fork-and-customize

name	fork-and-customize
description	Interactive guide to fork and customize this legislator lookup app for a new organization, jurisdiction, and set of elected officials. Walks through branding, district maps, officials roster, geocoding provider selection, map provider, and deployment. Use when someone wants to repurpose this app for their org.
argument-hint	[org-name or website URL]

Fork & Customize — Legislator Lookup

You are helping a user fork and customize the legislator-lookup repository for their own organization and jurisdiction. This is a headless Next.js full-stack app that lets a civic org show visitors who their elected officials are based on their address.

Work through the sections below in order. Each section has a goal and a set of questions to ask. Do not skip ahead — wait for the user's answers before proceeding. Summarize what you will change at the end of each section before making edits.

---

Phase 0 — Orientation

Before you start, make sure you understand the repo layout. The key files you will be editing:

File	Purpose
frontend/src/lib/app-config.ts	Central config hub — branding, geography, district layers, office slots, geocoding provider, map provider
frontend/src/app/globals.css	Color theme (Tailwind CSS 4 @theme inline block)
frontend/src/app/layout.tsx	Fonts and HTML metadata
frontend/src/app/page.tsx	Main UI — header, address input, official cards, footer
frontend/data/officials.yaml	The officials roster dataset
frontend/data/district-maps/<state-slug>/	GeoJSON boundary and district shapefiles
frontend/src/lib/geocoding/providers.ts	Geocoding provider implementations
frontend/src/lib/geocoding/types.ts	GeocodingProviderName union type
frontend/src/lib/geocoding/index.ts	Provider factory
frontend/src/lib/maps/	Map provider abstraction (protomaps, mapbox, google-maps)
Dockerfile	Docker production build
railway.toml	Railway deployment config

Read frontend/src/lib/app-config.ts first — it is the single source of truth that drives everything else.

---

Phase 1 — Organization Branding

Goal: Re-skin the app for the user's organization.

Questions to ask

1. Do you have an existing website I can view to pull branding from? (colors, logo, fonts, tone). If yes, use WebFetch to visit the site and extract:

   • Primary, secondary, and accent colors
   • Font families (display + body)
   • Organization name and tagline
   • Any logo or favicon assets

2. Do you have a source code repo for your existing site that I can review for design tokens or a style guide?

3. If neither, ask for:

   • Organization name
   • A one-line subtitle / tagline for the header (default: "Find your elected officials in seconds")
   • Footer blurb text
   • Attribution name and URL
   • Preferred color palette (or ask if the defaults are fine)

What to change

Once you have the answers, update these files:

frontend/src/lib/app-config.ts — branding section

branding: {
  orgName: "<org name>",
  headerSubtitle: "<subtitle>",
  footerBlurb: "<footer blurb>",
  attributionName: "<attribution>",
  attributionUrl: "<url>",
},

frontend/src/app/globals.css — color theme

The color theme lives in the @theme inline block. The key tokens:

@theme inline {
  --color-ink: #122641;          /* primary dark — header, buttons, text */
  --color-ink-soft: #1a355c;     /* slightly lighter dark — button hover */
  --color-accent-sky: #2da9d8;   /* accent — links, location button, decorative */
  --color-accent-coral: #e2504a; /* secondary accent — errors, borders */
  --color-warm: #f7f3ea;         /* page background */
  --color-concrete: #e9e4d9;     /* borders, dividers */
  --color-steel: #64748b;        /* muted text */
  --color-steel-light: #94a3b8;  /* lighter muted text */
  --color-surface: #ffffff;      /* card backgrounds */
}

Also update the body background-color and dot pattern color in the same file to match --color-warm and --color-ink.

frontend/src/app/layout.tsx — fonts

The app uses two Google Fonts loaded via next/font/google:

• Space_Grotesk — display font (headings, org name, labels)
• Source_Sans_3 — body font (everything else)

If the org has specific fonts, swap them here. If their fonts are not on Google Fonts, switch to next/font/local and place font files in frontend/public/fonts/.

frontend/src/app/page.tsx — UI copy and structure

This is a single-file React component (~640 lines). Key areas to customize:

• Header block (~line 340-365): org name with decorative stars, subtitle, coral accent bar
• "Find Your Officials" card (~line 366-500): section heading, button labels
• Official result cards (~line 545-600): office label, party badge, website/phone links
• Footer (~line 613-640): org name, blurb, attribution link, decorative diamonds

The decorative elements (stars ✶, diamonds ◆, grid overlay) can be changed or removed to match the org's style.

Favicon

Replace frontend/src/app/favicon.ico with the org's favicon.

---

Phase 2 — Jurisdiction & District Geography

Goal: Configure the app for the correct state/jurisdiction and district boundaries.

Questions to ask

1. What state or jurisdiction is this for? Get the state name, abbreviation, and slug.
2. What district types do you need? Common ones:
   • Congressional (US House)
   • State Senate
   • State House / Assembly
   • County commission / board
   • City council / ward
   • School board
   • Judicial districts
   • Any other local boundaries

If this is NOT Illinois

The sample data ships with Illinois GeoJSON shapefiles. For a different jurisdiction, the user needs to:

A. Replace the GeoJSON district maps

Each district type needs a GeoJSON FeatureCollection where each Feature is one district. The critical requirement: each feature must have a numeric district identifier in its properties object.

Where to get shapefiles:

• US Census TIGER/Line: https://www.census.gov/geographies/mapping-files/time-series/geo/tiger-line-file.html
  • Congressional districts, state legislative districts, county subdivisions
  • Download as Shapefile, convert to GeoJSON with ogr2ogr or mapshaper.org
• State GIS portals: Most states publish their own redistricting shapefiles
• redistrictingdatahub.org: Cleaned and standardized district boundaries
• Local government GIS: City wards, county commission districts, school boards

File organization:

frontend/data/district-maps/<state-slug>/
├── boundary/
│   └── boundary.geojson        # Jurisdiction outline (FeatureCollection, 1 feature)
├── congressional/
│   └── districts.geojson       # One feature per district
├── state_senate/
│   └── districts.geojson
├── state_house/
│   └── districts.geojson
└── <any-other-layer>/
    └── districts.geojson

Help the user identify the property name in each GeoJSON that holds the district number. Common patterns from Census TIGER data:

Layer	Common property names
Congressional	CD119FP, GEOID, DISTRICT
State Senate	SLDUST, DISTRICT, DIST_NUM
State House	SLDLST, DISTRICT, DIST_NUM
County	DISTRICT, DIST, COUNTYFP
City Ward	WARD, ward, ward_id

After placing the files, open one and check the properties of the first feature to confirm the property name. Record it — you will need it for the config.

B. Update app-config.ts — geography section

const STATE_SLUG = "<state-slug>";  // e.g. "ohio", "virginia"
const DISTRICT_MAP_ROOT = `district-maps/${STATE_SLUG}`;

// In APP_CONFIG:
geography: {
  jurisdictionName: "<display name>",  // e.g. "Ohio"
  countryCode: "US",
  state: {
    code: "<XX>",       // e.g. "OH"
    name: "<full name>",
    slug: STATE_SLUG,
  },
  bounds: {
    minLat: <south boundary>,
    maxLat: <north boundary>,
    minLng: <west boundary>,
    maxLng: <east boundary>,
  },
  focusPoint: { lat: <center lat>, lng: <center lng> },
  districtMapPack: {
    root: DISTRICT_MAP_ROOT,
    boundaryPath: `${DISTRICT_MAP_ROOT}/boundary/boundary.geojson`,
    layers: {
      // One entry per district type. The key becomes the layer ID
      // referenced in officials.yaml and the officeSlots config.
      congressional: {
        label: "Congressional",
        path: `${DISTRICT_MAP_ROOT}/congressional/districts.geojson`,
        numberProperty: "<property name from GeoJSON>",
        numberPropertyAliases: ["<lowercase variant>"],
      },
      // ... repeat for each layer
    },
  },
},

How to find bounds and focus point:

• Use https://boundingbox.klokantech.com/ — select the state, copy CSV format (W,S,E,N)
• minLng=W, minLat=S, maxLng=E, maxLat=N
• Focus point is typically the largest city or geographic center

---

Phase 3 — Office Slots & Officials Roster

Goal: Define which offices appear in results and populate the officials data.

