The latest articles on DEV Community by joseph kam (@joop-t). https://dev.to/joop-t https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3923987%2Fb3fc111a-9b97-4958-bff0-29c102605a6b.jpg https://dev.to/joop-t en joseph kam Sun, 24 May 2026 21:41:54 +0000 https://dev.to/joop-t/rescuing-a-stranded-protocol-re-skinning-legacy-code-for-the-trestle-defi-flywheel-12ek https://dev.to/joop-t/rescuing-a-stranded-protocol-re-skinning-legacy-code-for-the-trestle-defi-flywheel-12ek <p><em>This is a submission for the <a href="https://dev.to/challenges/github-2026-05-21">GitHub Finish-Up-A-Thon Challenge</a></em></p> <h2> What I Built </h2> <p>I revived an abandoned, broken Web3 frontend and transformed it into a clean, modern interface showcase for the <strong>Trestle DeFi</strong> ecosystem. This project started out as an old Automated Market Maker (AMM) alpha build that sat untouched in a dead GitHub organization for years. Breathing new life into this codebase allowed me to rescue valuable interface logic, clean out years of deployment debt, and integrate it directly into our active ecosystem under the <strong>BroilerPlus (BRT)</strong> token identity.</p> <h2> Demo </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Live Showcase Link:</strong> <a href="https://revive.trestle.website" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://revive.trestle.website</a> </li> <li> <strong>GitHub Codebase:</strong> <a href="https://github.com/jdefi/trestle-revive" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/jdefi/trestle-revive</a> </li> </ul> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F6hm30mwr6a32w8gfo9ho.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F6hm30mwr6a32w8gfo9ho.png" alt="Alpha GitHub Before - Inactive State" width="800" height="394"></a><br> <em>A screenshot of the original legacy Allswap/alpha repository sitting in an inactive organization, showing the frozen code state before the revival.</em><br> <a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fynzjhvvoizdufo0ctaj2.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fynzjhvvoizdufo0ctaj2.png" alt="Alpha GitHub After - Revived Repository" width="800" height="408"></a><br> <em>A screenshot of the fresh, active trestle-revive repository under my current workspace, featuring updated dependencies and environment configurations.</em><br> <a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Focz6hg41ecfd4418b5x7.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Focz6hg41ecfd4418b5x7.png" alt="Website Showcase for Revived dApp" width="799" height="479"></a><br> <em>A screenshot of the live dApp dashboard running at revive.trestle.website, showing the BroilerPlus (BRT) alignment and working wallet connection.</em></p> <h3> Application in Action </h3> <p><em>(Tip: Take a quick screenshot of your live homepage at revive.trestle.website and drag-and-drop it right here in the DEV editor to create a powerful visual anchor for the judges!)</em></p> <h2> The Comeback Story </h2> <p>The project was entirely dead before this challenge began. The original repository (<code>https://github.com/Allswap/alpha</code>) was stranded in an inactive organization, its custom domain had expired, and the legacy Netlify build pipeline was lost. </p> <p>To complete this comeback, I executed a total code-level rescue:</p> <ol> <li> <strong>Infrastructure Migration:</strong> I extracted the code, created the new <code>trestle-revive</code> repository, and wired up a modern automated pipeline on my active Netlify account.</li> <li> <strong>Subdomain Routing:</strong> I secured the project by routing it directly through an active subdomain on our primary ecosystem domain (<code>revive.trestle.website</code>).</li> <li> <strong>Ecosystem &amp; UI Refactoring:</strong> I updated the frontend elements to feature <strong>BroilerPlus (BRT)</strong>—one of the three core tokens driving the <strong>Trestle Economic Flywheel</strong>. </li> <li> <strong>Pragmatic Web3 Architecture:</strong> I repaired the critical wallet connection hooks so the dApp triggers flawless user handshake calls, while leaving unconfigured backend staking/farming contract paths cleanly decoupled to ensure a stable, error-free showcase.</li> </ol> <h2> My Experience with GitHub Copilot </h2> <p>I did not use GitHub Copilot for this project revival. Instead, I leaned entirely into <strong>OpenCode</strong>, the open-source terminal-native AI coding agent. OpenCode was the perfect companion for an open-source challenge like this one. </p> <p>Using OpenCode's workspace awareness allowed me to rapidly audit the old repository structure. I utilized it to identify old environment variables, find broken visual text strings, and cleanly refactor the interface components into the modern BroilerPlus branding without breaking the layout configurations. It provided a powerful, privacy-first, and flexible agentic environment that dramatically shortened the time needed to translate legacy framework dependencies into a stable production deployment on Netlify.</p> devchallenge githubchallenge