24 KiB
Tinker Tickets - Project Documentation for AI Assistants
Project Status (January 2026)
Current Phase: All 5 core features implemented and deployed. Ready for ANSI Art redesign.
Recent Completion:
- ✅ Activity Timeline (Feature 1)
- ✅ Ticket Assignment (Feature 2)
- ✅ Status Transitions with Workflows (Feature 3)
- ✅ Ticket Templates (Feature 4)
- ✅ Bulk Actions - Admin Only (Feature 5)
Next Priority: 🎨 ANSI Art Redesign (major visual overhaul)
Project Overview
Tinker Tickets is a feature-rich, self-hosted ticket management system built for managing data center infrastructure issues. It features SSO integration with Authelia/LLDAP, workflow management, Discord notifications, and a comprehensive web interface.
Tech Stack:
- Backend: PHP 7.4+ with MySQLi
- Frontend: Vanilla JavaScript, CSS3
- Database: MariaDB on separate LXC (10.10.10.50)
- Web Server: Apache on production (10.10.10.45)
- Authentication: Authelia SSO with LLDAP backend
- External Libraries: marked.js (Markdown rendering)
Production Environment:
- Primary URL: http://t.lotusguild.org
- Web Server: Apache at 10.10.10.45 (
/root/code/tinker_tickets) - Database: MariaDB at 10.10.10.50 (
ticketing_systemdatabase) - Authentication: Authelia provides SSO via headers
Architecture
MVC Pattern
Controllers → Models → Database
↓
Views
Project Structure (Updated)
/tinker_tickets/
├── api/ # API endpoints
│ ├── add_comment.php # POST: Add comment
│ ├── assign_ticket.php # POST: Assign ticket to user (NEW)
│ ├── bulk_operation.php # POST: Bulk operations - admin only (NEW)
│ ├── get_template.php # GET: Fetch ticket template (NEW)
│ ├── get_users.php # GET: Get user list (NEW)
│ └── update_ticket.php # POST: Update ticket (workflow validation)
├── assets/
│ ├── css/
│ │ ├── dashboard.css # Shared + dashboard + bulk actions
│ │ └── ticket.css # Ticket + timeline + dark mode fixes
│ ├── js/
│ │ ├── dashboard.js # Dashboard + hamburger + bulk actions + templates
│ │ └── ticket.js # Ticket + comments + status updates + assignment
│ └── images/
│ └── favicon.png
├── config/
│ └── config.php # Config + .env loading
├── controllers/ # MVC Controllers
│ ├── DashboardController.php # Dashboard with assigned_to column
│ └── TicketController.php # Ticket CRUD + timeline + templates
├── models/ # Data models
│ ├── AuditLogModel.php # Audit logging + timeline
│ ├── BulkOperationsModel.php # Bulk operations tracking (NEW)
│ ├── CommentModel.php # Comment data access
│ ├── TemplateModel.php # Ticket templates (NEW)
│ ├── TicketModel.php # Ticket CRUD + assignment
│ ├── UserModel.php # User management (NEW)
│ └── WorkflowModel.php # Status transition workflows (NEW)
├── views/ # PHP templates
│ ├── CreateTicketView.php # Ticket creation with templates
│ ├── DashboardView.php # Dashboard with bulk actions + assigned column
│ └── TicketView.php # Ticket view with timeline + assignment
├── migrations/ # Database migrations
│ ├── 001_initial_schema.sql
│ ├── 007_add_ticket_assignment.sql # Ticket assignment
│ ├── 008_add_status_workflows.sql # Workflow rules
│ ├── 009_add_ticket_templates.sql # Ticket templates
│ ├── 010_add_bulk_operations.sql # Bulk operations
│ └── 011_remove_view_tracking.sql # Remove view audit logs
├── .env # Environment variables (GITIGNORED)
├── Claude.md # This file
├── README.md # User documentation
├── index.php # Dashboard entry point
└── ticket.php # Ticket view/create router
Database Schema (Updated)
Database: ticketing_system at 10.10.10.50
User: tinkertickets
Connection: All APIs create their own connections via config.php
Core Tables
tickets Table (Updated)
CREATE TABLE tickets (
ticket_id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
title VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
description TEXT,
status VARCHAR(50) DEFAULT 'Open',
priority INT DEFAULT 4,
category VARCHAR(50) DEFAULT 'General',
type VARCHAR(50) DEFAULT 'Issue',
created_by INT, -- User who created
updated_by INT, -- User who last updated
assigned_to INT, -- User assigned to (NEW)
created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
updated_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
FOREIGN KEY (created_by) REFERENCES users(user_id),
FOREIGN KEY (updated_by) REFERENCES users(user_id),
FOREIGN KEY (assigned_to) REFERENCES users(user_id) ON DELETE SET NULL,
INDEX idx_status (status),
INDEX idx_assigned_to (assigned_to)
) ENGINE=InnoDB;
users Table (SSO Integration)
CREATE TABLE users (
user_id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
username VARCHAR(100) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
display_name VARCHAR(255),
email VARCHAR(255),
is_admin BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE,
last_login TIMESTAMP NULL,
created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
) ENGINE=InnoDB;
comments Table
CREATE TABLE comments (
comment_id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
ticket_id INT NOT NULL,
user_id INT,
comment_text TEXT NOT NULL,
markdown_enabled BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE,
created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
FOREIGN KEY (ticket_id) REFERENCES tickets(ticket_id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
FOREIGN KEY (user_id) REFERENCES users(user_id),
INDEX idx_ticket_id (ticket_id)
) ENGINE=InnoDB;
audit_log Table (Activity Timeline)
CREATE TABLE audit_log (
log_id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
user_id INT,
action_type VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL, -- 'create', 'update', 'comment', 'assign', etc.
