Add untrivializer app

2026-03-29 15:59:28 +08:00 · 2017-11-21 16:38:52 -08:00
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+---
+title: Untrivializer
+description: An app that asks if you're really sure something is trivial when you make a comment in Github issues.
+slug: https://github.com/apps/untrivializer
+screenshots:
+- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/entendu/untrivializer/master/docs/ss.png
+authors: [ entendu ]
+repository: entendu/untrivializer
+host: https://puffy-aftermath.glitch.me/
+---
+
+# untrivializer
+
+> a GitHub App built with [probot](https://github.com/probot/probot) that asks in Github comments if you're really sure something is trivial.
+
+![screenshot](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/entendu/untrivializer/master/docs/ss.png)
+
+## But why tho
+
+A lot of times we'll write up an issue without really thinking it through:
+
+> We want _X_. Just do thing _Y_ to get it, that should be really simple.
+
+> Make change _Z_, it should be trivial.
+
+> Do thing _Foo_, it's super easy.
+
+Doing those things (almost without fail) takes way, way more time than we think it will. Why? A couple reasons: 
+
+* If we're making a comment like that we're probably not thinking through all the little details anyway,
+* We're all just [terrible at estimating, _even when we know we're terrible at estimating_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planning_fallacy) (it's truly incredible),
+* We often forget the downstream repercussions of "simple" changes -- one line of code for you might mean 3 hours or more of code review, testing, etc.
+
+So this little robot tries to detect when you've said something "should be simple" and asks if that's really the case. The default reply is:
+
+> Did you mean, "_might be straightforward, but could have unforseen complexities that would completely change the prioritization of the issue, so we should let it go through the normal planning and estimation process_"[?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planning_fallacy)
+
+Detection is an ugly regex.
+
+## Running
+
+I think you can run this as a Github app here: https://github.com/apps/untrivializer but no guarantees that the backend will stay up. If you'd rather run it yourself (I don't blame you) look below.
+
+## Setup
+
+```
+# Install dependencies
+npm install
+
+# Run the bot
+npm start
+```
+
+See [docs/deploy.md](docs/deploy.md) if you would like to run your own instance of this app.