Merge pull request 'docs: Add ntfy.sh integration details, new CLI options, expanded configuration, and architecture overview to README.' (#11) from docs/update-readme into main

Reviewed-on: #11

README.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 > *Digital consciousness stream. Matrix aesthetic · THX-1138 hue.*
 
-A full-screen terminal news ticker that renders live global headlines in large OTF-font block characters with a white-hot → deep green gradient. Headlines auto-translate into the native script of their subject region. Ambient mic input warps the glitch rate in real time. A `--poetry` mode replaces the feed with public-domain literary passages.
+A full-screen terminal news ticker that renders live global headlines in large OTF-font block characters with a white-hot → deep green gradient. Headlines auto-translate into the native script of their subject region. Ambient mic input warps the glitch rate in real time. A `--poetry` mode replaces the feed with public-domain literary passages. Live messages can be pushed to the display over [ntfy.sh](https://ntfy.sh).
 
 ---
 
@@ -12,44 +12,102 @@ A full-screen terminal news ticker that renders live global headlines in large O
 python3 mainline.py                      # news stream
 python3 mainline.py --poetry             # literary consciousness mode
 python3 mainline.py -p                   # same
+python3 mainline.py --firehose           # dense rapid-fire headline mode
+python3 mainline.py --refresh            # force re-fetch (bypass cache)
 ```
 
-First run bootstraps a local `.mainline_venv/` and installs deps (`feedparser`, `Pillow`, `sounddevice`, `numpy`). Subsequent runs start immediately.
+First run bootstraps a local `.mainline_venv/` and installs deps (`feedparser`, `Pillow`, `sounddevice`, `numpy`). Subsequent runs start immediately, loading from cache.
 
 ---
 
 ## Config
 
-At the top of `mainline.py`:
+All constants live in `engine/config.py`:
 
 | Constant | Default | What it does |
 |---|---|---|
 | `HEADLINE_LIMIT` | `1000` | Total headlines per session |
+| `FEED_TIMEOUT` | `10` | Per-feed HTTP timeout (seconds) |
 | `MIC_THRESHOLD_DB` | `50` | dB floor above which glitches spike |
-| `_FONT_PATH` | hardcoded path | Path to your OTF/TTF display font |
+| `FONT_PATH` | hardcoded path | Path to your OTF/TTF display font |
-| `_FONT_SZ` | `60` | Font render size (affects block density) |
+| `FONT_SZ` | `60` | Font render size (affects block density) |
-| `_RENDER_H` | `8` | Terminal rows per headline line |
+| `RENDER_H` | `8` | Terminal rows per headline line |
+| `SSAA` | `4` | Super-sampling factor (render at 4× then downsample) |
+| `SCROLL_DUR` | `5.625` | Seconds per headline |
+| `FRAME_DT` | `0.05` | Frame interval in seconds (20 FPS) |
+| `GRAD_SPEED` | `0.08` | Gradient sweep speed (cycles/sec, ~12s full sweep) |
+| `FIREHOSE_H` | `12` | Firehose zone height (terminal rows) |
+| `NTFY_TOPIC` | klubhaus URL | ntfy.sh JSON endpoint to poll |
+| `NTFY_POLL_INTERVAL` | `15` | Seconds between ntfy polls |
+| `MESSAGE_DISPLAY_SECS` | `30` | How long an ntfy message holds the screen |
 
-**Font:** `_FONT_PATH` is hardcoded to a local path. Update it to point to whatever display font you want — anything with strong contrast and wide letterforms works well.
+**Font:** `FONT_PATH` is hardcoded to a local path. Update it to point to whatever display font you want — anything with strong contrast and wide letterforms works well.
 
 ---
 
 ## How it works
 
-- Feeds are fetched and filtered on startup (sports and vapid content stripped)
+- Feeds are fetched and filtered on startup (sports and vapid content stripped); results are cached to `.mainline_cache_news.json` / `.mainline_cache_poetry.json` for fast restarts
-- Headlines are rasterized via Pillow into half-block characters (`▀▄█ `) at the configured font size
+- Headlines are rasterized via Pillow with 4× SSAA into half-block characters (`▀▄█ `) at the configured font size
-- A left-to-right ANSI gradient colors each character: white-hot leading edge trails off to near-black
+- A left-to-right ANSI gradient colors each character: white-hot leading edge trails off to near-black; the gradient sweeps continuously across the full scroll canvas
