autocoder/CUSTOM_UPDATES.md

Custom Updates - AutoCoder

This document tracks all customizations made to AutoCoder that deviate from the upstream repository. Reference this file before any updates to preserve these changes.

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Table of Contents

1. UI Theme Customization
2. Playwright Browser Configuration
3. SQLite Robust Connection Handling
4. Update Checklist

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1. UI Theme Customization

Overview

The UI has been customized from the default neobrutalism style to a clean Twitter/Supabase-style design.

Design Changes:

• No shadows
• Thin borders (1px)
• Rounded corners (1.3rem base)
• Blue accent color (Twitter blue)
• Clean typography (Open Sans)

Modified Files

ui/src/styles/custom-theme.css

Purpose: Main theme override file that replaces neo design with clean Twitter style.

Key Changes:

• All --shadow-neo-* variables set to none
• All status colors (pending, progress, done) use Twitter blue
• Rounded corners: --radius-neo-lg: 1.3rem
• Font: Open Sans
• Removed all transform effects on hover
• Dark mode with proper contrast

CSS Variables (Light Mode):

--color-neo-accent: oklch(0.6723 0.1606 244.9955);  /* Twitter blue */
--color-neo-pending: oklch(0.6723 0.1606 244.9955);
--color-neo-progress: oklch(0.6723 0.1606 244.9955);
--color-neo-done: oklch(0.6723 0.1606 244.9955);

CSS Variables (Dark Mode):

--color-neo-bg: oklch(0.08 0 0);
--color-neo-card: oklch(0.16 0.005 250);
--color-neo-border: oklch(0.30 0 0);

How to preserve: This file should NOT be overwritten. It loads after globals.css and overrides it.

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ui/src/components/KanbanColumn.tsx

Purpose: Modified to support themeable kanban columns without inline styles.

Changes:

1. colorMap changed from inline colors to CSS classes:

// BEFORE (original):
const colorMap = {
  pending: 'var(--color-neo-pending)',
  progress: 'var(--color-neo-progress)',
  done: 'var(--color-neo-done)',
}

// AFTER (customized):
const colorMap = {
  pending: 'kanban-header-pending',
  progress: 'kanban-header-progress',
  done: 'kanban-header-done',
}

2. Column div uses CSS class instead of inline style:

// BEFORE:
<div className="neo-card overflow-hidden" style={{ borderColor: colorMap[color] }}>

// AFTER:
<div className={`neo-card overflow-hidden kanban-column ${colorMap[color]}`}>

3. Header div simplified (removed duplicate color class):

// BEFORE:
<div className={`... ${colorMap[color]}`} style={{ backgroundColor: colorMap[color] }}>

// AFTER:
<div className="kanban-header px-4 py-3 border-b border-[var(--color-neo-border)]">

4. Title text color:

// BEFORE:
text-[var(--color-neo-text-on-bright)]

// AFTER:
text-[var(--color-neo-text)]

---

2. Playwright Browser Configuration

Overview

Changed default Playwright settings for better performance:

• Default browser: Firefox (lower CPU usage)
• Default mode: Headless (saves resources)

Modified Files

client.py

Changes:

# BEFORE:
DEFAULT_PLAYWRIGHT_HEADLESS = False

# AFTER:
DEFAULT_PLAYWRIGHT_HEADLESS = True
DEFAULT_PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSER = "firefox"

New function added:

def get_playwright_browser() -> str:
    """
    Get the browser to use for Playwright.
    Options: chrome, firefox, webkit, msedge
    Firefox is recommended for lower CPU usage.
    """
    return os.getenv("PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSER", DEFAULT_PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSER).lower()

Playwright args updated:

playwright_args = [
    "@playwright/mcp@latest",
    "--viewport-size", "1280x720",
    "--browser", browser,  # NEW: configurable browser
]

---

.env.example

Updated documentation:

# PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSER: Which browser to use for testing
# - firefox: Lower CPU usage, recommended (default)
# - chrome: Google Chrome
# - webkit: Safari engine
# - msedge: Microsoft Edge
# PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSER=firefox

# PLAYWRIGHT_HEADLESS: Run browser without visible window
# - true: Browser runs in background, saves CPU (default)
# - false: Browser opens a visible window (useful for debugging)
# PLAYWRIGHT_HEADLESS=true

---

3. SQLite Robust Connection Handling

Overview

Added robust SQLite connection handling to prevent database corruption from concurrent access (MCP server, FastAPI server, progress tracking).

Features Added:

• WAL mode for better concurrency
• Busy timeout (30 seconds)
• Retry logic with exponential backoff
• Database health check endpoint

Modified Files

api/database.py

New functions added:

def get_robust_connection(db_path: str) -> sqlite3.Connection:
    """
    Create a SQLite connection with robust settings:
    - WAL mode for concurrent access
    - 30 second busy timeout
    - Foreign keys enabled
    """

@contextmanager
def robust_db_connection(db_path: str):
    """Context manager for robust database connections."""

def execute_with_retry(conn, sql, params=None, max_retries=3):
    """Execute SQL with exponential backoff retry for transient errors."""

def check_database_health(db_path: str) -> dict:
    """
    Check database integrity and return health status.
    Returns: {healthy: bool, message: str, details: dict}
    """

---

progress.py

Changed from raw sqlite3 to robust connections:

# BEFORE:
conn = sqlite3.connect(db_path)

# AFTER:
from api.database import robust_db_connection, execute_with_retry

with robust_db_connection(db_path) as conn:
    execute_with_retry(conn, sql, params)

---

server/routers/projects.py

New endpoint added:

@router.get("/{project_name}/db-health")
async def get_database_health(project_name: str) -> DatabaseHealth:
    """
    Check the health of the project's features database.
    Useful for diagnosing corruption issues.
    """

---

server/schemas.py

New schema added:

class DatabaseHealth(BaseModel):
    healthy: bool
    message: str
    details: dict = {}

---

Update Checklist

When updating AutoCoder from upstream, verify these items:

UI Changes

• ui/src/styles/custom-theme.css is preserved
• ui/src/components/KanbanColumn.tsx changes are preserved
• Run npm run build in ui/ directory
• Test both light and dark modes

Backend Changes

• client.py - Playwright browser/headless defaults preserved
• .env.example - Documentation updates preserved
• api/database.py - Robust connection functions preserved
• progress.py - Uses robust_db_connection
• server/routers/projects.py - db-health endpoint preserved
• server/schemas.py - DatabaseHealth schema preserved

General

• Test database operations under concurrent load
• Verify Playwright uses Firefox by default
• Check that browser runs headless by default

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Reverting to Defaults

UI Only

rm ui/src/styles/custom-theme.css
git checkout ui/src/components/KanbanColumn.tsx
cd ui && npm run build

Backend Only

git checkout client.py .env.example api/database.py progress.py
git checkout server/routers/projects.py server/schemas.py

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Files Summary

File	Type	Change Description
ui/src/styles/custom-theme.css	UI	Twitter-style theme
ui/src/components/KanbanColumn.tsx	UI	Themeable kanban columns
client.py	Backend	Firefox + headless defaults
.env.example	Config	Updated documentation
api/database.py	Backend	Robust SQLite connections
progress.py	Backend	Uses robust connections
server/routers/projects.py	Backend	db-health endpoint
server/schemas.py	Backend	DatabaseHealth schema

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Last Updated

Date: January 2026 Commits:

• 1910b96 - SQLite robust connection handling
• e014b04 - Custom theme override system