Mods

Mods are just files. An open, readable format for changing any app or website. Safe by design, undoable by construction, yours to build on.

YouTube search results as they came, Shorts shelf and all

The shape

Every change in Modfare, asked for in plain words or written by hand, is a small JSON mod: who made it, which sites it’s for, and a list of steps. The reference runner, mod.js, is about 300 lines with no dependencies, and it runs the demo on the home page.

{
  "modfare": "0.1",
  "id": "spoiler-shield",
  "name": "Spoiler shield",
  "by": "@pixelpip.modfare.com",
  "about": "Posts that mention the finale stay folded away.",
  "for": ["*"],
  "asks": ["read-page"],
  "steps": [
    { "do": "lens", "use": "words", "on": "article",
      "with": { "words": ["finale", "ending"] } }
  ]
}

Steps

Seven kinds of step in version 0.1, applied in order. Every one marks or styles the page and none removes anything, so every mod can be undone exactly. Nothing is ever deleted.

do	What it does	Needs
`hide`	Folds matching parts away; the page closes up around them	`on`
`keep`	Of the parts in `on`, keeps only those matching `where`	`on, where`
`style`	Sets allowed properties: size, spacing, colour, fonts, width	`on, set`
`theme`	Applies a skin: night, paper, contrast or arcade	`use`
`rename`	Swaps words in the page’s text, never in what people type	`on, find, say`
`still`	Stops animation and autoplay	`on`
`lens`	Asks a lens to judge each part, and hides what it flags	`use, on, with`

Lenses

A lens judges one piece of a page at a time. The contract comes from Modfare’s page engine, which also runs in Chrome and Android (not yet launched): prepare(settings) once, test(piece, prepared) for each post, pure and on the device. Which lens said hide is never passed on.

Lens	Judges	State
`words`	Whole words and hashtags you list	Working
`topics`	13 topics, with exceptions and disguised spellings	Built
`pictures`	What a picture shows, with a small model on the device	Built
`reading`	Reading ease: hard paragraphs rewritten on the device	Next

Safety rules

No network. asks can only be read-page or read-pictures.
No code. There is no step that runs script, and values can’t contain url(), @import, braces or javascript:.
A short list of properties: how things look, never where links go.
Never what people type: inputs, text boxes and editable areas are skipped.
Plain English: problems are explained so anyone can fix their own mod.

All of it is checked in modfare/test/mod.test.js.

Check one now

Edit the mod and it’s checked as you type. A good one runs on the little preview beside it.

Mod

Load one:

Orla · family

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Local-first

Mods, spaces and apps live on your device first and sync between your devices, encrypted. If Modfare disappeared tomorrow, your mods would still be readable files on your disk. That rule is borrowed, with thanks, from Ink & Switch’s local-first software work.

What’s next

What	State
Mod format 0.1 and the reference runner	Working
The engine for Chrome and Android	Built, not launched
A JSON Schema and a `modfare check` command	Next
Reshaping steps: move, add a button, add a field	Next
Flow steps: triggers, agents, an inbox	Next
Spaces: the desktop workspace for Mac and Windows	Next

The format

A mod is a file you can read. It marks the page and never rewrites it, so it can always be undone.

Make the internet yours.

Modfare is in early preview for Mac and Windows. Each download comes with a few mods to start from.

Download the preview Try a mod