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A web content extractor and archiver for simplenote

Project description

๐ŸŒŠ SimExp - Simplenote Web Content Extractor & Writer

Cross-Device Fluidity: Terminal โ†” Web Communication

Python 3.8+ License


๐ŸŽฏ What is SimExp?

SimExp is a bidirectional communication tool that bridges terminals and Simplenote web pages:

  1. ๐Ÿ“– Extract: Fetch and archive web content from Simplenote URLs
  2. โœ๏ธ Write: Send messages from terminal directly to Simplenote notes
  3. ๐ŸŒŠ Sync: Enable cross-device communication through Simplenote's cloud

Key Achievement: Terminal-to-Web fluidity - Your terminal can now speak to web pages and sync across all your devices!


๐Ÿ“ฆ Installation

1. Prerequisites

2. Install Dependencies

# Core dependencies
pip install playwright pyperclip beautifulsoup4 pyyaml requests

# Install Playwright browsers
playwright install chromium

3. Launch the Chrome Communication Bridge

For simexp to communicate with your browser, you need to launch a special instance of Chrome with a remote debugging port. You only need to do this once.

# Launch Chrome with a remote debugging port
google-chrome --remote-debugging-port=9222 --user-data-dir=/tmp/chrome-simexp &
  • --remote-debugging-port=9222: This opens a communication channel that simexp uses to connect to your browser.
  • --user-data-dir=/tmp/chrome-simexp: This creates a separate profile for this Chrome instance, so it doesn't interfere with your main browsing session.
  • &: This runs the command in the background, so you can continue to use your terminal.

In the new Chrome window that opens, log in to your Simplenote account: https://app.simplenote.com


๐Ÿš€ Quick Start

1. Launch Chrome for Communication

First, you need to launch a special instance of Google Chrome that the script can communicate with. You only need to do this once.

# Launch Chrome with a remote debugging port
google-chrome --remote-debugging-port=9222 --user-data-dir=/tmp/chrome-simexp &

In the new Chrome window that opens, log in to your Simplenote account: https://app.simplenote.com

2. Install SimExp

# Install dependencies
pip install playwright pyperclip beautifulsoup4 pyyaml requests
playwright install chromium

3. Write to Your Last Modified Note!

Now you can write to your most recently modified Simplenote note directly from your terminal:

python -m simexp.simex write "Hello from the Assembly!" --cdp-url http://localhost:9222

Check your Simplenote note - the message is there! It will also sync to your other devices. โœจ

๐Ÿ‘‰ Full Cross-Device Setup Guide


๐Ÿ“‹ Features

โœ… Extraction (Original Feature)

  • Fetch content from Simplenote public URLs
  • Convert HTML to clean Markdown
  • Organize archives by date
  • Monitor clipboard for automatic extraction

โœจ Writing (NEW - Cross-Device Fluidity!)

  • Terminal-to-Web: Write from command line to Simplenote notes
  • Keyboard Simulation: Uses actual typing for Simplenote compatibility
  • Authenticated Session: Connects to your logged-in Chrome browser
  • Cross-Device Sync: Messages appear on all your devices
  • Persistent Changes: Content stays in notes (doesn't get reverted)

๐Ÿ”ฎ Session-Aware Notes (NEW - Issue #4!)

  • Automatic Session Notes: Create dedicated Simplenote notes for each terminal session
  • YAML Metadata: Track session ID, AI assistant, agents, and issue number
  • Persistent State: Session info saved locally in .simexp/session.json
  • CLI Integration: Full command suite for session management
  • Cross-Device Session Logs: Access session notes from any device

Session Commands:

simexp session start --ai claude --issue 42  # Create session note
simexp session write "Progress update"       # Write to session
simexp session status                        # Show session info
simexp session open                          # Open in browser

๐Ÿ—๏ธ Project Structure

simexp/
โ”œโ”€โ”€ simexp/
โ”‚   โ”œโ”€โ”€ playwright_writer.py    # โœจ NEW: Terminal-to-web writer
โ”‚   โ”œโ”€โ”€ simex.py                # Main CLI orchestrator
โ”‚   โ”œโ”€โ”€ simfetcher.py           # Content fetcher
โ”‚   โ”œโ”€โ”€ processor.py            # HTML processor
โ”‚   โ”œโ”€โ”€ archiver.py             # Markdown archiver
โ”‚   โ”œโ”€โ”€ imp_clip.py             # Clipboard integration
โ”‚   โ””โ”€โ”€ simexp.yaml             # Configuration
โ”œโ”€โ”€ test_cdp_connection.py      # โœจ NEW: CDP testing script
โ”œโ”€โ”€ CDP_SETUP_GUIDE.md          # โœจ NEW: Setup guide
โ”œโ”€โ”€ README_CROSS_DEVICE_FLUIDITY.md  # โœจ NEW: Detailed docs
โ”œโ”€โ”€ sessionABC/                 # Musical session encodings
โ”œโ”€โ”€ ledger/                     # Session journals
โ””โ”€โ”€ .synth/                     # Assembly documentation

