intelligent-backend

Table of Contents

• intelligent-backend
  • Table of Contents
  • High-Level Overview
  • Technology Stack
  • Runtime Flow
  • Directory Walk-through
  • Key Modules & Responsibilities
    • Express API Layer
    • Airstack & Neynar Integrations
    • Firebase Persistence Layer
    • BullMQ Job System
    • Mimir Analytics Engine (PostgreSQL)
    • AlfaFrens Ecosystem Sync
  • Data Lifecycle — "Sync Cast" Example
  • Environment Variables
  • Local Development
    • Contributing

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High-Level Overview

intelligent-backend powers Farcaster-centric social analytics. The service:

• Ingests Farcaster casts, reactions, followers, etc. through the Airstack & Neynar APIs.
• Persists raw entities & derived analytics to Firebase Firestore.
• Performs interval-based aggregations (24 h, 7 d, 30 d, 180 d), ranking, and list generation inside a PostgreSQL data-mart codenamed Mimir.
• Orchestrates IO-heavy tasks via BullMQ workers backed by Redis.
• Supports gated routes secured by Privy auth tokens and a Firestore-driven whitelist.
• Surfaces REST endpoints under /api/** for clients (web / mobile / cron).

Technology Stack

Layer	Library / Service	Notes
Web server	Express	Typed with TypeScript.
Task queues	BullMQ	Redis-backed job scheduling & workers.
Persistent store	Firebase Firestore	Raw casts, user documents, interval stats, etc.
Analytics DW	PostgreSQL	Queried via pg in the mimir module.
Farcaster data	Airstack, Neynar	GraphQL & REST endpoints.
Auth	Privy JWT	Middleware validates Authorization: Bearer <token>.
Cloud jobs	cron	(Optional) recurring tasks, currently commented.

Runtime Flow

1. Bootstrap (src/index.ts)

   • Loads environment variables via dotenv.
   • Initializes Airstack (initializeAirstack) and Postgres pool (initializeMimir).
   • Registers Express middlewares (json, urlencoded, cors).
   • Side-effect imports spin up BullMQ queues & workers at start-up (important: do not remove those imports).
   • Binds routers (root, /api, /api/alfafrens, /api/user, /api/mimir, /api/degen).

2. Incoming Request ➜ Router

   • Public endpoints: basic health checks, Farcaster cast analysis, reaction-fetch trigger, pagination helpers.
   • Protected endpoints:
     checkPrivyToken middleware verifies Privy JWT, checks Firestore whitelist, kicks off globalUserUpdateQueue.

3. Job Execution (BullMQ workers)

   • Examples: fetchRepliesFromCastWorker, fetchReactionsFromCastWorker, syncAlfaFrensWorker, intervalAggregationsWorker, etc.
   • Workers fetch external data (Airstack, AlfaFrens, SQL) → transform → persist in Firestore.

4. Analytics (Mimir)

   • SQL files under src/mimir/sql/** implement heavy aggregations (followers delta, mention counts, etc.).
   • Jobs in src/mimir/jobs/** execute those queries for each user & timeframe, writing results back to Firestore so the client can consume without hitting Postgres directly.

Directory Walk-through

src/
├─ airstack/               # Airstack client bootstrap
├─ crons/                  # (Optional) cron-scheduled jobs
├─ db/                     # Firestore wrappers (add/fetch)
│   └─ ecosystem/alfafrens # AlfaFrens-specific collections
├─ ecosystems/             # One-off importers (e.g., completeAFSubs.ts)
├─ firebase/               # Firebase Admin SDK init (service account via env)
├─ middleware/             # Express middlewares (Privy auth, etc.)
├─ mimir/                  # Analytics engine (jobs, SQL, router)
│   ├─ jobs/               # BullMQ workers for analytics
│   ├─ router/             # `/api/mimir` Express routes
│   └─ sql/                # Parameterised SQL fragments
├─ neynar/                 # Neynar SDK client
├─ queues/                 # BullMQ queues & workers for Farcaster data
├─ routes/                 # Top-level API endpoints
├─ utils/                  # Shared helpers (Redis conn, Airstack GQL builders, etc.)
└─ index.ts                # Application entry point

Key Modules & Responsibilities

Express API Layer

• src/routes/index.ts – generic helpers: analyze URL, fetch replies/reactions, sync cast.
• src/routes/alfafrens.ts, users.ts, degen.ts – domain-specific sub-routers.
• checkPrivyToken.ts – ensures Authorization header is valid Privy JWT and caller FID is whitelisted.

