# spartan

spartan is a relatively new internet protocol that is somewhat similar to
[gemini](gemini.html) but a lot of simpler to play with because of the lack of
TLS.

like gemini, it is much lighter than the web and has a much smaller user base.

first time hearing about spartan? you should check out its homepage:
[gemini://spartan.mozz.us](https://portal.mozz.us/gemini/spartan.mozz.us)

at tilde.cafe, we run a spartan server
([spsrv](https://tildegit.org/hedy/spsrv)), and all ~cafe users can have their
own files hosted on spartan by putting content in their `~/public_spartan`
directory.

your spartan site will then be live at both spartan://tilde.cafe/~username/ and
spartan://username.tilde.cafe

the `~/public_spartan` directory is not created by default. use `mkdir
~/public_spartan` to create it, then you can start building your site!

spartan uses gemtext markup (instead of, say, html for the web)
for more information about how you write gemtext, check out the [Introduction
to Gemtext Markup](https://gemini.circumlunar.space/docs/gemtext.gmi), there is
also a [cheatsheet](https://gemini.circumlunar.space/docs/cheatsheet.gmi).

to browse spartan content, you will need a client or a [web
proxy](https://portal.mozz.us/spartan/mozz.us).


## clients

- [gelim](https://sr.ht/~hedy/gelim): try `gelim spartan://tilde.cafe` at the
  terminal
- or just use the web proxy [portal.mozz.us](https://portal.mozz.us/spartan/mozz.us)


## CGI

make sure you set the correct **shebang** and make the file **executable**.

then, print the status and type per the [spartan
spec](https://portal.mozz.us/spartan/spartan.mozz.us): here's a simple example
in sh

    #!/bin/sh
    printf "2 text/gemini\r\n"
    echo "hello world"

note that the first line **must send `\r\n`**

if you want to debug your script, you can redirect your stderr into a file, if
you use shell scripts, you'd do it like this:

	#!/bin/sh
	exec 2>/tmp/my_spartan_debug.txt
	printf "2 text/gemini\r\n"
	echo "hello world"

keep in mind that all cgi scripts run under a single user ("spartan"), so it
might not have permission to run scripts, or write files, that you can

also be careful about what the scripts can write, because there's nothing
preventing someone else from overwriting your files, with their scripts!

you can also check for the user's input. for example, you your `index.gmi` you
can have a input prompt:

```gmi
=: echo.sh send some input
```

then in `echo.sh`:

```sh
#!/usr/bin/env sh

printf "2 application/octet-stream\r\n"
cat /dev/stdin
```

try visiting your spartan page, enter some input on that link line and see the
result!

alternatively you could send input directly in gelim:

```sh
gelim spartan://username.tilde.cafe/echo.sh -Ii 'hello!'
```

(note: `-I` is so gelim quits immediately after displaying output, `-i` is for
sending the input)