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Further article adjustments. #14

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plx merged 1 commit into from
Oct 27, 2025
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Further article adjustments. #14

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14 changes: 10 additions & 4 deletions src/content/projects/trop/index.md
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Expand Up @@ -67,9 +67,11 @@ A common bit of feedback I've received on this project is that `trop` is redunda
- doesn't *some web framework*'s preview server *automatically* find a free port?
- can't you just bind to port 0?

Since these points are *accurate*, I've added a section better illustrating the value `trop` adds above-and-beyond any of the above.
Since these points are *accurate*, I've added a section better illustrating the value `trop` adds above-and-beyond any of the above. Keep in mind that the truth is this tool exists *in no small part* purely as an exercise in "vibe coding", but it's not purely an exercise—it does have some benefits vis-a-vis other solutions.

### Port Stability
### Specific Benefits

#### Port Stability

Using `trop` to associate reservations with worktrees guarantees reasonable stability of each worktree's port reservations.
This, in turn, makes it easy for the human operator to "check in" on each worktree's activity in a browser, since the port-to-worktree mapping will *generally* remain stable for the worktree's lifetime.
Expand All @@ -80,7 +82,7 @@ In other words, it makes it a lot easier to keep track of things:
- localhost:4002: correct subtitle markdown rendering
- localhost:4003: address ARIA problems in article listing

### Token Efficiency
#### Token Efficiency

Since `trop` can be used as a drop-in substitute for hardcoded port numbers, it makes *launching servers* a bit more token-efficient:

Expand All @@ -90,7 +92,7 @@ Since `trop` can be used as a drop-in substitute for hardcoded port numbers, it

Nothing magic, but reduces the need to burn tokens either (a) identifying a port to use or (b) figuring out the port to-which server wound up bound.

### Cross-File Consistency
#### Cross-File Consistency

I think this is the strongest benefit for `trop`, and it's something I didn't anticipate when I started the project:

Expand All @@ -108,6 +110,10 @@ As such, you can use `trop` for additional token efficiency like so:

Nothing *earth-shattering*, but still a useful capability to help with token-efficiency.

### Overall Justification

The tl;dr, here is that the tool is solving an easily-solvable, "already-solved" problem, but in a way that's particularly-helpful when using worktrees and agentic coding assistants.

## Implementation Remarks

The CLI is implemented in Rust, and uses SQLite for two distinct purposes:
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