entity_type VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL, -- 'ticket', 'comment'
entity_id INT NOT NULL, -- ticket_id or comment_id
details JSON, -- JSON details of what changed
created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
FOREIGN KEY (user_id) REFERENCES users(user_id),
INDEX idx_entity (entity_type, entity_id),
INDEX idx_user (user_id),
INDEX idx_action (action_type)
) ENGINE=InnoDB;
status_transitions Table (Workflow Rules)
CREATE TABLE status_transitions (
transition_id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
from_status VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
to_status VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
requires_comment BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE, -- Transition requires comment
requires_admin BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE, -- Transition requires admin
is_active BOOLEAN DEFAULT TRUE,
created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
UNIQUE KEY unique_transition (from_status, to_status),
INDEX idx_from_status (from_status)
) ENGINE=InnoDB;
Default transitions:
-- Open → In Progress, Closed, Resolved
-- In Progress → Open, Closed, Resolved
-- Resolved → Closed, In Progress
-- Closed → Open, In Progress (requires comment)
ticket_templates Table
CREATE TABLE ticket_templates (
template_id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
template_name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
title_template VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
description_template TEXT NOT NULL,
category VARCHAR(50),
type VARCHAR(50),
default_priority INT DEFAULT 4,
created_by INT,
is_active BOOLEAN DEFAULT TRUE,
created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
FOREIGN KEY (created_by) REFERENCES users(user_id),
INDEX idx_template_name (template_name)
) ENGINE=InnoDB;
Default templates: Hardware Failure, Software Installation, Network Issue, Maintenance Request
bulk_operations Table
CREATE TABLE bulk_operations (
operation_id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
operation_type VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL, -- 'bulk_close', 'bulk_assign', 'bulk_priority'
ticket_ids TEXT NOT NULL, -- Comma-separated ticket IDs
performed_by INT NOT NULL,
parameters JSON, -- Operation parameters
status VARCHAR(20) DEFAULT 'pending',
total_tickets INT,
processed_tickets INT DEFAULT 0,
failed_tickets INT DEFAULT 0,
created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
completed_at TIMESTAMP NULL,
FOREIGN KEY (performed_by) REFERENCES users(user_id),
INDEX idx_performed_by (performed_by),
INDEX idx_created_at (created_at)
) ENGINE=InnoDB;
API Endpoints (Updated)
Authentication
All API endpoints check: $_SESSION['user']['user_id'] for authentication.
Admin-only endpoints check: $_SESSION['user']['is_admin'].
POST /api/update_ticket.php
Updates ticket with workflow validation.
Request:
{
"ticket_id": 123,
"status": "In Progress", // Validated against workflow rules
"priority": 2,
"title": "Updated title",
"description": "...",
"category": "Software",
"type": "Task"
}
Response:
{
"success": true,
"status": "In Progress",
"priority": 2,
"message": "Ticket updated successfully"
}
Features:
- Workflow validation via WorkflowModel
- Partial updates (only send changed fields)
- User tracking (updated_by)
- Discord webhook notifications
- Audit logging
POST /api/assign_ticket.php (NEW)
Assigns ticket to a user.
