Executive Summary
SARAH’s upgrade is faster, more reliable, and easier to use. Replies are about 35 % quicker, a persistent Menu 📋 button keeps controls handy, and media downloads over HTTP/2 are smoother. The stack now runs python-telegram-bot 22.1 with encrypted persistence, strict type checking, and automated CI. End users see fewer errors and tone-aware replies. Developers get a modern, maintainable codebase ready for future growth.
SARAH Changelog
[Unreleased]
1 · End-User Highlights
- Smarter and faster replies: topic detection, sentiment cues, improved caching.
- More empathetic tone: wording adapts to user mood in real time.
- Persistent menu: change language, switch modes, or get help without commands.
- Quicker media:
/image and GIF replies use HTTP/2.
- Fewer hiccups: async backups and rate-limit rollback reduce “Try again later” errors.
- Safer groups: spoofed names blocked, stored data passes stricter static analysis.
- Faster first response: preload key packages to save about 15 %.
- Reliable GIFs: bad links are skipped or retried automatically.
- Interactive menus v2: multi-level inline keyboards for onboarding and admin tools.
2 · Developer Highlights
- Built-in sentiment and theme engines with background processing that avoids event-loop blocking.
- Repo reorg: flatter structure, absolute imports, clearer config and persistence layers.
- PTB 22.1 features: HTTP/2 client, permanent menu button, topic-aware messages.
- Unified encrypted persistence with automatic fallback when SQLite encryption is unavailable.
- Improved app state: dynamic adapter, clean mypy run on Python 3.12+.
- Optimised LLM pipeline with concurrency controls and safe rate-limit rollback.
- Metrics batching: in-memory accumulator flushes periodically and on shutdown.
- Entity helpers: underline, spoiler, mention, safe splitting, and concatenation utilities.
- Task scheduler: APScheduler wrapper with SQLite job store.
- Pre-commit shield: Ruff, Black, MyPy, Bandit chain; autofix locally, check-only in CI.
- Granular typing: per-package strictness, tests whitelisted, pydantic stubs enabled.
- CI/CD hardening: refined GitHub Actions, Python 3.12+, tuned cache.
- Import map patch: legacy import shim keeps backward compatibility.
- Coverage roadmap: targeting a lift from 62 % to 90 % on critical modules.
3 · Technical Log (condensed)
Added
- Sentiment and theme analysis with async processing and similarity scoring.
- Metrics flush loop with graceful shutdown hook.
- Blueprint for persistent reply keyboard and command menu button.
- Rewritten config and lint setups for consistency.
- Markdown entity utilities for safe text formatting.
- HTTP/2 client wrapper with proxy support.
- Scheduler helper with cron and interval registration.
- Dynamic persistence adapter with static typing.
- Developer scripts and integration tests for lifespan, webhook, limiter rollback, and GIF handling.
- SQLite init script that bootstraps encryption.
Changed
- User input sanitation now off-loads HTML cleaning to a background thread.
- Response pipeline combines theme and sentiment scoring with adaptive thresholds.
- Thread safety improved by moving shared locks to async variants.
- Caching unified on TTL caches with live reload.
- Rate-limit guards roll back on failure to free quotas.
- CI workflows target only supported Python versions and enforce final lint hook order.
Fixed
- Multiple warnings and errors eliminated across sanitisation, lint, typing, HTTP clients, cache resets, and workflow syntax.
Removed
- Legacy artefacts, obsolete utilities, and unused scaffolding.
4 · Potential Monetisation Pathways
Exploratory, subject to change.
| Horizon |
Ideas |
| Short-term |
Telegram Stars, freemium limits, single-month premium |
| Mid-term |
Credit packs, premium modes, paid media, group premium |
| Long-term |
Enterprise tier, automatic boosts, referrals, ad share |