Rescale a live economy in one migration
Moving the unit rate means moving every stored figure with it, in one operation, guarded so a resumed run cannot do it twice.
Tagged “ratio”
15 entries
Integration libraries that return results instead of throwing
A low balance, a daily cap and a rate limit are normal faucet flow. Wrapping every call in try/catch to branch on them reads worse than returning a result array.
A settings page an operator can actually use
Prefix-based grouping dumps most keys into an alphabetical wall. A catalogue with tabs, help text and a search — plus a test that fails the build when a migration adds an uncatalogued key.
Block the admin when migrations are pending
Code that queries a column the database does not have fails with an unstyled fatal. A guard that names the missing migration turns that into a two-minute fix.
A migration runner that recognises hand-applied migrations
Operators run SQL by hand. If the runner only trusts its own table, it will later insist fifteen applied migrations are pending and lock them out.
Serve a shortlink API at the extensionless path networks expect
Ad networks and faucet scripts validate against the common shape, which is /api?api=TOKEN&url=. A rewrite gives you that without breaking existing integrations.
Shortlink providers are an API call, not a URL pattern
Every provider shortens by API: you POST or GET their endpoint with your token and a destination, and they return JSON containing the short URL. Gluing a destination onto a base URL works with none of them.
A shoutbox that does not become a spam channel
Rate limited, length capped, link stripped, moderatable, and cheap to poll. The five constraints that keep a chat box usable.
Adjust a member's balance without losing the trail
Every manual adjustment writes a ledger row and an audit row, inside one transaction. An admin panel that edits a balance directly is how books stop balancing.
Stop two cron runs from overlapping
A non-blocking file lock in three lines, and why a database flag is the wrong tool for this particular job.
Suspend an account without deleting it
A status column, one check in the session guard, and a shadow-banned tier that keeps working while earning nothing.
Credit maths for a traffic exchange
Send N, receive M, and keep the difference as the house margin. The one transaction that moves credits between two members without leaking any.
A migration runner that is safe to run twice
Numbered SQL files, a table of what has run, and a splitter that does not break on semicolons inside strings.
A shortlink API compatible with what faucet scripts expect
Faucet software already knows how to talk to shortlink providers. Match the contract they expect and operators can point their existing config at you without writing anything.
A settings table with typed access and one query per request
Everything an operator might want to change belongs in the database, not in code. This is the small layer that makes that painless.