From 62736c982b6b799e6df9745491bf7cf165d2461e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Dmitry Petrov <dpetroff@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2026 13:30:30 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] render timestamps as human readable strings instead of
 timestamps for better readability

---
 AGENTS.md                                     |  23 ++++
 Makefile                                      |   6 +-
 cmd/web/client/html/controls.html             |   2 +-
 cmd/web/client/html/feed.html                 |   6 +-
 cmd/web/client/html/form--post.html           |   4 +-
 .../client/html/partial--feed-prompts.html    |   2 +-
 .../client/html/partial--settings_feeds.html  |   6 +-
 cmd/web/client/html/single_post.html          |   2 +-
 cmd/web/client/html/user_home.html            |   2 +-
 cmd/web/main.go                               |  14 +--
 pkg/util/date/date.go                         |  42 +++++++
 pkg/util/date/date_test.go                    | 112 ++++++++++++++++++
 12 files changed, 197 insertions(+), 24 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 pkg/util/date/date.go
 create mode 100644 pkg/util/date/date_test.go

diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 80fffd3..ca9bc5d 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -193,9 +193,32 @@ Located in `/Users/dima/code/pcom/cmd/web/client/scss/_dark-mode.scss`:
 
 **Do NOT define ad-hoc colors directly on elements** - always use Bootstrap's CSS variables to ensure proper inheritance and theming.
 
+## Date/Time Rendering
+
+Use `renderHumanTime` template helper to display timestamps with relative time and full timestamp on hover:
+
+```html
+{{ renderHumanTime .CreatedAt $.User.DBUser }}
+```
+
+**Output**: `<span title="Mon, 15 Jan 2024 12:30">5 minutes ago</span>`
+
+- First argument: `time.Time` value to display
+- Second argument: `*core.User` for timezone localization (can be nil for UTC)
+- Implementation: `pkg/util/date`
+
+## Development
+
+### Verification
+Use `make check` to verify code compiles and tests pass without producing build artifacts:
+```bash
+make check
+```
+
 ## File Locations
 - HTML Templates: `/Users/dima/code/pcom/cmd/web/client/html/`
 - JavaScript: `/Users/dima/code/pcom/cmd/web/client/js/`
 - Main JS entry: `/Users/dima/code/pcom/cmd/web/client/js/index.js`
 - Markdown package: `/Users/dima/code/pcom/pkg/markdown/`
 - Dark mode styles: `/Users/dima/code/pcom/cmd/web/client/scss/_dark-mode.scss`
+- Date utilities: `/Users/dima/code/pcom/pkg/util/date/`
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 264a563..c11acc2 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-.PHONY: shell tunnel lint test build
+.PHONY: shell tunnel lint test build check
 
 shell:
 	flyctl postgres connect -a pcomdb
@@ -20,3 +20,7 @@ test:
 
 build:
 	go build -v ./...
+
+check:
+	go build -o /dev/null ./...
+	go test ./...
diff --git a/cmd/web/client/html/controls.html b/cmd/web/client/html/controls.html
index 6b4b66d..baffcbe 100644
--- a/cmd/web/client/html/controls.html
+++ b/cmd/web/client/html/controls.html
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ <h5 class="card-header">Drafts</h5>
                 {{ range . }}
                   <tr>
                     <td><a href="{{ link "edit_post" .PostID }}">{{ with .Subject }}{{ . }}{{ else }}No subject{{ end }}</a></td>
-                    <td>{{ renderTimestamp .LastUpdatedAt $.User.DBUser }}</td>
+                    <td>{{ renderHumanTime .LastUpdatedAt $.User.DBUser }}</td>
                     <td>
                       <button type="button"
                               class="btn btn-sm btn-danger"
diff --git a/cmd/web/client/html/feed.html b/cmd/web/client/html/feed.html
index 2700f2d..9260e59 100644
--- a/cmd/web/client/html/feed.html
+++ b/cmd/web/client/html/feed.html
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ <h1 class="us-user-header user-header">{{ if .User.IsLoggedIn }}<a href="{{ link
             <div class="card">
               <div class="card-header">
                 <h5 class="card-title fs-6">New Comment: <a href="{{ link "post" .Post.ID }}">{{ .Post.PostSubject }}</a> </h5>
-                <small> <a href="{{ link "user" .Author.Username }}">{{ .Author.Username }}</a> left a <a hx-boost="false" href="{{ link "comment" .PostID .ID }}">comment</a> {{ if eq $.User.DBUser.ID .Post.UserID }} to your post {{ else }} to the post you've commented on {{ end }} at {{ renderTimestamp .CreatedAt $.User.DBUser }} </small>
+                <small> <a href="{{ link "user" .Author.Username }}">{{ .Author.Username }}</a> left a <a hx-boost="false" href="{{ link "comment" .PostID .ID }}">comment</a> {{ if eq $.User.DBUser.ID .Post.UserID }} to your post {{ else }} to the post you've commented on {{ end }} {{ renderHumanTime .CreatedAt $.User.DBUser }} </small>
               </div>
               <div class="card-body">
                 <div class="mt-3 post-in-feed">{{ markdown_feed .Body }}</div>
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ <h5 class="card-title fs-6">New Comment: <a href="{{ link "post" .Post.ID }}">{{
             <div class="card">
               <div class="card-header">
                 <h5 class="card-title fs-6"><a href="{{ link "post" .ID }}">{{ .PostSubject }}</a> </h5>
-                <small><a href="{{ link "user" .Author.Username }}">{{ .Author.Username }}</a> {{ if gt (len .Via) 0 }}  &#8594; {{ range $index, $element := .Via }}{{ if $index }}, {{ end }}<a href="{{ link "user" $element.Username }}">{{ .Username }}</a>{{ end }}{{ end }} <span class="us-post-date post-date">posted at {{ renderTimestamp .PublishedAt.Time $.User.DBUser }}</span></small>
+                <small><a href="{{ link "user" .Author.Username }}">{{ .Author.Username }}</a> {{ if gt (len .Via) 0 }}  &#8594; {{ range $index, $element := .Via }}{{ if $index }}, {{ end }}<a href="{{ link "user" $element.Username }}">{{ .Username }}</a>{{ end }}{{ end }} <span class="us-post-date post-date">posted {{ renderHumanTime .PublishedAt.Time $.User.DBUser }}</span></small>
               </div>
 
