await blob.setJSON("myKey", { hello: "world" });
let blobDemo = await blob.getJSON("myKey");
let appKeys = await blob.list("app_");
await blob.delete("myKey");
import { sqlite } from "https://esm.town/v/stevekrouse/sqlite";
const TABLE_NAME = 'todo_app_users_2';
// Create table - do this before usage and change table name when modifying schema
await sqlite.execute(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS ${TABLE_NAME} (
id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
name TEXT NOT NULL
)`);
// Query data
const result = await sqlite.execute(`SELECT * FROM ${TABLE_NAME} WHERE id = ?`, [1]);
Note: When changing a SQLite table's schema, change the table's name (e.g., add _2 or _3) to create a fresh table.
import { OpenAI } from "https://esm.town/v/std/openai";
const openai = new OpenAI();
const completion = await openai.chat.completions.create({
messages: [
{ role: "user", content: "Say hello in a creative way" },
],
model: "gpt-4o-mini",
max_tokens: 30,
});
import { email } from "https://esm.town/v/std/email";
// By default emails the owner of the val
await email({
subject: "Hi",
text: "Hi",
html: "<h1>Hi</h1>"
});
Val Town provides several utility functions to help with common project tasks.
Always import utilities with version pins to avoid breaking changes:
import { parseProject, readFile, serveFile } from "https://esm.town/v/std/utils@85-main/index.ts";
For example, in Hono:
// serve all files in frontend/ and shared/
app.get("/frontend/*", c => serveFile(c.req.path, import.meta.url));
app.get("/shared/*", c => serveFile(c.req.path, import.meta.url));
// Read a file from the project
const fileContent = await readFile("/frontend/index.html", import.meta.url);
This is useful for including info for linking back to a val, ie in "view source" urls:
const projectVal = parseProject(import.meta.url);
console.log(projectVal.username); // Owner of the project
console.log(projectVal.name); // Project name
console.log(projectVal.version); // Version number
console.log(projectVal.branch); // Branch name
console.log(projectVal.links.self.project); // URL to the project page
However, it's extremely importing to note that parseProject and other Standard Library utilities ONLY RUN ON THE SERVER.
If you need access to this data on the client, run it in the server and pass it to the client by splicing it into the HTML page
or by making an API request for it.
- Redirects: Use
return new Response(null, { status: 302, headers: { Location: "/place/to/redirect" }})instead ofResponse.redirectwhich is broken - Images: Avoid external images or base64 images. Use emojis, unicode symbols, or icon fonts/libraries instead
- AI Image: To inline generate an AI image use:
<img src="https://maxm-imggenurl.web.val.run/the-description-of-your-image" /> - Storage: DO NOT use the Deno KV module for storage
- Browser APIs: DO NOT use the
alert(),prompt(), orconfirm()methods - Weather Data: Use open-meteo for weather data (doesn't require API keys) unless otherwise specified
- View Source: Add a view source link by importing & using
import.meta.url.replace("ems.sh", "val.town)"(or passing this data to the client) and includetarget="_top"attribute - Error Debugging: Add
<script src="https://esm.town/v/std/catch"></script>to HTML to capture client-side errors - 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
- Environment Variables: Use
Deno.env.get('keyname')when you need to, but generally prefer APIs that don't require keys - Imports: Use
https://esm.shfor npm and Deno dependencies to ensure compatibility on server and browser - Storage Strategy: Only use backend storage if explicitly required; prefer simple static client-side sites
- React Configuration: When using React libraries, pin versions with
?deps=react@18.2.0,react-dom@18.2.0and start the file with/** @jsxImportSource https://esm.sh/react@18.2.0 */ - Ensure all React dependencies and sub-dependencies are pinned to the same version
- Styling: Default to using TailwindCSS via
<script src="https://cdn.twind.style" crossorigin></script>unless otherwise specified
├── backend/
│ ├── database/
│ │ ├── migrations.ts # Schema definitions
│ │ ├── queries.ts # DB query functions
│ │ └── README.md
│ └── routes/ # Route modules
│ ├── [route].ts
│ └── static.ts # Static file serving
│ ├── index.ts # Main entry point
│ └── README.md
├── frontend/
│ ├── components/
│ │ ├── App.tsx
│ │ └── [Component].tsx
│ ├── favicon.svg
│ ├── index.html # Main HTML template
│ ├── index.tsx # Frontend JS entry point
│ ├── README.md
│ └── style.css
├── README.md
└── shared/
├── README.md
└── utils.ts # Shared types and functions
- Hono is the recommended API framework
- Main entry point should be
