Dev Joke Bot

A small Node.js/TypeScript CLI that prints random developer jokes from a local JSON database. The README can be automatically updated on a schedule with a rotating joke via GitHub Actions.

Features

• Random joke output from a curated dataset (jokes.json)
• Category filtering (--category) and keyword search (--search)
• Joke statistics (--stats) and category listing (--list)
• Optional colored output themes (--color)

Requirements

• Node.js 18+ (Node 20 recommended)

Quick start

npm install
npm run build
npx dev-joke-bot

Usage

npx dev-joke-bot [options]

Options:

• --help Show the help menu
• --list List all available categories
• --stats Show joke statistics
• --category <name> Get a joke from a specific category
• --search <keyword> Search jokes by text or tag
• --count <n> Print multiple random jokes
• --color <theme> Set output theme (pastel, rainbow, mind, retro)
• --readme Output a plain Markdown snippet (for CI/README updates)

Examples:

npx dev-joke-bot
npx dev-joke-bot --category Git
npx dev-joke-bot --search database --color rainbow
npx dev-joke-bot --count 3

Dev joke (auto-updated)

This section is updated by .github/workflows/update-joke.yml on a schedule (every 12 hours, UTC).

Category: Testing

I don't always test my code, but when I do, I do it in production.

Adding jokes

Add entries to jokes.json:

{
  "text": "Your joke here",
  "category": "General",
  "tags": ["tag1", "tag2"]
}

Guidelines:

• Keep content developer/programming-related
• Use an existing category or add a new one consistently
• Add 1–3 relevant tags to improve search
• Keep it respectful and inclusive

Project structure

.
├── bin/                    # CLI entry point
├── src/                    # TypeScript source
├── dist/                   # Compiled JavaScript (generated)
├── jokes.json              # Joke database
└── .github/workflows/      # Automation (README updates)

Suggested improvements

• Add npm test coverage and CI checks (lint, typecheck, tests)
• Add a formatter/linter setup (Prettier/ESLint) for consistent style
• Add a release workflow (changelog + versioning) if publishing to npm
• Add a --seed option for reproducible output (useful for demos/CI)

License

MIT