               <div class="card-body">
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ <h5 class="card-title fs-6"><a href="{{ link "post" .ID }}">{{ .PostSubject }}</
                 <div class="d-flex w-100 justify-content-between">
                   <div>
                     <h5 class="card-title fs-6"><a href="{{ .URL }}" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">{{ with .Title }}{{ . }}{{ else }}No Title{{ end }}</a></h5>
-                    <small><i class="bi bi-rss"></i> <a href="{{ .FeedURL }}">{{ with .FeedTitle }}{{ . }}{{ else }}no name yet{{ end }}</a> <span class="us-post-date post-date">posted at {{ renderTimestamp .PublishedAt $.User.DBUser }}</span></small>
+                    <small><i class="bi bi-rss"></i> <a href="{{ .FeedURL }}">{{ with .FeedTitle }}{{ . }}{{ else }}no name yet{{ end }}</a> <span class="us-post-date post-date">posted {{ renderHumanTime .PublishedAt $.User.DBUser }}</span></small>
                   </div>
                   <div>
                     <button type="button"
diff --git a/cmd/web/client/html/form--post.html b/cmd/web/client/html/form--post.html
index d91e9b3..3c5c352 100644
--- a/cmd/web/client/html/form--post.html
+++ b/cmd/web/client/html/form--post.html
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {{ if .DraftSaved }}
 <div id="last_draft_save">
   <input type="hidden" name="post_id" value="{{ .PostID }}" />
-  <p class="fw-lighter">Last Updated at {{ renderTimestamp .LastUpdatedAt .User }}</p>
+  <p class="fw-lighter">Last Updated {{ renderHumanTime .LastUpdatedAt .User }}</p>
 </div>
 {{ else }}
 <div id="form-container" class="container mt-lg-4 mt-2 flex-grow-1 d-flex flex-column">
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ <h1>{{ if .PostID }}Edit Post{{ if not .IsPublished }} <small class="text-muted"
     <div id="last_draft_save">
     {{ if .PostID }}
       <input type="hidden" name="post_id" value="{{ .PostID }}" />
-      <small class="fw-lighter">Last Updated at {{ renderTimestamp .LastUpdatedAt .User }}</small>
+      <small class="fw-lighter">Last Updated {{ renderHumanTime .LastUpdatedAt .User }}</small>
     {{ else }}
       {{ with .Prompt }}
         <input type="hidden" name="prompt_id" value="{{ .Prompt.ID }}" />
diff --git a/cmd/web/client/html/partial--feed-prompts.html b/cmd/web/client/html/partial--feed-prompts.html
index a749e27..558bd1b 100644
--- a/cmd/web/client/html/partial--feed-prompts.html
+++ b/cmd/web/client/html/partial--feed-prompts.html
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   <div class="mt-3">
     <div class="card">
       <h5 class="card-header fs-6">
-        <a href="{{ link "user" .Author.Username }}">{{ .Author.Username }}</a> prompted you to write a post at {{ renderTimestamp .Prompt.CreatedAt $.User.DBUser }}
+        <a href="{{ link "user" .Author.Username }}">{{ .Author.Username }}</a> prompted you to write a post {{ renderHumanTime .Prompt.CreatedAt $.User.DBUser }}
       </h5>
       <div class="card-body">
         <div class="d-flex">
diff --git a/cmd/web/client/html/partial--settings_feeds.html b/cmd/web/client/html/partial--settings_feeds.html
index 18dd03e..8636477 100644
--- a/cmd/web/client/html/partial--settings_feeds.html
+++ b/cmd/web/client/html/partial--settings_feeds.html