backend/index.ts - Static asset serving: Use the utility functions to read and serve project files:
import { readFile, serveFile } from "https://esm.town/v/std/utils@85-main/index.ts"; // serve all files in frontend/ and shared/ app.get("/frontend/*", c => serveFile(c.req.path, import.meta.url)); app.get("/shared/*", c => serveFile(c.req.path, import.meta.url)); // For index.html, often you'll want to bootstrap with initial data app.get("/", async c => { let html = await readFile("/frontend/index.html", import.meta.url); // Inject data to avoid extra round-trips const initialData = await fetchInitialData(); const dataScript = `<script> window.__INITIAL_DATA__ = ${JSON.stringify(initialData)}; </script>`; html = html.replace("</head>", `${dataScript}</head>`); return c.html(html); });
- Create RESTful API routes for CRUD operations
- Always include this snippet at the top-level Hono app to re-throwing errors to see full stack traces:
// Unwrap Hono errors to see original error details app.onError((err, c) => { throw err; });
- Run migrations on startup or comment out for performance
- Change table names when modifying schemas rather than altering
- Export clear query functions with proper TypeScript typing
-
Environment Limitations:
- Val Town runs on Deno in a serverless context, not Node.js
- Code in
shared/must work in both frontend and backend environments - Cannot use
Denokeyword in shared code - Use
https://esm.shfor imports that work in both environments
-
SQLite Peculiarities:
- Limited support for ALTER TABLE operations
- Create new tables with updated schemas and copy data when needed
- Always run table creation before querying
-
React Configuration:
- All React dependencies must be pinned to 18.2.0
- Always include
@jsxImportSource https://esm.sh/react@18.2.0at the top of React files - Rendering issues often come from mismatched React versions
-
File Handling:
- Val Town only supports text files, not binary
- Use the provided utilities to read files across branches and forks
- For files in the project, use
readFilehelpers
-
API Design:
fetchhandler is the entry point for HTTP vals- Run the Hono app with
export default app.fetch // This is the entry point for HTTP vals
- Use the relevant log level based on what you're logging.
- Import
https://www.val.town/x/cricks_unmixed4u/logger/code/logger/main.tsxand uselogInfo,logErrororlogDebug.
The pseudo-PRD sets an intentionally narrow product shape (“today-only, form-first tracking”) with a strong constraint: ship a tiny MVP that remains easy to extend. The implementation steps that follow are best understood as systematically preserving extensibility while staying mobile-fast and today-centric. The guidelines below summarize the architectural “spine” that the steps build toward, and explain why some later steps (e.g. week view, passphrase login) still fit the same spine rather than being ad-hoc add-ons.
-
Single source of truth for the domain model (Domain-Driven Design, DDD; Single Source of Truth; DRY)
- Established in Step 3 (Zod
Entry/Ratingas canonical) and hardened in Step 4.1 (shared models FE/BE), then enforced throughout persistence and API (Steps 4.3–5, 7).
- Established in Step 3 (Zod
-
Backward/forward compatible evolution (schema evolution; Postel’s law)
- Formalized in Step 3 (versioned
Rating, migrations on load). The DB JSON rating columns in Step 4.2 preserve this flexibility.
- Formalized in Step 3 (versioned
-
Explicit translation layers (layered architecture; anti-corruption layer; separation of concerns)
- Implemented directly in Step 4.3 (
dbRowToEntry,entryToDbParams) so the rest of the system speaks onlyEntry.
- Implemented directly in Step 4.3 (
-
Validate and enforce invariants at trusted boundaries (validate-at-the-edges; robust server, thin client)
- Codified in Step 4.4 (server fills
id/createdAt, derives scores from rating values, ignores conflicting client fields).
- Codified in Step 4.4 (server fills
-
State-driven UI instead of duplicated flows (Single Responsibility Principle, SRP; DRY)
-
“Today-only form-first” scaffolding begins in Step 1 and is extended via explicit UI states:
- wake-up check-in vs normal (Steps 6–8),
- create vs edit (Step 11 with
selectedEntryId).
-
-
Mobile-first, low-friction capture (Human–Computer Interaction heuristics; progressive enhancement)
- Button groups for fast tapping in Step 2; simplified time entry defaults and “modes” in Steps 6–8; lightweight mood helper chips in Steps 9–10.
-
Progressive enrichment without tight coupling (Open–Closed Principle, OCP; progressive disclosure)
- Mood description and helper add richness without affecting scoring logic in Steps 9–10 (no coupling to scores in v1; optional
notelinkage).
