Honestanswer (TypeScript rewrite)

This is a TypeScript/Node.js re-implementation of the original Ruby project “Honestanswer”. The legacy Ruby source is here: https://github.com/cutalion/honestanswer

This project was fully created in Cursor Agent using GPT-5.

What it does

• Create a question without login and get a unique link
• Share that link for anonymous, pseudonymous answers
• See answers appear in realtime (Server-Sent Events)
• Remember recently viewed questions (cookie)

Tech stack

• Express 4 + EJS views
• TypeScript 5, tsx (for dev), ESM modules
• better-sqlite3 (SQLite, zero external service)
• Server-Sent Events for live updates
• Cookie-based pseudonymous identity using the same name list spirit as the original (Disney/Pixar character names) plus a stable user id (MD5) to generate a consistent identicon avatar

App structure

• src/server.ts – HTTP server, routes, SSE, cookies
• src/db.ts – SQLite schema and data helpers
• views/*.ejs – server-rendered pages and minimal client script for AJAX + SSE
• public/ – static assets (optional)

Key routes

• GET / – ask form; layout shows “Recently Viewed”
• POST /questions – create a question (form field: question[text])
• GET /questions/:token – show question + chat-style answers; live updates via SSE
• POST /questions/:token/answers – add an answer; handled via AJAX; also broadcasts via SSE
• GET /questions/:token/stream – SSE endpoint for realtime answer events

Pseudonymous identity

• A user_name and an MD5 user_id are stored in cookies for 1 year.
• New questions and answers record authorName and authorId.
• Avatars use Gravatar identicons: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/{authorId}?s=32&d=identicon&r=PG

Local development

cd honestanswer-ts
npm install
npm run dev
# open http://localhost:3000

Build & run

npm run build
npm start

Notes

• The database file data.sqlite will be created in the app directory.
• Basic runtime migrations add missing columns if you update from a previous run.
• No external services required.

License

• Same spirit as the original; see the original repo for historical context: https://github.com/cutalion/honestanswer