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⚠️ To start using PPORT, simply visit pport.deno.dev and follow the instructions.

PPORT is a small experimental project where I explore the simplest and fastest way to deliver software (specifically CLI utilities) over plain HTTP.

To test this method, I built a lightweight text-based chat application that runs directly in the terminal.

The core language is TypeScript. Usually, language choice for me is a matter of taste (especially for projects like this), but in this case, I specifically chose TypeScript because of Deno.

Deno is a fantastic JavaScript runtime that offers two critical features:

• Import and run scripts directly from URLs.
• Transpile TypeScript on the fly without any additional build steps.

Since I chose Deno, it made perfect sense to deploy PPORT on Deno Deploy. This hosting platform allows almost instant deployment simply by connecting a GitHub repository. Because Deno doesn't rely on Docker, projects on Deno Deploy go live within seconds after a commit/push.

All that is required to distribute this CLI utility is a basic HTTP server and a standard HTTP client (like curl or irm), which is available on almost every machine.

The magic happens in server.ts, a script that performs several important tasks:

1. Serves a web page with instructions when accessed from a browser.
2. Serves an installer script (.sh for Unix, .ps1 for Windows) if the request comes with a User-Agent from curl or irm.
3. Serves .ts files (e.g., source/client.ts) if the request comes with a User-Agent from Deno.

When you run:

curl -fsSL pport.deno.dev | sh

the following sequence happens:

• The server detects the User-Agent from curl and responds with a shell installer script.
• The shell script checks if Deno is installed (and installs it if needed).
• It then runs deno install, triggering further requests to pport.deno.dev.
• The server, seeing the User-Agent from Deno, responds by serving the required .ts source files.

Simple as that.

LICENSE