Tag: development

Automatic Admin Login for WordPress, A Really Bad Idea

Sometimes when you’re working with a local site, especially with existing data, and need to log in as a user and don’t want to mess with resetting the password (or there’s some weird SSO/MFA that’s getting in the way) you just want it to work.

Well, here you go. This snippet will automatically log you in to WordPress using the admin login. I don’t recommend using this anywhere near production or on a server that’s publicly available–for obvious reasons.

But anyway, here’s the bad idea:

<?php
/**
 * Force login as admin user on every request.
 */
function lol_bad_idea_force_admin_login(): void {
	wp_die( 'This is a really bad idea!' ); // Remove this, it's here to stop copy paste problems for people who don't read the code.
	// Check if user is not already logged in.
	if ( ! is_user_logged_in() ) {
		// Grab user object by login name.
		$user = get_user_by( 'login', 'admin' );
		if ( $user ) {
			// Set the current user to this admin account.
			wp_set_current_user( $user->ID );
			// Set the WordPress auth cookie.
			wp_set_auth_cookie( $user->ID );
		}
	}
}
add_action( 'init', 'lol_bad_idea_force_admin_login' );
Code language: PHP (php)

January 30, 2025

PHPCS Anywhere!

Something that I do often is run PHPCS on code I’m working on, almost always inside a git repository. Even more likely is that PHPCS was installed via composer, which means it will live in $GIT_ROOT/vendor/bin. So I always end up doing something like ../../../vendor/bin/phpcs file.php which is hugely annoying.

Which is why I made this monstrosity:

# PHPCS
function phpcs() {
        if git rev-parse --git-dir > /dev/null 2>&1; then
                git_root=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null)

                # Check if vendor/bin/phpcs exists
                if [[ -x "$git_root/vendor/bin/phpcs" ]]; then
                        # Call the local vendor/bin/phpcs
                        "$git_root/vendor/bin/phpcs" "$@"
                fi
        else
                # Fall back to the system's default phpcs
                command phpcs "$@"
        fi
}

# PHPCBF
function phpcbf() {
        if git rev-parse --git-dir > /dev/null 2>&1; then
                git_root=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null)

                # Check if vendor/bin/phpcbf exists
                if [[ -x "$git_root/vendor/bin/phpcbf" ]]; then
                        # Call the local vendor/bin/phpcbf
                        "$git_root/vendor/bin/phpcbf" "$@"
                fi
        else
                # Fall back to the system's default phpcbf
                command phpcbf "$@"
        fi
}Code language: Bash (bash)

Basically, what this is doing is any time I run phpcs or phpcbf it will first check if I am inside a git repository. If I am, and $GIT_ROOT/vendor/bin/phpcs exists, it will automatically find it and use it.

Saves me seconds a day. SECONDS! Maybe you can find it useful as well. Or not. Who knows.

August 31, 2024

Setting up Pibooth in 2024

I have an upcoming need for a photo booth next year 😏 so I started looking into some options to DIY rather than rent one or buy a pre-made version.

The option I’m trying out right now is Pibooth, “A photobooth application out-of-the-box in pure Python.”

https://pibooth.org/

I’m going to set this up with an extra Raspberry Pi 400 I have that’s not doing anything, and see what we can do. Feel free to follow along!

Since Pibooth only works on Raspbian Buster right now, I had to download an older version at https://downloads.raspberrypi.org/raspios_arm64/images/raspios_arm64-2021-05-28/

I set up a few defaults I like to have for my Pis:

# Updates, new software, and cleanup
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt install mc screen ack zsh locate git htop cockpit -y
sudo apt autoremove

# Add dotfile customizations. Sorry, it's currently private :D
git clone git@github.com:emrikol/dotfiles.git
cp -r ~/dotfiles/. ~/
sudo usermod --shell /bin/zsh derrick
zsh

# Set up root access so I can SCP in from Transmit if I need to.
sudo sed -i 's/#PermitRootLogin prohibit-password/PermitRootLogin yes/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
sudo passwd root

# Customize Raspberry Pi settings.
sudo raspi-configCode language: Bash (bash)

After installing cockpit I believe, I had an issue where the MAC address of my Wifi kept changing randomly on each reboot. I had to follow these instructions and add this to my /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf:

