ReClue

ReClue is a Chrome/Firefox extension that helps crossword solvers by providing an alternative clue (a "re-clue") for the entry you're stuck on — or, if you'd rather, the answer outright.

It works against a database of NYT crossword clues and answers spanning 1993–2021 (~780k entries). Because the same answer has been clued many different ways over the years, ReClue can hand you a different clue for the same answer to jog your memory without spoiling it.

How to use it

1. Type the clue you're stuck on into the popup, optionally including the answer length (this narrows things down when a clue matches more than one answer).
2. If a match is found, for each candidate answer you can ask for:
   • a re-clue — an alternative clue for the same answer (when one exists), or
   • the answer outright.

No spoilers by design

The answer stays hidden until you explicitly ask for it — enforced at the network layer, not just in the UI. A lookup returns only non-spoiling metadata (letter count, how often the answer appeared in the dataset, whether a re-clue is available). The actual clue or answer text is fetched only when you press "Give me another clue" or "Reveal answer".

See docs/adr/0001-no-spoiler-lookup-contract.md for the full reasoning and API contract.

Architecture

Browser extension (popup)  →  Supabase Edge Function (/api)  →  Supabase PostgreSQL

• Extension — MV3 toolbar popup for Chrome & Firefox. Vanilla TypeScript + Vite (CRXJS) + Tailwind v4. Lives in extension/.
• API — Supabase Edge Function (supabase/functions/api/) exposing /lookup, /reclue, and /reveal. All matching, ranking, normalization, and DB credentials stay server-side; the extension only knows one base URL.
• Database — PostgreSQL hosted on Supabase, ~780k rows of historical NYT clues.

Setup

Prerequisites

• Bun
• Supabase CLI (brew install supabase/tap/supabase)
• psql (brew install libpq && brew link --force libpq)
• Supabase

1. Database

Create the table and import the dataset:

# Create the table
psql "$DATABASE_URL" -c "
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS crossword_clues (
  id BIGSERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  date DATE,
  word TEXT NOT NULL,
  clue TEXT NOT NULL
);
CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_crossword_clues_word ON crossword_clues (word);"

# Convert CSV encoding then import (~780k rows, takes ~30s)
iconv -f LATIN1 -t UTF-8 nytcrosswords.csv > nytcrosswords_utf8.csv

psql "$DATABASE_URL" -c "
CREATE TEMP TABLE clues_import (date TEXT, word TEXT, clue TEXT);
" -c "\COPY clues_import FROM 'nytcrosswords_utf8.csv' CSV HEADER;" -c "
INSERT INTO crossword_clues (date, word, clue)
SELECT TO_DATE(date, 'MM/DD/YYYY'), word, clue FROM clues_import;"

2. Edge Function

supabase login
supabase link --project-ref <your-project-ref>
supabase secrets set DATABASE_URL="<your-database-url>"
supabase functions deploy api --project-ref <your-project-ref>

To redeploy after changes:

bun run deploy

3. Extension (local dev against localhost)

cd extension
bun install
bun run dev

Load the unpacked extension:

• Chrome: chrome://extensions → Developer mode → Load unpacked → select dist/chrome
• Firefox: about:debugging → This Firefox → Load Temporary Add-on → pick dist/firefox/manifest.json

The extension defaults to http://localhost:5555 when no .env is present. For development against the live Supabase function, follow step 4 below instead.

4. Extension (production build against Supabase)

cd extension
cp .env.example .env   # VITE_API_BASE_URL is pre-filled with the Supabase functions URL
bun run build

Project docs

• CONTEXT.md — domain glossary, terminology, and architecture.