- Mood description and helper add richness without affecting scoring logic in Steps 9–10 (no coupling to scores in v1; optional
-
Read models before editable aggregates (complexity management; Command Query Responsibility Segregation, CQRS intuition)
- Editing is local and constrained to today in Step 11; cross-day viewing is introduced as strictly read-only in Step 12.
-
Stable identity; credentials map to identity (identity vs credential separation; stable identifiers)
- Backend-user tables and passphrase credential mapping are introduced in Steps 13–15, while keeping
user_idas the durable key stored client-side.
- Backend-user tables and passphrase credential mapping are introduced in Steps 13–15, while keeping
-
Repositories encapsulate storage and business rules (Repository pattern; SRP)
- Entries repository appears in Step 5; user repository in Step 14; passphrase repository and uniqueness/invariants in Step 15.
-
Vertical slices as the unit of delivery (incremental delivery; tracer bullets)
- Each “step” is a vertical slice (model → storage → API → UI), clearly visible from Steps 3–5 and again in Steps 13–16 (tables → repo → endpoints → reusable UI component).
-
Conservative, additive schema changes (evolutionary database design; safety-first refactoring)
- DB changes in Step 4.2 and Step 13 are additive (nullable columns, JSON/JSONB, new tables) to avoid breaking older clients/data.
-
Step 1 – UI scaffolding Basic “today” page with new-entry form and today’s log, storing
Entryobjects inlocalStoragewith minimal Tailwind CSS. -
Step 2 – Fast ratings (mood 1–5, overstimulation 1–3) Tap-friendly button groups for
moodScore(1–5) andoverstimulationScore(1–3), no default, optimized for mobile touch. -
Step 3 – Versioned ratings + Zod “Entry” model
Ratingschema:dimension,min/max/step,value, optionalui+note, withversionfield and union over versions.Entryschema: date/time, mood/overstimulation scores, optional rating objects, activities,moodDescription, timestamps,id.- Form works with
Ratingobjects as primary state; numeric scores derived fromrating.value. - All saves/loads pass through Zod; local migrations repair older data; schemas are shared across frontend/back.
-
Step 4.1 – Shared models Place
ratingSchemaandentrySchema(and derived types) in a shared module so both frontend and backend use the same data model and validation. -
Step 4.2 – Database schema Add to entries table:
mood_score,overstimulation_score(small integers, nullable).mood_rating_json,overstimulation_rating_json(JSON/JSONB, nullable). Keep existing date/time/activity columns.
-
Step 4.3 – DB row ↔ Entry mapping Implement
dbRowToEntryandentryToDbParamsto:- Map DB columns ↔
Entryfields (including JSON rating payloads). - Always parse through
entrySchemaso API code deals only withEntry.
- Map DB columns ↔
-
Step 4.4 – API validation For
POST /entries:- Input schema without
id/createdAt. - Backend fills
idandcreatedAt, validatesmoodRating/overstimulationRatingagainstratingSchema. - Derive scores from rating values and ignore conflicting client numbers.
- Input schema without
-
Step 5 – Persist in backend Introduce a backend entries repository and store entries by a
user_idkept inlocalStorage, reusing the sameEntrymodel. -
Step 6–8 – Wake-up check-in + simplified time input
- If no entries for today: show a “wake-up check-in” first-entry flow; else show normal form + timeline.
- Introduce
DEFAULT_WAKE_BLOCK_MINUTESfor wake block duration. - Single time-range form with
startTime/endTime, defaulting tolastEndTime → now, with implicit “modes” based on edits.
-
Step 9–10 – Mood description + helper (v1)
Entry.moodDescriptionfield persisted and displayed; also flows intomoodRating.note.- Add
moodWords.tswith four small word lists:highEnergyPleasant,highEnergyUnpleasant,lowEnergyPleasant,lowEnergyUnpleasant. - “Help me describe this” link opens a compact 2×2 helper (High/Low energy × Pleasant/Unpleasant) showing chips from those lists.
- Chip behavior: first tap sets
moodDescription; further taps append", <word>"; helper stays open until user taps “Done/Close”. - Visually light, touch-friendly chips; no behavior coupling to scores in v1.
-
Step 11 – Edit today’s entries in-place
- State:
selectedEntryId: string | null, mode derived as"create"vs"edit". - Rows in “Today’s log” are tappable; tap sets
selectedEntryIdand (optionally) scrolls to form. - In edit mode, prefill all editable fields from the selected
Entryand disable default time logic. - Labels/buttons switch to “Edit entry” / “Save changes” + “Cancel editing”.