[device]
wifi.scan-rand-mac-address=no

Disable Swap to save on SD Card wear:

sudo dphys-swapfile swapoff
sudo dphys-swapfile uninstall
sudo update-rc.d dphys-swapfile remove
sudo apt purge dphys-swapfile -y
sudo sysctl -w vm.swappiness=0Code language: Bash (bash)

Install Log2RAM for the same reason:

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/azlux-archive-keyring.gpg] http://packages.azlux.fr/debian/ bookworm main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/azlux.list
sudo wget -O /usr/share/keyrings/azlux-archive-keyring.gpg  https://azlux.fr/repo.gpg
sudo apt update
sudo apt install log2ram
sudo sed -i 's/SIZE=40M/SIZE=64M/' /etc/log2ram.conf
sudo sed -i 's/#SystemMaxUse=/SystemMaxUse=32M/' /etc/systemd/journald.conf
sudo systemctl restart systemd-journald
Code language: Bash (bash)

From here, we should have my default “base” Raspberry Pi setup. And now, we can work on figuring out how to install Pibooth. According to the install docs, we need to run a few commands:

$ sudo apt install "libsdl2-*"
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-mixer-dev' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-image-dev' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-gfx-dev' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-gfx-doc' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-mixer-2.0-0' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-dbg:armhf' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-dev' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-doc' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-ttf-dev' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-net-2.0-0' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-net-dev' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-image-2.0-0' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-2.0-0-dbgsym:armhf' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-2.0-0' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-gfx-1.0-0' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
Note, selecting 'libsdl2-ttf-2.0-0' for glob 'libsdl2-*'
libsdl2-2.0-0 is already the newest version (2.0.9+dfsg1-1+deb10u1).
libsdl2-2.0-0 set to manually installed.
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
 libsdl2-2.0-0-dbgsym:armhf : Depends: libsdl2-2.0-0:armhf (= 2.0.9+dfsg1-1+rpt1) but it is not going to be installed
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Meh. Okay. Let’s just install all of them but the trouble package. Hopefully that won’t come back to bite us.

sudo apt install libsdl2-mixer-dev libsdl2-image-dev libsdl2-gfx-dev libsdl2-gfx-doc libsdl2-mixer-2.0-0 libsdl2-dev libsdl2-doc libsdl2-ttf-dev libsdl2-net-2.0-0 libsdl2-net-dev libsdl2-image-2.0-0 libsdl2-2.0-0 libsdl2-gfx-1.0-0 libsdl2-ttf-2.0-0 -yCode language: Bash (bash)

We did not install libsdl2-dbg and libsdl2-2.0-0-dbgsym

I’m thinking about adding printer support, so I’ll go ahead and install CUPS: sudo apt-get install cups libcups2-dev

And we might as well install OpenCV sudo apt-get install python3-opencv

Installing gphoto2:

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/gonzalo/gphoto2-updater
cd gphoto2-updater
sudo ./gphoto2-updater.shCode language: Bash (bash)

Now for pibooth: pip3 install "pibooth[dslr,printer]"

Aww yeah! Success!

Now all I need to do is customize it. Maybe we’ll have another post at a later time.

June 19, 2024

Macbook Battery Stats in Your ZSH Terminal Prompt

As a power user of my Macbook, I’ve found that I often overlook the small battery icon on my menu bar, especially when I’m immersed in a fun project. This minor inconvenience sparked a thought: why not incorporate the battery status directly into my terminal prompt? Thus, I embarked on a fun exploration into ZSH scripting. With a bit of coding magic, I was able to enhance my terminal prompt to dynamically display my Macbook’s battery percentage. Let me guide you through the process.

We start by loading the ZSH hook module. This module allows us to add functions that run before and/or after each command, giving us the ability to update our battery status prompt in real-time.

autoload -U add-zsh-hookCode language: Bash (bash)

The Battery Status Function

Next, I crafted a function, terminal_battery_stats, that retrieves battery information and displays it in the terminal prompt. Here’s how it works:

function terminal_battery_stats {
    # Retrieve battery statistics using the pmset command. This is a macOS
    # command that allows power management and battery status retrieval.
    # The awk command is used to format the output into a useful string.
    bat_info=$(pmset -g batt | awk 'NR==2 {gsub(/;/,""); print $3 " " $4}')
    
    # Extract the battery percentage and state from the bat_info string.
    bat_percent=$(echo $bat_info | cut -d' ' -f1 | tr -d '%')
    bat_state=$(echo $bat_info | cut -d' ' -f2)