 - Subject-region detection runs a regex pass on each headline; matches trigger a Google Translate call and font swap to the appropriate script (CJK, Arabic, Devanagari, etc.) using macOS system fonts
 - The mic stream runs in a background thread, feeding RMS dB into the glitch probability calculation each frame
 - The viewport scrolls through a virtual canvas of pre-rendered blocks; fade zones at top and bottom dissolve characters probabilistically
+- An ntfy.sh poller runs in a background thread; incoming messages interrupt the scroll and render full-screen until dismissed or expired
+
+---
+
+## Architecture
+
+`mainline.py` is a thin entrypoint (venv bootstrap → `engine.app.main()`). All logic lives in the `engine/` package:
+
+```
+engine/
+  config.py       constants, CLI flags, glyph tables
+  sources.py      FEEDS, POETRY_SOURCES, language/script maps
+  terminal.py     ANSI codes, tw/th, type_out, boot_ln
+  filter.py       HTML stripping, content filter
+  translate.py    Google Translate wrapper + region detection
+  render.py       OTF → half-block pipeline (SSAA, gradient)
+  effects.py      noise, glitch_bar, fade, firehose
+  fetch.py        RSS/Gutenberg fetching + cache load/save
+  ntfy.py         NtfyPoller — standalone, zero internal deps
+  mic.py          MicMonitor — standalone, graceful fallback
+  scroll.py       stream() frame loop + message rendering
+  app.py          main(), boot sequence, signal handler
+```
+
+`ntfy.py` and `mic.py` have zero internal dependencies and can be imported by any other visualizer.
 
 ---
 
 ## Feeds
 
-~25 sources across four categories: **Science & Technology**, **Economics & Business**, **World & Politics**, **Culture & Ideas**. Add or swap in `FEEDS`.
+~25 sources across four categories: **Science & Technology**, **Economics & Business**, **World & Politics**, **Culture & Ideas**. Add or swap feeds in `engine/sources.py` → `FEEDS`.
 
-**Poetry mode** pulls from Project Gutenberg: Whitman, Dickinson, Thoreau, Emerson.
+**Poetry mode** pulls from Project Gutenberg: Whitman, Dickinson, Thoreau, Emerson. Sources are in `engine/sources.py` → `POETRY_SOURCES`.
+
+---
+
+## ntfy.sh Integration
+
+Mainline polls a configurable ntfy.sh topic in the background. When a message arrives, the scroll pauses and the message renders full-screen for `MESSAGE_DISPLAY_SECS` seconds, then the stream resumes.
+
+To push a message:
+
+```bash
+curl -d "Body text" -H "Title: Alert title" https://ntfy.sh/your_topic
+```
+
+Update `NTFY_TOPIC` in `engine/config.py` to point at your own topic. The `NtfyPoller` class is fully standalone and can be reused by other visualizers:
+
+```python
+from engine.ntfy import NtfyPoller
+poller = NtfyPoller("https://ntfy.sh/my_topic/json?since=20s&poll=1")
+poller.start()
+# in render loop:
+msg = poller.get_active_message()  # returns (title, body, timestamp) or None
+```
 
 ---
 
@@ -62,7 +120,6 @@ At the top of `mainline.py`:
 
 ### Graphics
 - **Matrix rain underlay** — katakana column rain rendered at low opacity beneath the scrolling blocks as a background layer
-- **Animated gradient** — shift the white-hot leading edge left/right each frame for a pulse/comet effect
 - **CRT simulation** — subtle dim scanlines every N rows, occasional brightness ripple across the full screen
 - **Sixel / iTerm2 inline images** — bypass half-blocks entirely and stream actual bitmap frames for true resolution; would require a capable terminal
 - **Parallax secondary column** — a second, dimmer, faster-scrolling stream of ambient text at reduced opacity on one side
@@ -75,6 +132,10 @@ At the top of `mainline.py`:
 - **Persona modes** — `--surveillance`, `--oracle`, `--underground` as feed presets with matching color themes and boot copy
 - **Synthesized audio** — short static bursts tied to glitch events, independent of mic input
 
+### Extensibility
+- **serve.py** — HTTP server that imports `engine.render` and `engine.fetch` directly to stream 1-bit bitmaps to an ESP32 display
+- **Rust port** — `ntfy.py` and `render.py` are the natural first targets; clear module boundaries make incremental porting viable
+
 ---
 
 *macOS only (system font paths hardcoded). Python 3.9+.*