# Kontra — a self-hosted news-opinion site with automatic content sync

**Kontra** is a modern news/opinion publication engine: a single static Go binary that renders
markdown into a fast, SEO-friendly editorial site, a Decap CMS admin authenticated against
self-hosted Gitea, and a git-driven deploy pipeline that publishes content within ~30 seconds
of a save — all running on a home-lab network.

> **🗺 Interactive architecture map:** [maps.lab.audasmedia.com.au/kontra_day/docs/kontra-architecture-map.html](https://maps.lab.audasmedia.com.au/kontra_day/docs/kontra-architecture-map.html)
>
> **📖 Editing, media, admin & ops guide:** [`docs/KONTRA-GUIDE.md`](docs/KONTRA-GUIDE.md)
> (pan/zoom, search, route tracing, light/dark themes)

![Kontra architecture](docs/diagrams/kontra-architecture.png)

```mermaid
flowchart LR
  subgraph editors["Content Editors"]
    O[Obsidian vault<br/>/obsidian/kontra_content] -->|git push| G
    N[Neovim / CLI] -->|git push| G
    D[Decap CMS<br/>admin.kontra.lab] -->|OAuth + git commit| G
  end

  subgraph gitea["Gitea (192.168.20.35 :3001 Docker)"]
    G[(sam/kontra-content<br/>markdown origin of truth)]
  end

  subgraph prod["Kontra container (192.168.20.13 :8600 Docker)"]
    P[git pull loop<br/>every 30s] -->|restart on change| B
    B[Go binary<br/>templ + htmx + Goldmark]
    B --> MD[(Markdown render<br/>front-matter + shortcodes)]
  end

  subgraph media["Media (git files)"]
    F[(Images beside articles<br/>in the content repo)]
  end

  G -->|"SSH git"| P
  B -->|"record: media"| F
  B -->|"emits HTML"| CB[Caddy master<br/>.35 :80/:443]
  CB -->|"reverse_proxy :8600"| B

  subgraph net["Network"]
    CB -->|https| WWW[kontra.lab.audasmedia.com.au]
    CB -->|https| ADM[admin.kontra.lab.audasmedia.com.au]
  end

  WWW -->|browser| B
  ADM -->|browser| D
```

---

## Why this project stands out

| | |
|---|---|
| **Zero-dependency production runtime** | One statically linked Go binary — no runtime, no Node, no PHP. 11 MB, ~10 MB RAM under 50 concurrent connections. |
| **Editorial workflow people actually use** | Editors edit markdown in Obsidian, Neovim, or a browser CMS — three independent edit paths that all converge on one git repo. |
| **Git is the content API** | Content has full history, rollback, branch review, and network-agnostic sync. No lock-in. |
| **Automatic publish pipeline** | `git push` → 30 s later the site is live. We prove it end-to-end (add, change, delete). |
| **Single-binary + embedded assets** | CSS, fonts, and the admin UI are compiled into the binary (`//go:embed`). Deploy = copy one file. |
| **Self-hosted, privacy-first** | Gitea + Caddy on own infra; media + content both live in git — no third-party SaaS, no object store to babysit. |

## The stack (GOTH)

| Layer | Technology | Why |
|---|---|---|
| **Language** | Go (golang) 1.26 | Compiled, fast, single static binary |
| **Templates** | templ v0.3 | Type-safe HTML components compiled to Go |
| **Interactivity** | htmx (server-rendered, no JS framework) | Progressive enhancement, SEO-safe |
| **Styling** | Tailwind-style **design tokens** (CSS custom properties) | Themeable via `DESIGN.md`, per-subject accent colours as data, not code |
| **Markdown** | goldmark (CommonMark 0.31) | Content + front-matter (`title`, `author`, `date`, `subject`, `kicker`, `featured`…) |
| **Admin** | Decap CMS + Obsidian | Both edit the same git repo; Obsidian for daily writing + media drop-in |
| **Media** | git files | Images live beside their article in the repo; `{{media:<slug>/<file>}}` shortcodes resolved at render |
| **Git** | Gitea | Origin of truth; `sam/kontra-content` |
| **Proxy** | Caddy | TLS termination, hostname routing |
| **Deploy** | Docker + pull-loop | `git pull` every 30s; restart server on change |

