wiki-plugin-linkitylink

🎉 This is the code for wiki-based federated distribution of software apps.

This plugin demonstrates a complete pattern for distributing and running software applications through Federated Wiki, enabling true peer-to-peer app distribution with automatic updates, version management, and zero-configuration deployment.

Federated Wiki plugin that integrates Linkitylink - a privacy-first link page service.

What This Plugin Does

This plugin integrates Linkitylink with Federated Wiki by:

• Launching a dedicated linkitylink instance for each wiki
• Auto-configuring that instance with the wiki's base URLs
• Proxying requests between wiki and linkitylink
• Managing the lifecycle of the linkitylink service

Each wiki gets its own linkitylink instance, enabling true forking and independent operation.

Wiki-Based Federated Distribution

This plugin implements the Service-Bundling Plugin Pattern, which enables:

• ✅ One-Click Installation - Install apps via plugmatic (fedwiki's plugin manager)
• ✅ Automatic Service Management - Apps spawn and manage themselves
• ✅ Built-In Version Management - Traffic light indicators show update status
• ✅ One-Click Updates - Users can update apps without touching the command line
• ✅ True Forking - Fork a wiki page, get an independent instance of the app
• ✅ Zero Configuration - Works out of the box with sensible defaults

For developers: See CLAUDE.md for the complete Service-Bundling Plugin Pattern documentation. This pattern is reusable for any fedwiki plugin that needs to integrate an external service or application.

Installation

Via Plugmatic (Recommended)

1. Open your Federated Wiki
2. Add a plugmatic item to any page
3. Add linkitylink to the plugin list
4. Click the status indicator to install
5. Done! Linkitylink is now available at /plugin/linkitylink/

Via npm

1. Install the plugin

# In your wiki's node_modules directory
cd /path/to/wiki/node_modules
git clone https://github.com/planet-nine-app/wiki-plugin-linkitylink.git
cd wiki-plugin-linkitylink
npm install

2. Install linkitylink

# Clone linkitylink where the plugin can find it
cd /path/to/planet-nine
git clone https://github.com/planet-nine-app/linkitylink.git
cd linkitylink
npm install

3. Use in your wiki

Create a page with a linkitylink item to trigger plugin loading. The plugin will automatically:

• Launch its own linkitylink instance
• Configure it with your wiki's base URLs
• Start proxying requests

{
  "type": "linkitylink",
  "id": "unique-id",
  "text": "My Link Page"
}

Routes

All routes are proxied from the wiki to the Linkitylink service:

• /plugin/linkitylink/ → Linkitylink homepage
• /plugin/linkitylink/create → Create link page
• /plugin/linkitylink/view/:emojicode → View link page by emojicode
• /plugin/linkitylink/t/:alphanumeric → View link page by alphanumeric ID

Configuration

Environment Variables

Required for multiple wikis on same machine:

# Wiki 1
export LINKITYLINK_PORT=6010
export LINKITYLINK_PATH=/path/to/linkitylink
wiki --port 3000

# Wiki 2 (different terminal)
export LINKITYLINK_PORT=6011
export LINKITYLINK_PATH=/path/to/linkitylink-copy
wiki --port 3001

Variables:

• LINKITYLINK_PORT - Port for this wiki's linkitylink instance (default: 6010)
• LINKITYLINK_PATH - Path to linkitylink installation (default: ../../linkitylink relative to plugin)
• ENABLE_APP_PURCHASE - Show "Buy in App" button (default: false, set to true to enable)

Base URLs (owner.json)

The plugin automatically configures linkitylink with base URLs from ~/.wiki/status/owner.json:

{
  "fountURL": "http://localhost:3006",
  "bdoURL": "http://localhost:3003",
  "addieURL": "http://localhost:3005"
}

For wiki federation, each wiki's owner.json should point to its own base:

// Wiki A's owner.json
{
  "fountURL": "http://base-a.example.com/plugin/allyabase/fount",
  "bdoURL": "http://base-a.example.com/plugin/allyabase/bdo",
  "addieURL": "http://base-a.example.com/plugin/allyabase/addie"
}

// Wiki B's owner.json
{
  "fountURL": "http://base-b.example.com/plugin/allyabase/fount",
  "bdoURL": "http://base-b.example.com/plugin/allyabase/bdo",
  "addieURL": "http://base-b.example.com/plugin/allyabase/addie"
}

How It Works

Plugin Startup Flow

1. Plugin loads when wiki page uses linkitylink type
2. Reads configuration from ~/.wiki/status/owner.json
3. Checks for running linkitylink on configured port
4. If not running:
   • Spawns linkitylink as child process
   • Sets environment variables (PORT, FOUNT_BASE_URL, BDO_BASE_URL, ADDIE_BASE_URL)
   • Waits for startup (3 seconds)
5. If already running:
   • Sends configuration update via POST /config
6. Creates proxy for all /plugin/linkitylink/* routes

Request Flow

1. User visits http://your-wiki.com/plugin/linkitylink/view/🔗💎...
2. Plugin strips /plugin/linkitylink prefix
3. Proxies to http://localhost:{LINKITYLINK_PORT}/view/🔗💎...
4. Linkitylink fetches data from configured base URLs
5. Returns beautiful SVG page to wiki

Architecture Benefits

• Independent Instances - Each wiki runs its own linkitylink
• Isolated Bases - Wiki A connects to Base A, Wiki B connects to Base B
• True Forking - Fork a wiki page, get independent linkitylink data
• Process Management - Plugin manages linkitylink lifecycle
• Automatic Configuration - No manual setup required

Dependencies

• http-proxy: ^1.18.1 - For proxying requests to Linkitylink service
• node-fetch: ^2.6.1 - For configuring linkitylink via HTTP

License

MIT