buildlog

A public build-log microblog for short daily entries about what is being built and learned. This is the first app in the Rails portfolio Shape Up bet: public feed for readers, auth-gated posting for the single author.

Product Shape

• Public feed, newest first.
• Individual entry pages for durable links.
• RSS feed for following without social platforms.
• Feedback page with a configurable public form plus GitHub Issues for developer feedback.
• Author-only posting flow with Rails built-in authentication.
• Lightweight visual identity distinct from ozzo.blog: logbook icon, mint paper background, teal ink, and coral accent.

Stack

• Rails 8.1 with built-in auth and Solid Queue/Cache/Cable.
• SQLite in development and production. No Postgres, no Redis.
• Tailwind CSS v4 plus DaisyUI 5.
• Kamal deploys production images to DigitalOcean via GitHub Container Registry.

Local Development

Requires Ruby 3.4.1 and Node 22.

npm install
bin/rails db:prepare
bin/dev

The development server runs at http://localhost:3000.

Tests:

bin/rails test
bin/rails test:system

If SQLite cannot open the repo-mounted storage/*.sqlite3 files on an external volume, use a temp database for local verification:

DATABASE_URL=sqlite3:///tmp/buildlog-dev.sqlite3 bin/rails db:prepare
DATABASE_URL=sqlite3:///tmp/buildlog-dev.sqlite3 bin/rails server

Roadmap

The roadmap uses compact Mermaid flowcharts with short labels and one planning question per diagram.

Bet Flow

%%{init: { "theme": "base", "themeVariables": { "fontSize": "13px" } }}%%
flowchart TB
    bet["Bet 1"]:::core --> core["Core feed"]:::done
    core --> polish["UI polish"]:::done
    polish --> structure["Structure"]:::next
    structure --> integrate["Integrations"]:::later
    integrate --> ship["Ship"]:::ship

    classDef core fill:#eff6ff,stroke:#2563eb,color:#1e3a8a;
    classDef done fill:#ecfdf5,stroke:#059669,color:#065f46;
    classDef next fill:#f8fafc,stroke:#64748b,color:#334155;
    classDef later fill:#fff7ed,stroke:#ea580c,color:#7c2d12;
    classDef ship fill:#fef2f2,stroke:#dc2626,color:#7f1d1d;

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Current Priorities

1. Keep the public feed simple and readable.
2. Link the finished project from ozzo.blog/projects.
3. Capture launch material from real buildlog entries, not a separate content process.
4. Keep tags, filtering, search, and MCP out of Bet 1 unless a later pitch reopens them.

Deploy

Production is deployed with Kamal to a DigitalOcean droplet. Images are pushed to ghcr.io/ozzgio/buildlog.

Secrets live outside the repository:

• RAILS_MASTER_KEY is read from config/master.key.
• KAMAL_REGISTRY_PASSWORD is resolved from gh auth token.
• BUILDLOG_FEEDBACK_URL points to the public Tally form embedded at /feedback (https://tally.so/r/QKa62p).

bin/kamal deploy