๐Ÿ“ฆ Installation

Prerequisites

Install Dependencies

# Core dependencies
pip install playwright pyperclip beautifulsoup4 pyyaml requests

# Install Playwright browsers
playwright install chromium

๐ŸŽฎ Usage

Write to the Last Modified Note

This is the easiest way to use simexp. It will automatically find your last modified note and append your message to it.

python -m simexp.simex write "Your message here" --cdp-url http://localhost:9222

Write to a Specific Note

If you need to write to a specific note, you can provide its URL.

python -m simexp.simex write "Your message here" --note-url https://app.simplenote.com/p/NOTE_ID --cdp-url http://localhost:9222

Read from a Specific Note

python -m simexp.simex read --note-url https://app.simplenote.com/p/NOTE_ID --cdp-url http://localhost:9222

Extract Content from Simplenote URLs

# Copy a Simplenote URL to clipboard
# Example: https://app.simplenote.com/p/0ZqWsQ

# Run extraction
python -m simexp.simex

# Content saved to ./output/YYYYMMDD/filename.md

๐Ÿ”ฎ Session-Aware Notes Workflow

Create dedicated Simplenote notes for your terminal sessions with automatic metadata tracking:

# 1. Start a new session (creates Simplenote note with YAML metadata)
python -m simexp.simex session start --ai claude --issue 4

# Output:
# โ™ ๏ธ๐ŸŒฟ๐ŸŽธ๐Ÿงต Creating Session Note
# ๐Ÿ”ฎ Session ID: abc-def-123-456
# ๐ŸŒ Note URL: https://app.simplenote.com/p/NOTE_ID
# โœ… Session started successfully!

# 2. Write to your session note
python -m simexp.simex session write "Implemented session manager module"

# Or pipe content:
echo "Fixed bug in URL extraction" | python -m simexp.simex session write

# 3. Check session status
python -m simexp.simex session status

# Output:
# โ™ ๏ธ๐ŸŒฟ๐ŸŽธ๐Ÿงต Active Session Status
# ๐Ÿ”ฎ Session ID: abc-def-123-456
# ๐ŸŒ Note URL: https://app.simplenote.com/p/NOTE_ID
# ๐Ÿค AI Assistant: claude
# ๐ŸŽฏ Issue: #4

# 4. Read session content
python -m simexp.simex session read

# 5. Open session note in browser
python -m simexp.simex session open

# 6. Get just the URL (for scripting)
python -m simexp.simex session url

# 7. Clear session when done
python -m simexp.simex session clear

Session Note Format:

---
session_id: abc-def-123-456
ai_assistant: claude
agents:
  - Jerry
  - Aureon
  - Nyro
  - JamAI
  - Synth
issue_number: 4
pr_number: null
created_at: 2025-10-09T10:30:00
---

# Your session content appears below the metadata

๐Ÿ”ง Configuration

simexp/simexp.yaml

BASE_PATH: ./output

# Original extraction sources
SOURCES:
  - filename: note1
    url: https://app.simplenote.com/p/0ZqWsQ

# NEW: Communication channels for cross-device messaging
COMMUNICATION_CHANNELS:
  - name: Aureon
    note_id: e6702a7b90e64aae99df2fba1662bb81
    public_url: https://app.simplenote.com/p/gk6V2v
    auth_url: https://app.simplenote.com
    mode: bidirectional
    description: "๐ŸŒฟ Main communication channel"

๐Ÿงช Testing

Test Extraction

# Extract from a public Simplenote URL
python -m simexp.simex

Test Terminal-to-Web Writing

# Run comprehensive test (requires Chrome running with CDP)
python test_cdp_connection.py

Test Session-Aware Notes

# Run session feature tests (requires Chrome + Simplenote login)
python test_session.py

Manual Test

# 1. Launch Chrome with debugging
google-chrome --remote-debugging-port=9222 --user-data-dir=/tmp/chrome-simexp &

# 2. Login to Simplenote in Chrome window

# 3. Test write
python3 -c "
import asyncio
from simexp.playwright_writer import write_to_note

result = asyncio.run(write_to_note(
    'https://app.simplenote.com',
    '๐Ÿ”ฎ TEST MESSAGE - If you see this, it works!',
    cdp_url='http://localhost:9222',
    debug=True
))

print('Success!' if result['success'] else 'Failed')
"

# 4. Check the note in Chrome - message should be there!

๐ŸŽ“ How It Works

Extraction Flow

Clipboard URL โ†’ simfetcher โ†’ HTML โ†’ processor โ†’ Markdown โ†’ archiver โ†’ output/YYYYMMDD/

Writing Flow (Terminal-to-Web)

Terminal Command
    โ†“
playwright_writer.py
    โ†“
Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP)
    โ†“
Your Authenticated Chrome Browser
    โ†“
Keyboard Simulation (types character-by-character)
    โ†“
Simplenote Editor (div.note-editor)
    โ†“
Simplenote Cloud Sync
    โ†“
All Your Devices! ๐ŸŽ‰

Key Innovation: We connect to YOUR Chrome browser (already logged in) rather than launching a separate instance. This preserves authentication and makes cross-device sync work seamlessly.