- Save in edit mode: validate, rebuild
Entry(keepid,createdAt,date), replace in today list, persist, re-sort, then reset to create mode. - Cancel: clear selection, reset form, reapply default times and clear selection states.
- Selected row is highlighted; wake-up entry edits behave like any other row; edits restricted to today’s entries.
- State:
-
Step 12 – Week overview (read-only, Monday–Sunday)
- Date utilities:
WEEK_START_DAY = "monday",getWeekStart,getWeekEnd,formatDate. - New
WeekOverviewview, navigated via “View this week” / “Back to today”. loadEntriesForDateRange(startDate, endDate)loads and filters entries;groupEntriesByDategroups them.- For each day Monday–Sunday: show header and either “No entries” or a simple list of time, mood (score + description), overstimulation, must/pleasant activities.
- View is strictly read-only.
- Date utilities:
-
Step 13 – User data tables
- Add
activity_log_users_v1withid,created_at,last_seen_at. - Add
activity_log_passphrase_credentials_v1withid,user_id(FK),passphrase_hash,created_at, plus unique constraint onpassphrase_hash.
- Add
-
Step 14 – User repository Implement backend functions:
createActivityLogUserV1()(new id, insert, return row).getActivityLogUserV1ById(id)→ user ornull.touchActivityLogUserV1LastSeen(id)→ updatelast_seen_at = now(no-op if missing).- Optional
ensureActivityLogUserV1(id)and small tests covering create/get/touch.
-
Step 15 – Map existing user_id to passphrase
- Clarify that
activity_log_entries_v* .user_idequalsactivity_log_users_v1.id, and is generated once then stored inlocalStorage["activity_log_user_id"]. - Add
createActivityLogUserV1WithId(id)andensureActivityLogUserV1ForId(id). - Passphrase repo:
createPassphraseCredentialV1(userId, hash)andfindPassphraseCredentialByHashV1(hash). POST /api/activity-log/passphrase/set: validate body, hash passphrase, enforce uniqueness (409 if used by other user), ensure user row exists foruserId, then create credential if new.POST /api/activity-log/passphrase/login: hash passphrase, look up credential, returnuserIdor 401.- Frontend: keep existing
activity_log_user_idgeneration; “Set passphrase” binds currentuserIdto passphrase; “Login with passphrase” on new device setsactivity_log_user_idfrom backend response and reloads data; entries model/queries unchanged, always filter byuser_id.
- Clarify that
-
Step 16 – Reusable “log in with passphrase” component (in progress)
- Create
PassphraseLoginSectionwith propsonLoginSuccess(userId). - Move passphrase input + submit logic into this component (
passphrase,isLoading,errorMessagestate; calls login endpoint). - Use it on main page and wake-up check-in, reusing a shared
handleLoginSuccess(storesuserId, updates state, reloads data). - Show component only when
currentUserId === null; hide automatically after login. - Include warnings about passphrase sensitivity; optionally reuse Bitwarden link markup via the component.
- Create
-
- Step 17 – Passphrase sync warning
- Track
hasPassphrase: booleanin app state, persisted inlocalStorage["activity_log_has_passphrase"]. - Initialise it from localStorage on app startup.
- When
/passphrase/setor/passphrase/loginsucceeds, sethasPassphrase = trueand persist it. - In
App.tsx, show a small warning card (“data only on this device, set a passphrase to sync”) only when!hasPassphrase, with actions to set or use an existing passphrase; hide it oncehasPassphraseis true.
-
- Step 18 – Shared UI components
- Identify repeated UI between the main entry form and
WakeUpCheckIn(card, labels, buttons, errors, mood/overstimulation controls, mood description). - Extract layout primitives:
ActivityCard,FieldLabel,TimeInputField,PrimaryButton,ErrorText. - Extract basic mood/overstimulation/mood-description components:
MoodRatingButtons,OverstimulationRatingButtons,MoodDescriptionField. - Refactor both main form and
WakeUpCheckInto use these components so they share visuals and structure.
-
- Step 19 – V1 rating UI for mood + overstimulation
- Reuse existing
Rating/RatingV1schema. - Implement
RatingButtonsV1that renders a scaled button group based onrating.scaleand uses the Tailwind styling fromWakeUpCheckIn. - Implement
MoodRatingFieldandOverstimulationRatingFieldas thin wrappers overRatingButtonsV1for the two dimensions. - Update
WakeUpCheckInand the main form to keep fullRatingV1state and render these fields instead of inline button groups.