This is the key difference from an endorsement guide — here you are mapping actual elected officials to their offices, not endorsements to races.

Questions to ask

1. Which elected offices should appear in results? For each office:
   • Is it statewide (e.g. US Senator, Governor) or district-based?
   • If district-based, which district layer does it map to?
2. Do you have a list of current officials? (names, parties, websites, phone numbers)
3. How many seats per office type? (e.g. 2 US Senators, 1 US Representative per district)

A. Update app-config.ts — officeSlots

The officeSlots array drives the UI ordering and determines how each office is resolved.

officials: {
  officeSlots: [
    // Statewide offices — appear for every address
    { id: "us_senate_1", label: "US Senator", statewide: true },
    { id: "us_senate_2", label: "US Senator", statewide: true },

    // District offices — resolved by the user's district in the matching layer
    { id: "us_house", label: "US Representative", districtLayer: "congressional" },
    { id: "state_senate", label: "State Senator", districtLayer: "state_senate" },
    { id: "state_house", label: "State Representative", districtLayer: "state_house" },

    // Local offices — use their own district layers
    { id: "city_council", label: "City Council", districtLayer: "city_ward" },
    { id: "county_commissioner", label: "County Commissioner", districtLayer: "cook_county" },
  ],
},

Rules:

• Each slot needs a unique id that matches entries in officials.yaml
• label is displayed in the UI as the office title
• Statewide slots use statewide: true (no district lookup)
• District slots use districtLayer: "<layer-id>" where the layer ID matches a key in districtMapPack.layers
• Slots appear in the API response and UI in the order listed here

B. Replace officials.yaml

The officials file uses this structure:

officials:
  # Statewide offices (no district field)
  - office_id: us_senate_1
    name: Jane Smith
    party: D
    url: https://smith.senate.gov
    phone: "[phone]"

  - office_id: us_senate_2
    name: John Doe
    party: R
    url: https://doe.senate.gov

  # District-specific offices
  - office_id: us_house
    district:
      layer: congressional     # must match a key in app-config layers
      number: 7                # must match a district number in the GeoJSON
    name: Alice Johnson
    party: D
    url: https://johnson.house.gov
    phone: "[phone]"

Rules:

• office_id must match an id in the officeSlots config
• Statewide officials omit the district field entirely
• District officials must have district.layer (matching a config layer key) and district.number (matching a GeoJSON feature's number property)
• party is typically a single character: D, R, I, G, L, etc.
• url and phone are optional — they render as links in the official's card
• You need one entry per official per district. For a state with 15 congressional districts, that is 15 entries with office_id: us_house
• If the org hasn't gathered all officials yet, create a placeholder file with the correct structure and a few examples so they can fill it in later. The UI shows "Not configured" for any office slot without a matching official.

---

Phase 4 — Geocoding Provider

Goal: Select and configure the address lookup service.

Questions to ask

1. Which geocoding service do you plan to use? The app has built-in support for:

   Provider	Env Variable	Free Tier	Notes
   Geocode Earth	GEOCODE_EARTH_API_KEY	Trial available	Pelias-based, good US coverage
   Mapbox	MAPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN	100k req/mo free	Popular, requires Mapbox account
   Google Maps	GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY	$200/mo credit	Most complete, requires billing
   Geoapify	GEOAPIFY_API_KEY	3k req/day free	Budget-friendly option

2. If they want a different provider not listed above, you will need to implement a new provider. See "Adding a New Geocoding Provider" below.

3. Do you already have an API key? They do not need to share it — just confirm they have one or know how to obtain one.

Using a built-in provider

Update frontend/src/lib/app-config.ts:

geocoding: {
  provider: "mapbox",  // or "geocode-earth", "google-maps", "geoapify"
  autocompleteLimit: 8,
},

The corresponding environment variable must be set at runtime (not committed to the repo).

