Development

Frequently asked questions

Where can I see the supported site list?

• Human-readable: sites.md
• Machine-readable: maigret/resources/data.json

The Markdown list is generated automatically from the JSON database.

Which check methods are supported?

checkType values in data.json describe how Maigret verifies accounts:

• message — look for presenceStrs and ensure none of the absenceStrs appear.
• status_code — require a successful HTTP status.
• response_url — confirm there is no redirect and the response status is 2xx.

Implementation details live in checking.py.

Test setup

Use Python 3.10 for local development.

poetry install --with dev

# Static checks
make lint

# Auto-format
make format

# Run tests with coverage report
make test
open htmlcov/index.html

# Inspect startup performance
make speed

Fixing false positives

1. Enable the Git hook that updates statistics: git config --local core.hooksPath .githooks/.

2. Identify the problematic site (use a random username such as laiuhi3h4gi3u4hgt or the Telegram bot).

3. Inspect the live profile page:

   • If the service is gone, remove it from data.json.
   • If the layout changed, update checkType, presenceStrs, or absenceStrs.
   • If authentication is required, set disabled: true.

4. Update the entry manually or run the automatic analyser:

   maigret --submit https://my.mail.ru/bk/alex

5. To disable checks quickly, run:

   maigret --self-check --site My.Mail.ru@bk.ru

6. Debug responses with:

   maigret soxoj --site My.Mail.ru@bk.ru -d 2> response.txt

Helpful fields in data.json:

• engine — predefined behaviour for known platforms (forums, etc.).
• headers — extra headers to send.
• requestHeadOnly — use HEAD requests when possible.
• regexCheck — validate usernames with regular expressions.

Activation mechanism

Some sites require runtime activation (cookies, JWT tokens, etc.). For example, the Vimeo entry triggers a function that fetches a fresh token when a “Something strange occurred” marker appears. The sequence is:

1. A request to urlProbe fails with a known error message.
2. The activation handler defined in activation.py runs.
3. The handler obtains a new token and updates the in-memory headers.
4. The next retry succeeds with the refreshed credentials.

See the Vimeo implementation in the source for a complete pattern.

Releasing a new version

Maintainer permissions are required. Contact @soxoj for access.

1. Create a release branch with the next version number (increment the patch component unless there are breaking changes).
2. Update the version in:
   • pyproject.toml
   • maigret/__version__.py
   • docs/source/conf.py
   • snapcraft.yaml
3. Update the changelog.
4. Open a GitHub release — the CI pipeline will publish the package to PyPI automatically.

Example branch: https://github.com/soxoj/maigret/commit/e520418f6a25d7edacde2d73b41a8ae7c80ddf39

Example release tag: https://github.com/soxoj/maigret/releases/tag/v0.4.1