Request:
{
"ticket_id": 123,
"assigned_to": 5 // user_id, or null to unassign
}
Response:
{
"success": true
}
GET /api/get_users.php (NEW)
Returns list of all users for assignment dropdowns.
Response:
{
"success": true,
"users": [
{
"user_id": 1,
"username": "jared",
"display_name": "Jared Vititoe",
"is_admin": true
}
]
}
GET /api/get_template.php?template_id=1 (NEW)
Fetches a ticket template.
Response:
{
"success": true,
"template": {
"template_id": 1,
"template_name": "Hardware Failure",
"title_template": "Hardware Failure: [Device Name]",
"description_template": "Device: \nIssue: \n...",
"category": "Hardware",
"type": "Problem",
"default_priority": 2
}
}
POST /api/bulk_operation.php (NEW - ADMIN ONLY)
Performs bulk operations on tickets.
Request:
{
"operation_type": "bulk_close", // or 'bulk_assign', 'bulk_priority'
"ticket_ids": [123, 456, 789],
"parameters": { // For bulk_assign or bulk_priority
"assigned_to": 5, // For bulk_assign
"priority": 2 // For bulk_priority
}
}
Response:
{
"success": true,
"operation_id": 42,
"processed": 3,
"failed": 0,
"message": "Bulk operation completed: 3 succeeded, 0 failed"
}
POST /api/add_comment.php
Adds comment to ticket.
Request:
{
"ticket_id": 123,
"comment_text": "Comment content",
"markdown_enabled": true
}
Response:
{
"success": true,
"user_name": "Jared Vititoe",
"created_at": "Jan 01, 2026 12:00"
}
Key Features Implementation
Feature 1: Activity Timeline
Location: Ticket view → Activity tab
Implementation:
AuditLogModel->getTicketTimeline()- Fetches all events for a ticket- Shows: creates, updates, comments, assignments, status changes
- Displays: user, action, timestamp, details
- CSS: timeline-content boxes with icons
- Dark mode: Fully supported
Code: views/TicketView.php:258-282, models/AuditLogModel.php:getTicketTimeline()
Feature 2: Ticket Assignment
Location: Ticket view → "Assigned to" dropdown, Dashboard → "Assigned To" column
Implementation:
- Database:
tickets.assigned_tocolumn - Models:
TicketModel->assignTicket(),TicketModel->unassignTicket() - API:
api/assign_ticket.php - Dashboard: Shows assigned user in table
- Auto-saves on change
- Audit logged
Code: views/TicketView.php:170-181, assets/js/ticket.js:handleAssignmentChange()
Feature 3: Status Transitions with Workflows
Location: Ticket view → Status dropdown (header)
Implementation:
- Database:
status_transitionstable defines allowed transitions - Models:
WorkflowModel->isTransitionAllowed(),WorkflowModel->getAllowedTransitions() - Dropdown shows only valid transitions for current status
- Server-side validation prevents invalid changes
- Can require comments or admin privileges
- Removed from hamburger menu (was duplicate)
Code: models/WorkflowModel.php, api/update_ticket.php:130-144, views/TicketView.php:185-198
Feature 4: Ticket Templates
Location: Create ticket page → Template selector
Implementation:
- Database:
ticket_templatestable - Models:
TemplateModel->getAllTemplates(),TemplateModel->getTemplateById() - API:
api/get_template.php - JavaScript:
loadTemplate()in dashboard.js - Auto-fills: title, description, category, type, priority
- 4 default templates included
Code: views/CreateTicketView.php:27-39, assets/js/dashboard.js:loadTemplate()
Feature 5: Bulk Actions (Admin Only)
Location: Dashboard → Checkboxes + Toolbar (admins only)
Implementation:
- Database:
bulk_operationstable tracks operations - Models:
BulkOperationsModel->processBulkOperation() - API:
api/bulk_operation.php - UI: Toolbar appears when tickets selected
- Operations: Bulk close, bulk assign, bulk priority
- All operations audit logged
- Server-side admin validation
Code: views/DashboardView.php:176-188, assets/js/dashboard.js:bulkClose(), models/BulkOperationsModel.php
Authentication & SSO Integration
Authelia Integration
User information passed via HTTP headers:
Remote-User: UsernameRemote-Name: Display nameRemote-Email: EmailRemote-Groups: Comma-separated groups
Session Management
$_SESSION['user'] = [
'user_id' => 123,
'username' => 'jared',
'display_name' => 'Jared Vititoe',
'email' => 'jared@lotusguild.org',
'is_admin' => true // true if 'admins' in Remote-Groups
];
Admin Privileges
- Bulk operations (close, assign, priority)
- Future: Admin-only transitions
Frontend Components (Updated)
Dashboard (DashboardView.php + dashboard.js)
Features:
- Sortable columns including new "Assigned To" column
- Search (title, description, ticket_id, category, type)