## Architecture at a glance

```
Editors (Obsidian / Neovim / Decap)  ──git push──▶  Gitea (origin)
                                                          │  SSH
                                                          ▼
               Kontra container (.13)  ◀──git pull every 30s──┘
                       │  ├─ Go binary (:8600)
                       │  ├─ Goldmark → HTML, {{media:}} → repo media file
                       │  └─ restart on content change
                       ▼
              Caddy master (.35 :443) ──▶ readers (HTTPS)
```

## Repository layout

```
kontra/
├── app/                 # Go source (server.go, content.go, main.go, templates.templ)
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── *.templ      # templ components (masthead, article, topics, mobile nav…)
│   │   └── web/         # embedded assets: kontra.css (design tokens), admin/ (Decap)
│   └── build.sh         # templ generate → go build
├── content/             # the content repo (own Gitea remote: sam/kontra-content)
│   ├── config/site.yaml
│   └── subjects/<slug>/…  # markdown + front-matter per article
├── docs/                # Mermaid + Archify maps, diagrams, published to maps.lab
├── deploy/              # Docker, compose, entrypoint (pull-loop), revert scripts
├── PLAN.md              # Phase 1 decision record (stack, topology, storage)
└── DESIGN.md            # design tokens — Broadsheet Editorial system
```

## Content model

Markdown + YAML front-matter per page:

```yaml
---
title: The Quiet Reshaping of the Southern Harbor
author: M. Kestrel
date: 2026-09-08
kicker: World Dispatch
subject: world
template: article
featured: true
image: https://.../harbor1/1400/800
excerpt: A short deck under the headline.
---
Body markdown here… links, images via {{media:file.jpg}}, video via {{embed:vimeo:ID}}.
```

Template resolution: **page front-matter → subject `_subject.yaml` → site config → theme fallback**.
Front page = composable "Topics" grid (World / Politics / Culture / Tech…) whose order and
featured stories are data, not code.

## Design system

`DESIGN.md` defines a **Broadsheet Editorial** system: warm newsprint palette, Newsreader
(headlines) / Literata (body) / Work Sans (UI) type scale, hairline rules, sharp corners,
no shadow-depth.

- Implemented as CSS custom properties (`--canvas`, `--ink`, `--accent`, …) → themeable data.
- Per-subject accent overrides via subject config.
- Responsive: ≥1024 / 641–1023 / ≤640, with dropdown topic nav + mobile bottom-nav.
- Fully working clickable prototype under `prototype/`.

## Deploy & ops

- Live: `https://kontra.lab.audasmedia.com.au` · Admin: `https://admin.kontra.lab.audasmedia.com.au/web/admin/`
- Container: `kontra` on `.13:8600`, mounts content + SSH key, `restart: unless-stopped`
- Content autosync: entrypoint runs `git pull` every 30s, restarts the binary on HEAD change.
- Master route: Caddy on `.35` terminates TLS and `reverse_proxy 192.168.20.13:8600`.
- Build: `app/build.sh` (templ + go) or the multi-stage Dockerfile (builds golang + templ in-image).

## Security notes

- Decap → Gitea OAuth with **non-confidential (PKCE)** application, redirect URI pinned to the admin origin.
- Gitea CORS scoped to the admin origin; content repo private.
- Deploy token kept in a gitignored `.env`; no secrets in any repo.
- Content repo requires push access to publish — editorial permissions map to Gitea team access.

## Docs & maps

| Artifact | Path / URL |
|---|---|
| Mermaid source | `docs/kontra-architecture.mmd` |
| Architecture doc | `docs/architecture.md` |
| Interactive map | `docs/kontra-architecture-map.html` · [maps.lab.audasmedia.com.au/kontra_day/docs/](https://maps.lab.audasmedia.com.au/kontra_day/docs/) |
| Plan (decisions) | `PLAN.md` |
| Design system | `DESIGN.md` |

---

*Built with the GOTH stack — Go, templ, htmx, Tailwind-tokens — content + media in git, self-hosted on Gitea + Caddy + Docker.*