@@ -14,9 +14,9 @@ <h5 class="card-header">Feeds</h5>
               <a href="{{ .URL }}" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="ms-1 text-muted small" title="RSS Feed"><i class="bi bi-rss"></i></a>
             </div>
             <div class="d-flex flex-wrap small gap-2">
-              <span><span class="text-muted">Fetched:</span> {{ with .LastFetchedAt }}<span title="{{ renderTimestamp . $.User.DBUser }}">{{ relativeTime . }}</span>{{ else }}Never{{ end }}</span>
-              <span><span class="text-muted">Post:</span> {{ with .LastImportedAt }}<span title="{{ renderTimestamp . $.User.DBUser }}">{{ relativeTime . }}</span>{{ else }}None{{ end }}</span>
-              <span><span class="text-muted">Next:</span> {{ with .NextFetchAt }}<span title="{{ renderTimestamp . $.User.DBUser }}">{{ relativeTime . }}</span>{{ else }}Now{{ end }}</span>
+              <span><span class="text-muted">Fetched:</span> {{ with .LastFetchedAt }}{{ renderHumanTime . $.User.DBUser }}{{ else }}Never{{ end }}</span>
+              <span><span class="text-muted">Post:</span> {{ with .LastImportedAt }}{{ renderHumanTime . $.User.DBUser }}{{ else }}None{{ end }}</span>
+              <span><span class="text-muted">Next:</span> {{ with .NextFetchAt }}{{ renderHumanTime . $.User.DBUser }}{{ else }}Now{{ end }}</span>
             </div>
             {{ with .LastError }}
             <details class="small">
diff --git a/cmd/web/client/html/single_post.html b/cmd/web/client/html/single_post.html
index 800d34c..859060f 100644
--- a/cmd/web/client/html/single_post.html
+++ b/cmd/web/client/html/single_post.html
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ <h1 class="us-post-header"><a href="{{ link "user" .Author.Username }}">{{ .Auth
         <div class="card">
           <h5 class="card-header fs-6">
             [<a hx-boost="false" href="{{ link "comment" .PostID .ID }}">#</a>]
-            <a href="{{ link "user" .Author.Username }}">{{ .Author.Username }}</a> responded at {{ renderTimestamp .CreatedAt $.User.DBUser }}
+            <a href="{{ link "user" .Author.Username }}">{{ .Author.Username }}</a> responded {{ renderHumanTime .CreatedAt $.User.DBUser }}
           </h5>
           <div class="card-body">
             <div class="mt-3 post-user-home">{{ markdown_comment .Body }}</div>
diff --git a/cmd/web/client/html/user_home.html b/cmd/web/client/html/user_home.html
index c12f78e..46f0d57 100644
--- a/cmd/web/client/html/user_home.html
+++ b/cmd/web/client/html/user_home.html
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ <h1 class="us-user-header user-header"><a href="{{ link "user" .Author.Username
         {{ range .Posts }}
         <div class="mt-3 us-feed-post">
           <div class="card">
-            <h5 class="card-header"><a href="{{ link "post" .ID }}">{{ .PostSubject }}</a> <span class="us-post-date post-date">posted at {{ renderTimestamp .PublishedAt.Time $.User.DBUser }}</span></h5>
+            <h5 class="card-header"><a href="{{ link "post" .ID }}">{{ .PostSubject }}</a> <span class="us-post-date post-date">posted {{ renderHumanTime .PublishedAt.Time $.User.DBUser }}</span></h5>
             <div class="card-body">
               <div class="mt-3 post-user-home">{{ markdown_feed .Body .ID }}</div>
 