    # Check if the battery is charging or on AC power.
    if [ $bat_state = 'charging' ] || [ $bat_state = 'AC' ] || [ $bat_state = 'charged' ] || [ $bat_state = 'finishing' ]; then
        # If the battery is over 66%, don't display a battery prompt.
        if [ $bat_percent -gt 66 ]; then
            bat_prompt=""
        else
            # Otherwise, set the battery icon to a plug, and the color to green.
            bat_icon='🔌'
            bat_color='%F{green}'
            # Format the prompt with the battery color, percentage, and icon.
            bat_prompt="〔$bat_color$bat_percent%% $bat_icon%f〕"
        fi
    else
        # If the battery is discharging, choose a battery icon and color based on the battery level.
        if [ $bat_percent -le 33 ]; then
            bat_icon='🪫'
            bat_color='%F{red}'
        elif [ $bat_percent -gt 66 ]; then
            bat_icon='🔋'
            bat_color='%F{green}'
        else
            bat_icon='🔋'
            bat_color='%F{yellow}'
        fi
        # Format the prompt with the battery color, percentage, and icon.
        bat_prompt="〔$bat_color$bat_percent%% $bat_icon%f〕"
    fi

    # Check if the current prompt already contains a battery status.
    if [[ "$PROMPT" == *"〔"* ]]; then
        # If it does, remove the existing battery status from the prompt.
        PROMPT=${PROMPT#*"〕"}
    fi

    # Add the new battery status to the prompt.
    PROMPT="${bat_prompt}${PROMPT}"
}Code language: Bash (bash)

To get some basic understanding of the magic behind ZSH scripting and manipulating the terminal prompt, check this helpful resource.

Applying the Battery Status Function

After creating the function, I added terminal_battery_stats to the command prompt via ZSH’s pre-command hook. Now, my function runs before each command entered in the terminal, keeping the battery stats up-to-date.

add-zsh-hook precmd terminal_battery_statsCode language: Bash (bash)

All the above code is added to my ~/.zshrc file, turning my terminal prompt into a dynamic display of my Macbook’s battery status. The resulting terminal prompt looks like this:

Conclusion

Through the power of ZSH scripting magic, my terminal now offers real-time updates of my Macbook’s battery status after every command. I set it to disappear once the battery reaches 67%, a level I consider to be within the safe zone. This is an excellent example of how minor inconveniences can lead to innovative solutions that enhance productivity.

Here’s the full script ready to drop in to your own ~/.zshrc file:

# Load the zsh hook module. This is a module that allows adding functions
# that get run before and/or after each command.
autoload -U add-zsh-hook

# Function to retrieve and display battery statistics in the terminal prompt.
# Uses the pmset command to retrieve battery information, and awk to format
# it into a useful string. Depending on the battery's state and level, 
# different icons and colors will be displayed in the terminal prompt.
# 
# @return void
function terminal_battery_stats {
    # Retrieve battery statistics using the pmset command. This is a macOS
    # command that allows power management and battery status retrieval.
    # The awk command is used to format the output into a useful string.
    bat_info=$(pmset -g batt | awk 'NR==2 {gsub(/;/,""); print $3 " " $4}')
    
    # Extract the battery percentage and state from the bat_info string.
    bat_percent=$(echo $bat_info | cut -d' ' -f1 | tr -d '%')
    bat_state=$(echo $bat_info | cut -d' ' -f2)

    # Check if the battery is charging or on AC power.
    if [ $bat_state = 'charging' ] || [ $bat_state = 'AC' ] || [ $bat_state = 'charged' ] || [ $bat_state = 'finishing' ]; then
        # If the battery is over 66%, don't display a battery prompt.
        if [ $bat_percent -gt 66 ]; then
            bat_prompt=""
        else
            # Otherwise, set the battery icon to a plug, and the color to green.
            bat_icon='🔌'
            bat_color='%F{green}'
            # Format the prompt with the battery color, percentage, and icon.
            bat_prompt="〔$bat_color$bat_percent%% $bat_icon%f〕"
        fi
    else
        # If the battery is discharging, choose a battery icon and color based on the battery level.
        if [ $bat_percent -le 33 ]; then
            bat_icon='🪫'
            bat_color='%F{red}'
        elif [ $bat_percent -gt 66 ]; then
            bat_icon='🔋'
            bat_color='%F{green}'
        else
            bat_icon='🔋'
            bat_color='%F{yellow}'
        fi
        # Format the prompt with the battery color, percentage, and icon.
        bat_prompt="〔$bat_color$bat_percent%% $bat_icon%f〕"
    fi

