DevvitModerator

A comprehensive Integrated Development Environment for managing Auto Moderator and Devvit Moderator configurations.

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Inspiration

When I first became a moderator of r/hurricane, there was no Automod configuration. The moderators at the time didn't understand how the YAML configuration worked. Even with my technical background, managing the rule order/priority, YAML syntax, and even remembering what "checks" Automod had was overwhelming. I immediately sketched an idea for a tool to help manage and develop Automod configs, so any moderation team can easily manage, test, and publish their configs.

What it does

DevvitModerator is development suite built directly into Reddit that lets you manage your Automod rules in a friendlier user interface. Easily see your Automod rules in the order Automod executes / checks them, find single rules to edit, and easily find the conditions/actions without needing to know any YAML! You can also use the History view (bottom left) to review all Automod configurations previously published.

Quick Start

  1. Install the app via the App Detail Page.
  2. Go to your subreddit's main listing page (e.g. https://sh.reddit.com/r/MyAwesomeSub)
  3. In the upper right, find the ellipses menu
  4. Choose "DevvitModerator Editor"
  5. A new (auto-removed) post is created. Unfortunately, this prevents use on native mobile apps at this time (Reddit limitation).
  6. Choose the "Launch DevvitModerator IDE" button on the post
  7. Once the editor loads, you will see all existing (if any) Automod rules in the left-side "Rules" tool window.
  8. Double-Click on an existing rule or "Add Automod Rule" to open the Rule Editor.
  9. Changes are saved automatically. You can see the save state in the footer's lower-left corner.
  10. Once all Automod rule changes are complete, use the "Publish" button in the header to publish your draft edits to the live Automod Config Wiki page.

How we built it

This app is built from the ground-up. No vibe-coding here! (Okay, maybe some light "code generation" and debug help.) It uses React + TailwindCSS in a Custom Post view.

Challenges we ran into

The Automod Editor fields where the biggest time-sink. This ended up being much more complex than originally thought, mostly struggling to get the "feel" right for the actual Automod editor. Two-and-a-half weeks was spent working on just the editor fields!

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I am very proud to finally see an app idea from 2 years ago start to shape into a real-world app Moderators can use! For such a short time-period, I am proud to have accomplished some basic Automod rule editing.

What we learned

I am not a Front-End developer by any means. I have learned a lot of new frameworks and Front-End concepts, such as Zustand and expansive component layouts. Being the most complex interface I have every personally developed, the number of lessons learned is expanding every day! From weird CSS/Tailwind nuances with flexbox sizes and scrolling, to tools like the Vite Mock Server plugin.

What's next for DevvitModerator

There are a TON of ideas I wish I had time to get to! The biggest is around configuring Devvit rules. This would allow Mods to create "triggers" (onPostSubmit, onModMail, etc.) and choose Criteria and Actions Automod lacks (example, send a Discord message and increase a "counter" variable if a new comment is added on a post over 7 days old).

From there, I would also like to work on the "integrated tester" tool, which allows Automod and Devvit rules to be tested, without having to "test" those in a test subreddit or "doing it live".

There are a million other ideas, and I hope to continue to flush all this out over the coming months (and get back to giving Community Survey the love it needs)!

Dump Of Ideas

[General]

  • Look and feel: I'm not the best "designer". It needs work, focus was on functionality.
  • Diff/Conflict detection: Right now co-mods could potentially overwrite each-other's rule edits.
  • Code Cleanup / unit testing. Hackathon deadline caused some messy "happy path" code...

[Rule List]

  • Devvit rule list
  • Hide/Show Devvit triggers that are unused
  • Update list status to be a true "diff" compare (i.e. undo delete => show if previously modified or not)

[Devvit Rules]

  • Create "rules" for each type ofDevvit trigger: onPostSubmit, onModmailMessage, etc.
  • Create "tasks" that can be setup to periodically run, or use as one-time triggers (i.e. in a trigger rule) to run at a later date.
  • Add more conditions Automod cannot check (e.g. post create date)
  • Add more actions Automod cannot perform (e.g. discord message)
    • Create "variables" that can be used as actions (e.g. increase post variable by one)

[Automod Editor]

  • Automod Placeholder autocomplete
  • Regex verification + helper tool(s)
  • Direct YAML editing

[Documentation Tool]

  • View Automod and Devvit rule documentation, while editing (even for specific fields)

[Rule Tester]

  • Test Automod and Devvit rules before they are published

[Share Tool]

  • Search for rules shared by the community
  • Share your own rules for others to use

[Migration / Sync]

  • Migrate Automod Rules to Devvit rules
  • Import or sync configurations across subreddits

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