- ✔️ Basic macOS/Linux support using other clients including [Flameshot](https://flameshot.org/) ([ass-compatible Flameshot script](#flameshot-users-linux)) & [MagicCap](https://magiccap.me/)
- ✔️ Custom pluggable frontends using [Git Submodules](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Tools-Submodules)
| **[ZWS](https://zws.im)** (Zero-width spaces) | The "fancy" mode. When pasted elsewhere, the URL appears to be *just* your domain name.<br> |
| **Original** | The "basic" mode. URL matches the same filename as when the file was uploaded. This may be prone to conflicts with files of the same name. |
The installation may look daunting but it's really pretty straightforward. Just follow it word-for-word & you'll be fine. If you are not fine, then by all means [open an Issue](https://github.com/tycrek/ass/issues/new) & I'll try my best to help.
5. Run `npm start` to start the server. The first time you run it you will be shown your first authorization token; save this as you will need it to configure ShareX.
If you need to generate a new token at any time, run `npm run new-token <username>`. This will **automatically** load the new token so there is no need to restart ass. Username field is optional; if left blank, a random username will be created.
| **`X-Ass-Access`** | Override the generator used for the resource URI. Must be one of: `original`, `zws`, `gfycat`, or `random` ([see above](#access-types)) |
| **`X-Ass-OG-Color`** | Colour shown on the left side of the embed. Must be one of `&random`, `&vibrant`, or a hex colour value (for example: `#fe3c29`). Random is a randomly generated hex value & Vibrant is sourced from the image itself |
You may use Discord webhooks as an easy way to keep track of your uploads. The first step is to [create a new Webhook](https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/228383668-Intro-to-Webhooks). You only need to follow the first section, **Making a Webhook**. Once you are done that, click **Copy Webhook URL**. Next, paste your URL into a text editor. Extract these two values from the URL:
Webhooks will show the filename, mimetype, size, upload timestamp, thumbail, & a link to delete the file. To disable webhooks, simply remove the headers from your config.
ass is intended to provide a strong backend for developers to build their own frontends around. The easiest way to do this is with a [Git Submodule](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Tools-Submodules). Your submodule should be a **separate** git repo. Make sure you [adjust the `FRONTEND_NAME`](https://github.com/tycrek/ass/blob/d766bd15cf8ac851058c8abf37238f1608d8c305/ass.js#L24) to match your frontend. To make updates easier, it is recommended to make a new branch. Since submodules are their own dedicated projects, you are free to build the router however you wish, as long as it exports the required items detailed below.
Sample submodule entry file:
```js
const { name, version } = require('./package.json');
[StorageEngines](https://github.com/tycrek/ass-storage-engine) are responsible for managing your data. "Data" has two parts: an identifier & the actual data itself. With ass, the data is a JSON object representing the uploaded resource. The identifier is the unique ID in the URL returned to the user on upload.
| **JSON** | JSON-based data storage. On disk, data is stored in a JSON file. In memory, data is stored in a [Map](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Map). This is the default StorageEngine. | [GitHub](https://github.com/tycrek/ass-storage-engine/), [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@tycrek/ass-storage-engine) |
| **PostgreSQL** | Data storage using a [PostgreSQL](https://www.postgresql.org/) database. [node-postgres](https://node-postgres.com/) is used for communicating with the database. | [GitHub](https://github.com/tycrek/ass-psql/), [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@tycrek/ass-psql) |
An ass StorageEngine implements support for one type of database (or file, such as JSON or YAML). This lets ass server hosts pick their database of choice, because all they'll have to do is plugin the connection/authentication details, then ass will handle the rest, using the resource ID as the key.
The only StorageEngine ass comes with by default is **JSON**. If you find (or create!) a StorageEngine you like, you can use it by installing it with `npm i <package-name>` then changing the contents of [`data.js`](https://github.com/tycrek/ass/blob/master/data.js). The StorageEngines own README file should also instruct how to use it. At this time, a modified `data.js` might look like this:
Because I was dumb & didn't know what to call it, totally forgetting that "storage engine" would also imply a way to store *files*, not just *data*.
## npm scripts
ass has a number of pre-made npm scripts for you to use. **All** of these scripts should be run using `npm run <script-name>`.
| Script | Description |
| ------ | ----------- |
| **`start`** | Starts the ass server. This is the default script & is run with **`npm start`**. |
| `setup` | Starts the easy setup process. Should be run once after installing ass, & also after any updates that introduce new configuration options. |
| `metrics` | Runs the metrics script. This is a simple script that outputs basic resource statistics. |
| `new-token` | Generates a new API token. Accepts one parameter for specifying a username, like `npm run new-token <username>`. ass automatically detects the new token & reloads it, so there's no need to restart the server. |
| `update` | Runs update tasks. These will update ass to the latest version by first pulling changes with `git pull`, then running `npm i` to install any new dependencies. This is the recommended way to update ass. After updating, you will need to restart ass. |
| `update-full` | Runs the previous update script, followed by `npm run setup` to ensure that all the latest configuration options are set. The setup script uses your **existing** config for setting defaults to make updates much quicker. If any ass Release Notes say to use `update-full` instead of `update`, then use `update-full`. |
| `restart` | Restarts the ass server using `systemctl`. More info soon (should work fine if you have an existing `ass.service` file) |
| `engine-check` | Ensures your environment meets the minimum Node & npm version requirements. |
| `logs` | Uses the [tlog Socket plugin](https://github.com/tycrek/tlog#socket) to stream logs from the ass server to your terminal, with full colour support (Remember to set [`FORCE_COLOR`](https://nodejs.org/dist/latest-v14.x/docs/api/cli.html#cli_force_color_1_2_3) if you're using Systemd) |
You may also install ass using [docker-compose](https://docs.docker.com/compose/). Please be aware that this has not been extensively tested, so use at your own risk. These steps assume you are already family with Docker, so if you're not, please [read the docs](https://docs.docker.com/). It also assumes that you have a working Docker installation with `docker-compose` installed.
If you used `npm run docker-compose`, you'll have to scroll up to find your initial `ass` admin token. Look at the output of `npm start` to see find it. If you ran the manual install, it was printed when you ran `npm start`, so copy it from there.
You should now be able to access the ass server at `http://localhost:40115/` (ass-docker will bind to host `0.0.0.0` to allow external access). You can configure a reverse proxy such as [Caddy](https://jmoore.dev/tutorials/2021/03/caddy-express-reverse-proxy/) to make it accessible from the internet with automatic SSL.
Use [this script](https://github.com/tycrek/ass/blob/master/flameshot_example.sh) kindly provided by [@ToxicAven](https://github.com/ToxicAven). For the `KEY`, put your token.
