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Release Notes - v0.3.0

Breaking Changes

New Required Environment Variable: AOC_USER_AGENT

Users must now set the AOC_USER_AGENT environment variable to download puzzle inputs.

Before (v0.2.0):

export AOC_SESSION="your_session_cookie"
cargo run --bin aoc download 2024 1

Now (v0.3.0):

export AOC_SESSION="your_session_cookie"
export AOC_USER_AGENT="github.com/yourname/your-repo (your@email.com)"
cargo run --bin aoc download 2024 1

Why This Change?

The previous version used a hardcoded User-Agent that referenced the template author's GitHub repository. This caused:

  1. Attribution issues: All users' requests appeared to come from the same source
  2. Rate limiting concerns: Shared User-Agent could lead to collective rate limits
  3. Poor etiquette: Not following best practices for automated web requests

Migration Guide

Add this to your shell profile (.bashrc, .zshrc, etc.):

export AOC_USER_AGENT="github.com/yourname/your-repo (your@email.com)"

Or set it temporarily in your current session:

export AOC_USER_AGENT="github.com/yourname/your-repo (your@email.com)"

Error Message

If you forget to set AOC_USER_AGENT, you will see:

Error: AOC_USER_AGENT environment variable not set.
Please set it to identify yourself, e.g.:
    export AOC_USER_AGENT="github.com/yourname/your-repo (contact@email.com)"

This helps website admins contact you if there are issues with your requests.

Files Changed

  • aoc-lib/src/utils/input.rs - Now requires AOC_USER_AGENT environment variable
  • README.md - Updated documentation for both required environment variables
  • .gitignore - Updated comment to mention both env vars

Upgrade Steps

  1. Pull the latest changes
  2. Set the AOC_USER_AGENT environment variable
  3. Continue using the template as before

Version Bump Rationale

This is a MINOR version bump (0.2.0 to 0.3.0) rather than a PATCH because:

  • It introduces a breaking change (new required environment variable)
  • Existing users must take action to continue using the download feature
  • The API contract has changed

Justification

This change is about proper attribution and internet etiquette, not security. User-Agent headers are public information and do not expose credentials.

As noted by the Advent of Code creator in this Reddit post, automated tools should identify themselves properly to help with debugging and prevent issues.

Why we're doing this:

  • Proper attribution - Your requests should identify you, not the template author
  • Internet etiquette - Following community guidelines for automated requests
  • Avoiding shared rate limits - If many users share one User-Agent, they share rate limits

Additional Resources

For more information about being a good citizen when making automated requests to Advent of Code: