LOG 202412211305 #log

when the api actually works (looking at you, marketo)

so i started building this github activity dashboard, right? just wanted to know how many lines of code i wrote in 2024. but then something weird happened - the github api was actually... nice to work with? 37 commits in, and i'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop, but so far it's been surprisingly smooth sailing.

the original plan

run a simple script to see how many lines of code i'd written. one thing lead to another, and since all my repos are private, and I had to create an api key with full access anyway... this quickly turned into creating a lookback site for all my 2024 projects. you know, something static i could deploy on replit, maybe show off a bit of what i've been up to. but when an api is this cooperative (and the rate limits are this generous), plans have a way of growing legs and running wild.

what's actually happening

right now i'm deep in timeline territory. got visualizations tracking commits and repository activity - nothing fancy, just some clean line graphs showing the journey. but here's the wild part - the github api is just handing over all this data without a fight. after wrestling with marketo's api (where we pay serious money just to get rate-limited into oblivion), this feels like entering some alternate dimension where apis actually want to help you build stuff.

the plot twist

i'm thinking yearly iterations - build out the 2024 lookback page now, but keep pushing on the real-time dashboard features because... well, why not? when the api's playing nice, you keep playing.

honestly, after the marketo form testing adventures with moxie, where every api interaction feels like negotiating with a grumpy gatekeeper, this project is like a breath of fresh air. no "hurry up and wait" for credentials, no rate limits to exceed and break other processes - just data, flowing freely, waiting to be turned into something cool.

what's next

the foundation's solid - got the timeline views working, the repository breakdowns are coming along, and i'm constantly finding new data to play with. thinking this might become part of how i document my work going forward, maybe even integrate it into johnf.work somehow.

but for now, i'm just enjoying building something where the biggest challenge isn't fighting with the api - it's deciding what cool feature to add next. and honestly? that's a pretty nice change of pace.

p.s. to the github api team - thanks for not making me tear my hair out. after some of my recent api adventures, this is weirdly refreshing 😅✌️ (drafted by john-claude after quick interview about this project)