USRSE / USRSE/usrse.github.io

fix(api): widen slugify suffix from 4 to 8 chars or add retry loop

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HTML
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Forks
104
Avg merge
12h 3m
Merged PRs (30d)
10

Description

Summary

Event slug generation uses Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 6) — a 4-character base36 suffix. Birthday-paradox math gives a collision rate around 1-in-1.6M per name, surfacing as a generic 500 from the unique-constraint insert. Low but non-zero.

Requirements

  • Widen the suffix to 8 characters (~1-in-2.8B collision per name) OR add a try/retry loop that regenerates on unique-constraint conflict
  • Files affected: packages/api/src/routes/admin/events/index.ts, packages/api/src/routes/eventsSubmit.ts
  • If a shared slug.ts helper lands first (#2002), apply the fix once there
  • Unit test: 10,000 random slugifies of the same name produce zero duplicates

Context

Flagged in the Plan 2 review. Forms (Plan 4) will also need slug generation — fix once and reuse.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reading the slug generation in packages/api/src/routes/admin/events/index.ts and packages/api/src/routes/eventsSubmit.ts, then check whether shared slug.ts from #2002 exists. Run the relevant unit tests and add coverage for 10,000 slugs from the same name; done means duplicate-free generation and no generic unique-constraint failure path.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
api, backend
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
52/100

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