💾 Archived View for ainent.xyz › devlog › smolver › 2023-05-16-smolver-gui-musings.gmi captured on 2023-09-28 at 15:47:31. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Musings on Gemini Server GUI

What if there were a Gemini server with a graphical user interface (GUI) for administration?

Scope

It wouldn't need much:

Form for the settings in the main configuration file
Form for the settings in the per-directory configuration file(s)
Form validation
Documentation for individual settings
Start the server
Stop the server
Log viewer, including startup errors

I can envision some user experience (UX) problems for non-nerds if the config forms were nothing more than a direct mapping to the backing JSON. This could be mitigated via integrating with the platform's native directory and file picker. Startup errors going in the log section might be confusing too, but that could be enhanced by moving those onto the forms directly.

As far as the technical details for integrating with the existing system, there are a couple approaches one could take. The GUI application could call off to the existing command line interface (CLI), and just show the output of those commands as-is in a text view. Another way would be to refactor the codebase into two separate modules: core and UI/CLI, then the GUI could call directly into the core code without invoking the shell commands. The former would be quicker initially, but would likely cause more long term maintenance; the latter would take longer up front but have lower maintenance costs. On the other hand, I don't expect smolver to evolve drastically, so perhaps in this case the maintenance concern is unfounded.

Pros

Easier to get into Gemini hosting (more non-tech content)
Prima facie simple project

Cons

Easier to get into Gemini hosting (eternal September)

Verdict

I think I am sold on the idea itself. What do you think?