myriad/README.md

# myriad

flask app for plurals to publicly share member lists

logged in users are presumed to all be admins with distinction only between being logged in and not

in the blog view, member privacy outweighs individual post privacy. if a private member makes a public post, it will not show up in the public feed. however, if that member switches to public, their public posts will all become publicly viewable (but private posts will remain private). 

the blinkies and stamps stuff is literally just because i want an easy way to upload them when i find them. and im the dev so i get to decide mwa ha ha

make sure blinkies are actually blinkie-sized, and stamps are likewise stamp-sized. too much variation in size will make the layout weird. there's not validation because its designed just to make uploading the images not require ftp + manual code as i had been doing before.

# dev set up (windows)

- after cloning, run `py -3 -m venv .venv` in the root directory and then `.venv\Scripts\activate`
- then `pip install Flask` inside the virtual env
- you might also need to init a database, so use `flask --app myriad init-db`
- to start the site use `flask --app myriad run --debug`

do not deploy this way, the packaged flask server is not secure. production instructions will be provided when the project is ready

- you will need to run `.venv\Scripts\activate` from the folder every time you start working on it
- re-building the entire database with `flask --app myriad init-db` (losing all the data inside) will be necessary as development continues. DO NOT STORE ANYTHING IMPORTANT DURING DEVELOPMENT
- start the site with `flask --app myriad run --debug` as usual

# prod set up (linux)

it is recommended to run waitress in a tmux window for easier management

create new tmux window

`tmux new -s myriad`

detach from tmux window

`ctrl+b` -> `d`

attach to existing tmux window

`tmux attach -t myriad`

## installing

clone the repo and set up virtual env

`git clone https://tea.cubes.link/cube/myriad.git`
`cd myriad`
`python3 -m venv venv`
`source venv/bin/activate`

install necessary packages in the virtual env

`pip install flask`
`pip install waitress`

make sure all directories exist

`mkdir instance`
`mkdir myriad/static/icons`
`mkdir myriad/static/blinkies`
`mkdir myriad/static/stamps`
`mkdir myriad/static/tmp`

copy sample from readme and paste into the following

`sudo nano instance/config.py`

in a window where you can copy the output, (or in python itself) generate a secret key and copy it to the clipboard

`python -c 'import secrets; print(secrets.token_hex())'`

add a new line to config.py and paste in the key 

`SECRET_KEY = '(paste generated key here)'`

initialize the database

`flask --app myriad init-db`

start running the site

`waitress-serve --port=80 --call 'myriad:create_app'`

after running and setting up first user stop waitress (CTRL+C), then edit the config to disable user registration for security

`sudo nano instance/config.py`
`REGISTRATION = False`

## updating

stop waitress (CTRL+C) and use `git pull` to pull changes

start waitress again to reload

if it is a database changing update, use backup features, re-init db, then re-import from backup


# config

- create `config.py` in the instance folder and customise the following settings to your needs

```
REGISTRATION = True # Make sure to disable in production
ALLOWED_EXTENSIONS = {'png', 'jpg', 'jpeg', 'gif'} # Can be anything you want
ICON_UPLOAD_FOLDER = 'myriad/static/icons' # where member icons will be stored
BLINKIES_UPLOAD_FOLDER = 'myriad/static/blinkies' # where site assets "blinkies" will be stored
STAMPS_UPLOAD_FOLDER = 'myriad/static/stamps' # where site assets "stamps" will be stored
THEMES_FOLDER = 'myriad/static/themes' # where theme choices will be stored
TMP_FOLDER = 'myriad/static/tmp' # folder for creating export files
```

# usage

- the software here is free to use, and there's no requirement to link back
- edit the styles and functionality to suit your needs. i'm sure some of you out there are far better with CSS than I am 

# dependencies

- Flask

# preview

- these screenshots are all from the public viewer's perspective

- homepage with pinned members
![homepage with pinned members](https://i.ibb.co/mF52TSnM/Screenshot-2026-03-19-025454.png)

- main blog post feed
![main blog post feed](https://i.ibb.co/tj5WCsx/Screenshot-2026-03-19-025836.png)

- member page showing their uploaded icons (just about)
![member page](https://i.ibb.co/8LJBwVf2/Screenshot-2026-03-19-030004.png)

- groups view
![groups view](https://i.ibb.co/mF9JFR7x/Screenshot-2026-03-19-030108.png)

- a sample part of the administration
![sample administration area](https://i.ibb.co/pr6qFywy/Screenshot-2026-03-19-030406.png)