Message Simulator

Project Goals

The medium is the message.

The goal of this project is not accuracy. I value accuracy in so far as it allows us to harness the uncanniness of familiarity.

But, for example, my goal is not for you to be able to take screenshots that can trick people.

Or, for example, I do not intend to implement a Liquid-Glass-ified version of the UI (though if someone does want to take that on and create multiple UI "skins" (Different iOS versions, WhatsApp, etc) submit a PR.)

Development

First-Time Setup

npm run setup

This installs dependencies, creates the .env file, generates an app key, creates the SQLite database, and runs migrations with seed data.

Running Locally

npm run dev

This starts both the frontend (http://localhost:3000) and the backend API (http://localhost:8000) together.

Troubleshooting: If you change any config files (in backend/config/) and the changes don't take effect:

cd backend && php artisan config:clear

Email in Development

Emails are logged instead of sent. View them with:

tail -f backend/storage/logs/laravel.log

When you request a magic link, the verification URL will appear in this log.

Previewing Email Templates

While the backend is running, you can preview each email template in the browser at:

• http://localhost:8000/preview/mail/magic-link
• http://localhost:8000/preview/mail/submission-accepted
• http://localhost:8000/preview/mail/submission-changes-requested
• http://localhost:8000/preview/mail/submission-rejected

These routes render each template with fake data and are defined in backend/routes/web.php.

Database

SQLite database is at backend/database/database.sqlite.

# Reset database and seed with test data
npm run db:seed

This creates test users, and sample threads in every status (submitted, accepted, changes_requested, rejected, published). The seeded admin account is admin@example.com.

# Reset database without test data
cd backend && php artisan migrate:fresh

# Grant admin access to an existing user
cd backend && php artisan tinker
>>> User::where('email', 'your@email.com')->update(['is_admin' => true]);

Formatting and Tests

npm install

npm test

# write formatting changes
npm run format

# check formatting (CI-style)
npm run format:check