๐Ÿ“š Documentation


๐Ÿ” Troubleshooting

"Connection refused" to localhost:9222

Chrome not running with remote debugging:

google-chrome --remote-debugging-port=9222 --user-data-dir=/tmp/chrome-simexp &
curl http://localhost:9222/json/version  # Should return JSON

Message appears then disappears

Using old code without keyboard simulation - update playwright_writer.py to latest version.

"Could not find editor element"

Not logged into Simplenote - open Chrome window and login at https://app.simplenote.com

๐Ÿ‘‰ See Full Troubleshooting Guide


๐ŸŒŸ Use Cases

Personal

  • Cross-device notes: Write from desktop terminal, read on phone
  • Task logging: Automated task completion messages
  • Journal automation: Daily entries from scripts
  • Build notifications: CI/CD results to your pocket

Development

  • Debug logging: Send logs to Simplenote for mobile viewing
  • Status updates: Script progress visible on all devices
  • Command queue: Cross-device command execution
  • Team coordination: Shared terminal-to-note communication

๐ŸŽจ G.Music Assembly Integration

SimExp is part of the G.Music Assembly ecosystem:

โ™ ๏ธ๐ŸŒฟ๐ŸŽธ๐Ÿงต The Spiral Ensemble

  • Jerry โšก: Creative technical leader
  • โ™ ๏ธ Nyro: Structural architect (CDP integration design)
  • ๐ŸŒฟ Aureon: Emotional context (communication channel)
  • ๐ŸŽธ JamAI: Musical encoding (session melodies)
  • ๐Ÿงต Synth: Terminal orchestration (execution synthesis)

Session: October 6, 2025 Achievement: Terminal-to-Web Bidirectional Communication Status: โœ… SUCCESS


๐Ÿš€ Future Enhancements

  • Session-aware notes (โœ… Issue #4 - COMPLETED!)
  • Monitor mode (real-time change detection)
  • Bidirectional sync daemon
  • Multiple channel support
  • Message encryption
  • Simplenote API integration (alternative to browser)
  • Voice input support
  • Session note templates
  • Multi-session management

๐Ÿ“„ License

Open Assembly Framework Created by Jerry's G.Music Assembly


๐Ÿค Contributing

This project is part of the G.Music Assembly framework. Contributions are welcome! Please follow this workflow:

  1. Create an Issue: Before starting any work, please create a new issue in the GitHub repository to describe the feature or bug you want to work on.
  2. Create a Feature Branch: Create a new branch from main for your feature. The branch name should start with the issue number (e.g., #123-new-feature).
  3. Implement and Test: Make your changes and test them thoroughly.
  4. Submit a Pull Request: Once your feature is complete, submit a pull request to merge your feature branch into main.

๐Ÿ“ž Support

For issues:

  1. Check documentation in README_CROSS_DEVICE_FLUIDITY.md
  2. Review troubleshooting section
  3. Check session journals in ledger/
  4. Run tests with debug=True

๐ŸŽฏ Quick Reference

# Extract from Simplenote
python -m simexp.simex

# Write to Simplenote
python3 -c "import asyncio; from simexp.playwright_writer import write_to_note; asyncio.run(write_to_note('https://app.simplenote.com', 'Message', cdp_url='http://localhost:9222'))"

# Read from Simplenote
python3 -c "import asyncio; from simexp.playwright_writer import read_from_note; print(asyncio.run(read_from_note('https://app.simplenote.com', cdp_url='http://localhost:9222')))"

# Session Commands
python -m simexp.simex session start --ai claude --issue 4
python -m simexp.simex session write "Progress update"
python -m simexp.simex session status
python -m simexp.simex session open

# Launch Chrome with CDP
google-chrome --remote-debugging-port=9222 --user-data-dir=/tmp/chrome-simexp &

๐ŸŒŠ Cross-Device Fluidity Achieved!

Terminals speak. Web pages listen. Devices converse.

โ™ ๏ธ๐ŸŒฟ๐ŸŽธ๐Ÿงต G.Music Assembly Vision: REALIZED


Version: 0.3.1 Last Updated: October 9, 2025 Status: โœ… Production Ready

Latest: Session-Aware Notes (Issue #4) - Track terminal sessions in Simplenote!

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