- Status filtering (default: Open + In Progress)
- Pagination (configurable)
- Dark mode toggle
- Bulk Actions Toolbar (admin only):
- Checkboxes on each ticket
- "Select All" checkbox
- Bulk close, assign, priority buttons
- Shows count of selected tickets
Hamburger Menu:
- Category/Type filtering
- Apply/Clear filters
- No status field (removed)
Ticket View (TicketView.php + ticket.js)
Features:
- Tabbed Interface: Description, Comments, Activity
- Activity Timeline: Complete audit trail with icons
- Assignment Dropdown: Assign to users
- Status Dropdown: Workflow-validated status changes (header)
- Hamburger Menu: Priority, Category, Type editing
- Edit Button: Title and description editing
- Markdown Comments: With live preview
- Dark Mode: Comprehensive support
Visual Indicators:
- Priority colors (P1=Red, P2=Orange, P3=Blue, P4=Green, P5=Gray)
- Status badges (Open=Green, In Progress=Yellow, Closed=Red, Resolved=Green)
- Priority border colors on ticket container
Create Ticket (CreateTicketView.php)
Features:
- Template Selector: Quick-fill from templates
- Standard fields: title, description, status, priority, category, type
- Form validation
- Discord webhook on creation
Dark Mode (Fixed)
Comprehensive Dark Mode CSS
Files: assets/css/ticket.css, assets/css/dashboard.css
Colors:
body.dark-mode {
--bg-primary: #1a202c; /* Main background */
--bg-secondary: #2d3748; /* Cards, inputs */
--bg-tertiary: #4a5568; /* Hover states */
--text-primary: #e2e8f0; /* Main text */
--text-secondary: #cbd5e0; /* Secondary text */
--text-muted: #a0aec0; /* Muted text */
--border-color: #4a5568; /* Borders */
}
Fixed Elements:
- Timeline boxes (background + text)
- Bulk actions toolbar
- Tables and table rows
- Input fields and textareas
- Dropdowns and selects
- Comment boxes
- Modal dialogs
- All text elements
Important: Used !important flags to override any conflicting styles.
Configuration
Environment Variables (.env)
DB_HOST=10.10.10.50
DB_USER=tinkertickets
DB_PASS=password
DB_NAME=ticketing_system
DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL=https://discord.com/api/webhooks/...
CRITICAL: .env is gitignored! Never commit this file.
Apache Configuration
Virtual Host: Apache serving from /root/code/tinker_tickets
<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName t.lotusguild.org
DocumentRoot /root/code/tinker_tickets
<Directory /root/code/tinker_tickets>
Options -Indexes +FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride All
Require all granted
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^ticket/([0-9]+)$ ticket.php?id=$1 [L,QSA]
RewriteRule ^ticket/create$ ticket.php?action=create [L,QSA]
</Directory>
</VirtualHost>
Deployment
Git Auto-Deploy
Repository: https://code.lotusguild.org/LotusGuild/tinker_tickets
Flow:
- Push to
mainbranch - Auto-deploys to
/root/code/tinker_ticketson 10.10.10.45 .envis preserved- Migrations must be run manually
Running Migrations
cd /root/code/tinker_tickets/migrations
mysql -h 10.10.10.50 -u tinkertickets -p'pass' ticketing_system < 007_add_ticket_assignment.sql
mysql -h 10.10.10.50 -u tinkertickets -p'pass' ticketing_system < 008_add_status_workflows.sql
mysql -h 10.10.10.50 -u tinkertickets -p'pass' ticketing_system < 009_add_ticket_templates.sql
mysql -h 10.10.10.50 -u tinkertickets -p'pass' ticketing_system < 010_add_bulk_operations.sql
mysql -h 10.10.10.50 -u tinkertickets -p'pass' ticketing_system < 011_remove_view_tracking.sql
Development Guidelines
Code Style
- PHP: Tabs for indentation, prepared statements,
htmlspecialchars()for output - JavaScript: Vanilla JS,
fetch()for AJAX, clear function names - CSS: CSS variables for theming, mobile-responsive
- Security: No SQL injection, XSS prevention, session validation
Error Handling
- APIs return JSON with
{success: bool, error: string} - Debug logging to
/tmp/api_debug.log(update_ticket.php) - User-friendly error messages
Adding New Features
- Database: Create migration in
migrations/ - Model: Add methods to relevant Model class
- API: Create API endpoint in
api/(with auth check) - Controller: Update controller to load data
- View: Add UI elements
- JavaScript: Add interactivity
- CSS: Style for light + dark mode
- Test: Test thoroughly before pushing
ANSI Art Redesign (Next Priority)
Goal
Transform Tinker Tickets into a retro terminal aesthetic using ANSI art and ASCII characters.