-
- Step 20 – Use shared rating components in
EntryForm.tsx
- Step 20 – Use shared rating components in
- In
EntryForm.tsx, store mood and overstimulation asRatingV1(orRating | undefined) instead of plain numbers, initialised viacreateMoodRating/createOverstimulationRatingfor existing entries when needed. - Replace inline rating JSX with
<MoodRatingField>and<OverstimulationRatingField>. - On submit, build
EntryInputby passing both the rating objects and derived numeric scores (from.value), satisfyingentryInputSchema. - Ensure validation requires a mood selection (and optionally overstimulation) and that edit mode correctly preloads and updates ratings and scores.
Follow Engineering Guidelines.
Proposed “first simple pass” for data entry. = infer a default mode from lastEndTime and now, and only change how we prefill and label the form. No separate screens yet.
Given:
lastEnd= DateTime of last entry end (ornull).now= current DateTime.RECENT_GAP_MINUTES= e.g. 90 (tunable).
Rules:
-
If
!lastEnd→ default to Backfill mode (user is probably logging what they just did). -
Else compute
gapMinutes = (now - lastEnd) in minutes(across days).- If
gapMinutes <= RECENT_GAP_MINUTES→ Forward mode (continue log). - If
gapMinutes > RECENT_GAP_MINUTES→ Backfill mode (user has been off the log).
- If
Editing an existing entry is always Precision mode (no inference needed).
-
Define mode enum
- Add
type EntryCreationMode = "forward" | "backfill";(precision is implicit, for edits only). - Rationale: Gives you a concrete handle in state and UI to branch on.
- Add
-
Implement gap-based inference function
- Add
inferEntryCreationMode(lastEnd: Date | null, now: Date): EntryCreationModeusing rules above. - Introduce
RECENT_GAP_MINUTESconstant (e.g.90) near this function so it is easy to tweak. - Rationale: Central place to adjust behavior without touching UI code.
- Add
-
Expose
lastEndas a real DateTime- Ensure you can derive
lastEnd: Date | nullfrom the stored entries (not onlyHH:MM). - If you currently only store
HH:MM, standardize on fullDateTimefor the backend and derivelastEndfrom the most recent entry for today/overall. - Rationale: You need a real time delta in minutes, not just a time-of-day string.
- Ensure you can derive
-
Determine mode when opening “New Entry”
-
In the “open new entry form” code path, compute:
const mode = inferEntryCreationMode(lastEnd, new Date()).
-
Store this in component state:
const [creationMode, setCreationMode] = useState<EntryCreationMode | null>(…); -
Rationale: Mode is decided once per form-open, not recomputed on every render.
-
-
Forward mode defaults (continue from last)
-
If
creationMode === "forward":- Set
startTimeto formattedlastEnd(HH:MM). - Set
endTimetogetCurrentTimeString().
- Set
-
Make sure this only happens on first render / form-open, not every rerender (e.g. via
useEffectwith a guard). -
Rationale: Common “I’ve just been doing this” flow becomes zero-picker, confirm-only.
-
-
Backfill mode defaults (log last X from now)
-
Introduce
DEFAULT_BACKFILL_MINUTES(e.g.30). -
If
creationMode === "backfill":- Let
endTime = getCurrentTimeString(). - Let
startTime = format(addMinutes(now, -DEFAULT_BACKFILL_MINUTES)). - Reuse or slightly adapt the
addMinutesToTimeStringhelper for this.
- Let
-
Rationale: In “I lost track” mode, user starts from “now” and only adjusts how far back, not absolute clock times.
-
-
Heading / helper text based on mode
-
For
creationMode === "forward":- Change sublabel/description to something like:
Continuing from your last entry at {lastEndTime}.
- Change sublabel/description to something like:
-
For
creationMode === "backfill":- Show:
Logging something you were doing until just now (default: last {DEFAULT_BACKFILL_MINUTES} minutes).
- Show:
-
Rationale: Make the mental model visible to you (and later users) without new screens.
-
-
Keep existing time inputs unchanged for now
- Do not yet add chips or step changes; just rely on better defaults and text.
- Keep “Use last end (…)” and “Use now (…)” buttons as-is.
- Rationale: Isolate the effect of mode inference and prefilling first; avoid multiple changes at once.
-
Log inferred mode for your own usage
-
Temporarily
console.logor add a subtle debug badge with:creationMode,gapMinutes,lastEnd,now.
