github-store

DropBoard — GitHub-store prototype (proof of concept)

A deliberately minimal demo of the "store data in GitHub" option from ../../docs/BACKEND_OPTIONS.md. A tiny Node proxy holds a GitHub token server-side and keeps a board as a secret Gist (board.json). The demo page polls it.

This is a shortcut for demos — not the product. It exists to make the trade-offs concrete.

What it is / isn't

✅ Shows	❌ Does not / cannot
You can store text + links with zero database	Real-time (the demo polls every 3s)
The token stays server-side (never in the browser)	Files of any real size (text/links only)
A board is just a gist you can inspect	Ephemerality — content persists in gist history
~30 lines of storage logic	Safe concurrency — appends are last-writer-wins

Why this isn't the real backend

• You still need a server. GitHub write APIs require a token with write scope, and a static Pages site can't hold a secret — hence this proxy. GitHub-as-storage does not remove the backend, it just changes what the backend talks to.
• Not ephemeral. Deleting/patching a gist leaves prior content in its revision history. DropBoard's whole premise ("nothing stored long-term") is violated.
• Not real-time. No push; you poll, which is laggy and burns GitHub's ~5,000 req/hr limit.
• Not concurrent. Two people dropping at once → one append can clobber the other (this prototype does a naive read-modify-write; it does not resolve conflicts).
• Not for files. The Gist/Contents sweet spot is small text; real files don't fit.

For anything beyond a solo/text-only demo, use Cloudflare (../../cloudflare/) or Supabase (../../supabase/).

Run it

# token needs only the `gist` scope
GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_xxx node server.mjs      # -> http://localhost:8799

Then open demo.html in a browser (it points at http://localhost:8799). Click Create board, share the board id, and drop text/links. Open the same id in another tab to see them appear (after the next 3s poll).

Endpoints

Method + path	Purpose
POST /board	Create a board (secret gist) → { board_id }
GET /board/:id	Read { items }
POST /board/:id/items	Append a text or link item

Cleanup

Because gists persist, "ending" a board here means deleting the gist (and even then the account's gist history/API caches may retain traces). Delete via the API:

curl -X DELETE -H "Authorization: Bearer $GITHUB_TOKEN" https://api.github.com/gists/<id>