diff --git a/cmd/web/main.go b/cmd/web/main.go
index f8eb4e1..accbeb2 100644
--- a/cmd/web/main.go
+++ b/cmd/web/main.go
@@ -38,11 +38,11 @@ import (
 	"github.com/can3p/pcom/pkg/types"
 	"github.com/can3p/pcom/pkg/userops"
 	"github.com/can3p/pcom/pkg/util"
+	"github.com/can3p/pcom/pkg/util/date"
 	"github.com/can3p/pcom/pkg/util/ginhelpers"
 	"github.com/can3p/pcom/pkg/util/ginhelpers/csp"
 	"github.com/can3p/pcom/pkg/util/ginhelpers/csrf"
 	"github.com/can3p/pcom/pkg/web"
-	"github.com/dustin/go-humanize"
 	"github.com/gin-contrib/sessions"
 	"github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
 	"github.com/jmoiron/sqlx"
@@ -890,16 +890,8 @@ func funcmap(staticAsset staticAssetFunc) template.FuncMap {
 
 		"abslink": links.AbsLink,
 
-		"renderTimestamp": func(t time.Time, user *core.User) string {
-			if user != nil {
-				t = util.LocalizeTime(user, t)
-			}
-
-			return t.Format("Mon, 02 Jan 2006 15:04")
-		},
-
-		"relativeTime": func(t time.Time) string {
-			return humanize.Time(t)
+		"renderHumanTime": func(t time.Time, user *core.User) template.HTML {
+			return date.RenderTimeHTML(t, user, time.Now())
 		},
 
 		"toMap": func(args ...interface{}) map[string]interface{} {
diff --git a/pkg/util/date/date.go b/pkg/util/date/date.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6deb6e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/util/date/date.go
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+package date
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"html/template"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/can3p/pcom/pkg/model/core"
+	"github.com/dustin/go-humanize"
+)
+
+const TimestampFormat = "Mon, 02 Jan 2006 15:04"
+
+func LocalizeTime(user *core.User, t time.Time) time.Time {
+	if user == nil {
+		return t
+	}
+
+	l, err := time.LoadLocation(user.Timezone)
+	if err != nil {
+		return t
+	}
+
+	return t.In(l)
+}
+
+func FormatTimestamp(t time.Time, user *core.User) string {
+	if user != nil {
+		t = LocalizeTime(user, t)
+	}
+	return t.Format(TimestampFormat)
+}
+
+func RelativeTime(t time.Time, now time.Time) string {
+	return humanize.RelTime(t, now, "ago", "from now")
+}
+
+func RenderTimeHTML(t time.Time, user *core.User, now time.Time) template.HTML {
+	timestamp := FormatTimestamp(t, user)
+	relative := RelativeTime(t, now)
+	return template.HTML(fmt.Sprintf(`<span title="%s">%s</span>`, template.HTMLEscapeString(timestamp), template.HTMLEscapeString(relative)))
+}
diff --git a/pkg/util/date/date_test.go b/pkg/util/date/date_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d9423d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/util/date/date_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+package date
+
+import (
+	"html/template"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/can3p/pcom/pkg/model/core"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func TestLocalizeTime(t *testing.T) {
+	baseTime := time.Date(2024, 1, 15, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		user     *core.User
+		input    time.Time
+		expected time.Time
+	}{
+		{
+			name:     "nil user returns original time",
+			user:     nil,
+			input:    baseTime,
+			expected: baseTime,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "user with UTC timezone",
+			user:     &core.User{Timezone: "UTC"},
+			input:    baseTime,
+			expected: baseTime,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "user with America/New_York timezone",
+			user:     &core.User{Timezone: "America/New_York"},
+			input:    baseTime,
+			expected: baseTime.In(mustLoadLocation("America/New_York")),
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "user with invalid timezone returns original time",
+			user:     &core.User{Timezone: "Invalid/Timezone"},
+			input:    baseTime,
+			expected: baseTime,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			result := LocalizeTime(tt.user, tt.input)
+			require.Equal(t, tt.expected, result)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestFormatTimestamp(t *testing.T) {
+	baseTime := time.Date(2024, 1, 15, 12, 30, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		user     *core.User
+		input    time.Time
+		expected string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:     "nil user formats in UTC",
+			user:     nil,
+			input:    baseTime,
+			expected: "Mon, 15 Jan 2024 12:30",
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "user with timezone formats in local time",
+			user:     &core.User{Timezone: "America/New_York"},
+			input:    baseTime,
+			expected: "Mon, 15 Jan 2024 07:30",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			result := FormatTimestamp(tt.input, tt.user)
+			require.Equal(t, tt.expected, result)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRelativeTime(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Date(2024, 1, 15, 12, 30, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+
+	result := RelativeTime(now.Add(-5*time.Minute), now)
+	require.Equal(t, "5 minutes ago", result)
+
+	result = RelativeTime(now.Add(-2*time.Hour), now)
+	require.Equal(t, "2 hours ago", result)
+}
+
+func TestRenderTimeHTML(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Date(2024, 1, 15, 12, 30, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	baseTime := now.Add(-5 * time.Minute)
+
+	result := RenderTimeHTML(baseTime, nil, now)
+
+	expected := template.HTML(`<span title="Mon, 15 Jan 2024 12:25">5 minutes ago</span>`)
+	require.Equal(t, expected, result)
+}
+
+func mustLoadLocation(name string) *time.Location {
+	loc, err := time.LoadLocation(name)
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+	return loc
+}