Design Concept
- Terminal-style borders: Use box-drawing characters (┌─┐│└─┘)
- Monospace fonts: Courier New, Consolas, Monaco
- ASCII art headers: Stylized "TINKER TICKETS" banner
- Retro color palette: Green terminal, amber terminal, or custom
- Template objects: Reusable border/box components
Implementation Approach
- CSS Variables: Define ANSI color palette
- Border Components: Create CSS classes for boxes with ASCII borders
- Typography: Monospace fonts throughout
- Icons: Replace emoji with ASCII art
- Dashboard: Terminal-style table with borders
- Tickets: Box-drawing characters for sections
- Forms: Terminal-style input boxes
Reference Colors (Classic Terminal)
:root {
--ansi-black: #000000;
--ansi-green: #00ff00;
--ansi-amber: #ffb000;
--ansi-blue: #0000ff;
--ansi-cyan: #00ffff;
--ansi-white: #ffffff;
--ansi-bg: #000000;
}
Example Box Template
┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ TICKET #123 │
├─────────────────────────────┤
│ Title: Hardware Failure │
│ Status: [OPEN] │
│ Priority: P1 (CRITICAL) │
└─────────────────────────────┘
Debugging
Common Issues
# API debug logs
tail -f /tmp/api_debug.log
# Database connection
mysql -h 10.10.10.50 -u tinkertickets -p ticketing_system
# JavaScript console
# Open browser DevTools (F12) → Console tab
# Check dark mode
# localStorage.getItem('theme')
Known Behaviors
- Ticket viewing no longer tracked (011 migration removes view logs)
- Status can only be changed via header dropdown (removed from hamburger)
- Bulk actions only visible to admins
- Templates are optional when creating tickets
- Workflow validation prevents invalid status transitions
Important Notes for AI Assistants
- All 5 features are complete and deployed
- Dark mode is fixed with comprehensive CSS
- Next priority is ANSI Art redesign (major visual overhaul)
- Database at 10.10.10.50, can't access directly from dev machine
- Auto-deploy is active, test carefully before pushing
- Session format:
$_SESSION['user']['user_id'](not$_SESSION['user_id']) - API auth: Check
$_SESSION['user']['user_id']exists - Admin check:
$_SESSION['user']['is_admin'] ?? false - Config path:
config/config.php(notconfig/db.php) - Migrations: Must be run manually on database server
File Reference Quick Guide
| File | Purpose | Key Functions |
|---|---|---|
index.php |
Dashboard router | Database connection, routing |
ticket.php |
Ticket router | View/create ticket routing |
api/update_ticket.php |
Update API | Workflow validation, partial updates |
api/assign_ticket.php |
Assignment API | Assign/unassign tickets |
api/bulk_operation.php |
Bulk ops API | Admin bulk operations |
api/get_template.php |
Template API | Fetch ticket templates |
api/get_users.php |
Users API | Get user list |
models/TicketModel.php |
Ticket data | CRUD, assignment, filtering |
models/WorkflowModel.php |
Workflow rules | Status transition validation |
models/AuditLogModel.php |
Audit logging | Timeline, activity tracking |
models/TemplateModel.php |
Templates | Template CRUD |
models/BulkOperationsModel.php |
Bulk ops | Process bulk operations |
controllers/DashboardController.php |
Dashboard logic | Pagination, filters, assigned column |
controllers/TicketController.php |
Ticket logic | CRUD, timeline, templates |
assets/js/dashboard.js |
Dashboard UI | Filters, bulk actions, templates |
assets/js/ticket.js |
Ticket UI | Status updates, assignment, comments |
assets/css/dashboard.css |
Dashboard styles | Layout, table, bulk toolbar, dark mode |
assets/css/ticket.css |
Ticket styles | Timeline, ticket view, dark mode |
Repository & Contact
- Gitea: https://code.lotusguild.org/LotusGuild/tinker_tickets
- Production: http://t.lotusguild.org
- Infrastructure: LotusGuild data center management