This release of Ktistec merges the main_3.x branch into the main branch.

Managing two branches, and two releases, was a lot of work. And sometimes changes were lost in the shuffle, like:

Added

• Add a small banner to highlight "offline" status.
• Support YAML MCP prompts and hot-reloading.

I have about a dozen more features and fixes that are ready for the next release, but to keep things simple, I'm doing the merge first, in its own commit.

#ktistec #fediverse #activitypub #crystallang

Release v2.4.16 of Ktistec... because I forgot to include some critical code in v2.4.15... namely, the menu.

Changed

• Reorganize the admin menu.

If you're not planning on adding additional users, you don't need to update!

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Experimental support for multiple users landed with Ktistec release v2.4.15. "Experimental" means that it works for me, but hasn't seen enough testing for me to call it "ready for production". With that said, it's unlikely you'll lose your data.

There are lots of intentional design decisions that fit my vision for Ktistec but may surprise you. Here they are:

Every user is an administrator. That doesn't mean users have access to each other's posts and data, but it does mean all users have access to the shared parts of the site—they can change the site description, for example—and they can add new users. So only add people you trust.

If you want to add another user, create an account for them and give them their username and password.  There is no self-registration. There are no invitations.

Beyond adding a user, there is no support for user management. You can't even boot a user from your site. Users can delete themselves, however.

There is no support for content moderation. Only add people you trust.

TL;DR Multi-user support in Ktistec is suitable for small teams, families (biological or chosen), and your personal avatars. There are better tools for online communities.

Here's the full set of changes:

Added

• Add support for multiple user accounts.

Fixed

• Hide attachments behind the summary. (fixes #125)
• Mark actors as up after refreshing their profile.

#ktistec #fediverse #activitypub #crystallang

With the addition of the @ktistec account, Ktistec (the server) now supports multiple users.

I still have a few rough edges to fix, but there's a good chance official multi-user support will be included in the next release.

#ktistec #fediverse #activitypub #crystallang

The biggest changes in release v2.4.12 of Ktistec are the UI/UX enhancements. The mobile profile, in particular, felt like an afterthought—which it was. The changes make the mobile experience much more pleasant and ergonomic. All of the credit for this work goes to @jayvii.

This release also now refuses to deserialize and use embedded ActivityPub objects from hosts other than the host of the embedding object. While I haven't encountered any problems with the previous implementation in practice, this fix closes a gap that could be exploited by a bad actor to spoof or change content.

Added

• Add follow request status to the actor panel.
• Compute and cache monthly active accounts.

Changed

• (Internal) Only consider properties with changed values as "changed".
• (Internal) Only deserialize embedded ActivityPub objects if hosts match.

Fixed

• Remove line breaks in Turbo Stream output.

#ktistec #fediverse #activitypub #crystallang

Ktistec is taking steps toward supporting multiple users. The first (small) step removes the actor panel from the unauthenticated home page and replaces it with a site description. You can see this in action at epiktistes.com. The site description is managed on the settings page using the same rich text editor used to edit posts. See the README for more information.

Other changes in this release:

Added

• Support a "site description" on the unauthenticated home page.
• Support autofocus on onboarding and authentication forms.
• Add trix_editor view helper.

Changed

• Remove accounts from unauthenticated home page.
• Persist timeline filters in session.

Fixed

• Exclude abstract classes from all_types output. (fixes #104)
• Work around bug in at_beginning_of_week. (see crystal-lang/crystal#16112)

Other

• Disable streaming updates on pages other than the first. (fixes #118)
• Pin Crystal version at 1.16.3 in Docker build. (see libxml_ext#1)

#ktistec #fediverse #activitypub #crystallang

I'm trying to get through the backlog of bugs and features in my to-do list. Release v2.4.10 of Ktistec packages up several important improvements. The most impactful change is graceful server shutdown—I've never had a problem with shutdown leaving the database in a broken state, but prevention is the best cure.

Added

• Support manually refreshing actor information. (fixes #112)
• Add link to log level settings to the navigation bar.

Fixed

• Enable dragging source links to the address bar. (fixes #109)
• Fix missing reply/mention notifications for non-create activities.
• Ensure the network is up before attempting to refresh a page.

Changed

• Block actor handle and display name when actor or post is blocked.
• Gracefully shut down the server.

I'm considering adding lightweight multi-user support (invitation-only, not open registration). I'm interested in your thoughts on whether this would be useful.

#ktistec #fediverse #activitypub #crystallang

the 113,520 lines of code across 332 files in the ktistec codebase is teaching me the importance of distinctive class/method/function/variable names

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