Airstack & Neynar Integrations

• Airstack:
  getCastByUrlQuery, getRepliesByUrlQuery, getLikesByUrlQuery, etc. build GraphQL; fetchQueryWithPagination streams paginated results.
• Neynar:
  Used mainly for quick cast lookup (lookUpCastByHashOrWarpcastUrl).

Firebase Persistence Layer

• Encapsulated in tiny helpers under src/db/** – e.g., addCastToDB, addRepliesToDB, fetchRepliesFromDBUsingUrl.
• Firestore collections used:
  • casts, replies, reactions
  • user_stats (interval analytics)
  • whitelist (FIDs allowed beyond auth)
  • based_games, ecosystems/* (auxiliary)

BullMQ Job System

• Queues live in src/queues/**. Adding a job ➜ immediate worker execution in same process.
• Redis connection parameters switch between development & production via env vars.
• Worker logs prefix each operation for Cloudwatch / Logtail searching.

Mimir Analytics Engine (PostgreSQL)

• Connection pool created in src/mimir/mimir.ts (initializeMimir).
• SQL fragments parameterised for reuse (src/mimir/sql/**).
• Queue globalUserUpdateQueue orchestrates dozens of analytics sub-jobs per user, enforcing a 20-minute cooldown.

AlfaFrens Ecosystem Sync

• syncAlfaFrensQueue fetches user profile & channel subscribers via AlfaFrens public API.
• Results stored in Firestore under ecosystem/alfafrens/* collections.

Data Lifecycle — "Sync Cast" Example

1. Client calls GET /api/sync-cast?castUrl=<warpcast-url> with a valid Privy token. 📲
2. checkPrivyToken validates token ➜ kicks off globalUserUpdateQueue(fid) for the caller.
3. Route executes Airstack getCastByUrlQuery to resolve the cast → persists in Firestore via addCastToDB.
4. Two jobs are queued:
   • fetchRepliesFromCastQueue (gathers every reply, pagination-aware).
   • fetchReactionsFromCastQueue (likes + recasts).
5. Workers ingest data, de-paginate via fetchQueryWithPagination, augment object (reactionType), then fire addRepliesToDB / addReactionsToDB.
6. UI can now call /api/get-replies (Firestore-backed) for instant hydration while deeper analytics run asynchronously in Mimir.

Environment Variables

Variable	Purpose
PORT	Express port (default 3000)
FIREBASE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT	Stringified service-account JSON (see src/firebase/firebase.ts)
AIRSTACK_API_KEY	Airstack API key
NEYNAR_API_KEY	(Optional) Neynar key (demo fallback exists)
PRIVY_APP_ID / PRIVY_APP_SECRET	Privy production creds
PRIVY_DEV_APP_ID / PRIVY_DEV_APP_SECRET	Privy dev creds
REDIS_DEVELOPMENT_HOST / REDIS_DEVELOPMENT_PASSWORD	Local Redis
REDIS_PRODUCTION_HOST / REDIS_PRODUCTION_PASSWORD	Prod Redis
DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, DB_HOST, DB_NAME, DB_PORT	Postgres (Mimir)

Most secrets should be injected via your container/orchestrator — never commit them. See .env.example for a full list.

Local Development

1. Clone & Install

   git clone [email protected]:<you>/intelligent-backend.git
   cd intelligent-backend
   pnpm i   # or npm install / yarn

2. Configure Secrets

   • Copy .env.example → .env and fill values.
   • Export FIREBASE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT as one line (e.g. $(cat serviceAccount.json | jq -c)).

3. Start Services

   # requires Redis & Postgres running locally or via Docker
   npm run dev

4. Trigger Example

   curl -X GET \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer <privy-jwt>" \
     "http://localhost:3000/api/sync-cast?castUrl=https://warpcast.com/~/cast/0x..."

Logs will show queue creation (🚄 … SYNC QUEUE) and worker processing in real time.

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Contributing

• Use TypeScript strict mode; run pnpm lint before PRs.
• Secrets must come from env; CI enforces gitleaks scan.
• Long-running SQL lives under src/mimir/sql; keep business logic in jobs not routes.

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Happy hacking 👋