    # Check if the current prompt already contains a battery status.
    if [[ "$PROMPT" == *"〔"* ]]; then
        # If it does, remove the existing battery status from the prompt.
        PROMPT=${PROMPT#*"〕"}
    fi

    # Add the new battery status to the prompt.
    PROMPT="${bat_prompt}${PROMPT}"
}

# Adds the function terminal_battery_stats to the command prompt 
# meaning it will be run before each command entered in the terminal. 
add-zsh-hook precmd terminal_battery_stats

Code language: Bash (bash)

Good luck!

July 19, 2023

Stable Diffusion on M1 Macs!

Run Stable Diffusion on your M1 Mac’s GPU

Oh yes, this is going to be awesome!

https://replicate.com/blog/run-stable-diffusion-on-m1-mac

(via Hacker News)

September 1, 2022
Quick Tip: Script Debugging in WordPress
If you’re debugging core WordPress scripts, one thing you might run into is dealing with cached copies of the script. Due to how script-loader.php enqueues the core files, their versions are “hard coded” and short of editing script-loader.php as well, there’s a way to fix this via a filter:
```
add_filter( 'script_loader_src', function( $src, $handle ) {
     if ( false !== strpos( $src, 'ver=' ) ) {
         $src = remove_query_arg( 'ver', $src );
         $src = add_query_arg( array( 'ver', rawurlencode( uniqid( $handle ) . '-' ) ), $src );
     }
     
     <span style="background-color: inherit; color: rgb(248, 248, 242); font-size: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.015em;">return $src;</span>
 }, -1, 2 );Code language: PHP (php)
```
This will apply a unique ver argument to the core scripts on each refresh, so no matter what you’re editing you should get the most recent version from both any page cache you may have and also the browser cache (🤞).

Also, don’t forget to enable SCRIPT_DEBUG if you’re hacking away at core scripts to debug issues.

I couldn’t find a good related image, so enjoy this delicious toilet paper.
April 30, 2021
iPhone – The Prequel

Photo by Shritwod / CC-BY-SA

I have been a die-hard Android user since the Motorola Droid (OG Droid) came out in October 2007. The Apple iOS software world has always felt too restrictive for me, since I am forever a tinkerer.

My current phone is a Google Nexus 6 developed by Motorola, released in November 2014. Unfortunately, it’s showing its age. Google no longer sends OTA updates, so I rely on LineageOS to keep me safe and happy. Even with third-party software, the phone is plagued with problems. From incredibly slow encryption to poor CPU throttling when the battery gets low. The camera is also disgustingly slow, taking between 5-30 seconds to take and process a single picture, but at least the resulting images are beautiful.

Photo by android.com / CC-BY

There are saving graces though, such as the dual front-facing stereo speakers, amazing 6.0 inch 1440×2560 AMOLED screen, optical image stabilization, HDR, Qi wireless charging, and headphone jack 🙂

Unfortunately, it’s time to put my Nexus 6 aside and find a new phone. My wife has been using an iPhone for years now, after switching from Android (2014 Moto X). Today she got a new iPhone 8+, so we’ve come to an agreement that I need to at least try to use iOS for a while.

So tonight, after she migrated all of her apps and data to the new iPhone, I spent some time setting up all of my apps and accounts on her old iPhone 6s+. It’s already been a very alien experience, almost frightening–seeing how little I actually know about the software and hardware.

My plan is to use the iPhone for at least two weeks, and see how I feel about it. This also coincides closely with the release of the new Google Pixel 2 phones, which I will also be looking at. Last year I was very underwhelmed by the Google Pixel line, and felt that the hardware of the iPhone 7+ was much more advanced. If I’m able to thrive, or at least survive, in iOS then perhaps it’s time for me to truly look at switching platforms.

I’m hoping to write about this experience every day or two so that I force myself to look back at how my transition is going. I’m sure there will be many frustrations early on, but hopefully I’ll also have a good number of exciting moments when I get to experience some new and exciting software.

September 23, 2017
Whistler

September 17, 2017