-
Use your own real logging to see if
RECENT_GAP_MINUTESandDEFAULT_BACKFILL_MINUTESfeel right. -
Rationale: Lets you calibrate thresholds based on your real behavior before building more UI on top.
-
If you want, next step after this pass is to add minimal Backfill affordances (e.g. Last 15/30/60 min chips) that only show when creationMode === "backfill".
Goal: when creationMode === "backfill", let the user say “log the last X minutes” without thinking in clock times. Under the hood, this just manipulates startTime/endTime.
-
Introduce a constant list of backfill options, for example:
-
Keep using
DEFAULT_BACKFILL_MINUTES(from step 6) and ensure it is one of these values (e.g. 30). -
Rationale: one source of truth for default and chips; easy to tune from code.
-
In the new-entry component, add:
const [backfillDurationMinutes, setBackfillDurationMinutes] = useState<number | null>(null); -
When you initialize the form in backfill mode (step 6):
-
After setting
startTime/endTime, also set:
-
-
In forward mode, keep this as
null. -
Rationale: distinguishes “this block is defined as ‘last X minutes from now’” from arbitrary manual times.
Create a small helper that recomputes times from backfillDurationMinutes and now:
-
Add:
function applyBackfillDuration( durationMinutes: number, now: Date, setStartTime: (s: string) => void, setEndTime: (s: string) => void ) { const end = now; const start = new Date(end.getTime() - durationMinutes * 60_000); setEndTime(formatTime(end)); // "HH:MM" setStartTime(formatTime(start)); }Where
formatTimeis your existinggetCurrentTimeString-style formatter generalized to anyDate. -
Use this helper:
- When initializing in backfill mode.
- When a chip is pressed (see E4).
-
Rationale: avoids duplicating “now minus X minutes” logic in multiple places.
-
Under the End Time field, conditionally render the chips only when
creationMode === "backfill":{creationMode === "backfill" && ( <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-2 mt-1"> {BACKFILL_OPTIONS_MINUTES.map((minutes) => { const isSelected = backfillDurationMinutes === minutes; return ( <button key={minutes} type="button" onClick={() => { setBackfillDurationMinutes(minutes); applyBackfillDuration(minutes, new Date(), setStartTime, setEndTime); }} className={clsx( "text-xs px-2 py-1 rounded", isSelected ? "bg-blue-100 text-blue-700" : "text-blue-500 hover:text-blue-700" )} > Last {minutes}m </button> ); })} </div> )} -
Keep the “Use now (…)” button; in backfill mode it effectively just refreshes
endTimeto now without changingstartTime(or you can decide it should also reapply the selected duration; see E5). -
Rationale: minimal, text-only addition; stays within the existing form layout.
You want clear semantics:
- If you select a chip, “backfill duration” defines the block.
- If you manually edit times, you are in “manual override,” not “last X minutes” anymore.
Todos:
-
When user manually edits
startTimeorendTime:-
Clear the duration state:
-
-
When user clicks a chip:
-
Always:
- Set
backfillDurationMinutesto that chip’s value. - Recompute times via
applyBackfillDuration.
- Set
-
-
Decide behavior of “Use now (…)” in backfill mode:
- Option A (simple): just set
endTime = getCurrentTimeString(); leavestartTimeandbackfillDurationMinutesunchanged. - Option B (duration-consistent): if
backfillDurationMinutesis non-null, callapplyBackfillDuration(backfillDurationMinutes, new Date(), …)so both start and end slide forward. - Pick one and implement; document in a comment.
- Option A (simple): just set
-
Rationale: makes the system predictable and debuggable for you.
-
When
creationMode === "backfill"andbackfillDurationMinutes !== null, show a small helper text near the chips or below the header, e.g.:Logging the last {backfillDurationMinutes} minutes up to now.
-
If
backfillDurationMinutes === null(user manually edited times), fall back to a more neutral text, e.g.:Logging a block that ends around now.
-
Rationale: surfaces the “backfill vs manual” distinction in the UI without adding a separate switch.
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Log for yourself (console or lightweight metrics) when a new entry is created:
creationModebackfillDurationMinutes(if any)gapMinutesat form-open
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After a few days of use, inspect:
- How often does the app infer backfill vs forward?
- In backfill, how often do you keep the default duration vs adjust with chips vs manual edit?
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Rationale: to tune
RECENT_GAP_MINUTES,BACKFILL_OPTIONS_MINUTES, and decide whether a more explicit mode toggle is needed later.