Adding a new geocoding provider

If the user needs a provider not already implemented, follow this pattern:

1. Add the provider name to the union type in frontend/src/lib/geocoding/types.ts:

   export type GeocodingProviderName =
     | "geocode-earth"
     | "mapbox"
     | "google-maps"
     | "geoapify"
     | "new-provider";   // <-- add here
   

2. Implement the provider in frontend/src/lib/geocoding/providers.ts. Every provider must implement the GeocodingClient interface:

   interface GeocodingClient {
     provider: GeocodingProviderName;
     geocodeAddress(address: string): Promise<GeocodeResult>;
     autocompleteAddress(query: string): Promise<AutocompleteSuggestion[]>;
     reverseGeocode(lat: number, lng: number): Promise<string | null>;
   }
   

   Use the existing providers as a template. Key things each method must do:

   • geocodeAddress: Forward geocode an address string → { lat, lng, matchedAddress }
   • autocompleteAddress: Return address suggestions as the user types → array of { address, lat, lng }
   • reverseGeocode: Convert coordinates to a display address → string or null

   Use the shared helpers already in the file:

   • fetchJson(url, options?) — HTTP with 10s timeout
   • normalizeAutocompleteResults(features, addressGetter, scope) — filters by bounds + limits
   • getEnvOrThrow(name, value) — reads env var or throws

3. Register the provider in the createGeocodingClient factory in frontend/src/lib/geocoding/providers.ts (~line 543):

   case "new-provider":
     return createNewProviderClient(scope);
   

4. Set the provider in app-config.ts and document the required env variable.

---

Phase 5 — Map Provider

Goal: Configure how district map tiles are rendered.

Questions to ask

1. Which map tile provider do you want to use? Built-in support for:

   Provider	Env Variable	Notes
   Protomaps	NEXT_PUBLIC_PROTOMAPS_API_KEY	Default. Free tier, self-hostable tiles
   Mapbox	(uses same MAPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN)	If already using Mapbox for geocoding
   Google Maps	(uses same GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY)	If already using Google for geocoding

2. Do you want district map embeds? The ui.showDistrictShapes config controls whether each official's card shows a small map of their district. Set to false to disable maps entirely (no map API key needed).

What to change

Update frontend/src/lib/app-config.ts:

maps: {
  provider: "protomaps",  // or "mapbox" or "google-maps"
  protomaps: { style: "light" },  // only used if provider is protomaps
},
ui: {
  showDistrictShapes: true,  // set to false to disable district maps
},

The map provider uses MapLibre GL JS (loaded via CDN in layout.tsx) with Protomaps vector tiles by default. The DistrictMap component in src/components/DistrictMap.tsx renders each official's district outline on a small embedded map.

If adding a new map provider, implement the MapAdapter interface in src/lib/maps/:

interface MapAdapter {
  provider: MapProviderName;
  mountDistrictMap(options: DistrictMapMountOptions): () => void;  // returns cleanup function
}

---

Phase 6 — Deployment

Goal: Get the app deployed and accessible.

Questions to ask

1. How do you plan to deploy? Common options:

   • Railway (pre-configured in this repo)
   • Vercel (natural fit for Next.js)
   • Fly.io
   • AWS / GCP / Azure (ECS, Cloud Run, App Engine, etc.)
   • Docker on own infrastructure

2. Do you have a custom domain?

Deployment guides

Railway (already configured)

The repo includes railway.toml and Dockerfile. Steps:

1. Push repo to GitHub
2. Create a Railway project and connect the GitHub repo
3. Add environment variables in the Railway dashboard:
   • Geocoding API key (e.g. GEOCODE_EARTH_API_KEY)
   • Map tiles key if using Protomaps (NEXT_PUBLIC_PROTOMAPS_API_KEY)
4. Railway auto-deploys on push to main
5. Health check endpoint: /api/health

Vercel

Next.js on Vercel needs no Dockerfile. Steps:

1. Remove or ignore the Dockerfile (Vercel uses its own build system)
2. Set the root directory to frontend in Vercel project settings
3. Add env vars in Vercel dashboard
4. Push to deploy

Note: The Dockerfile and railway.toml can stay in the repo without affecting Vercel.

Docker (generic)

docker build -t legislator-lookup .
docker run -p 3000:3000 \
  -e GEOCODE_EARTH_API_KEY=<key> \
  -e NEXT_PUBLIC_PROTOMAPS_API_KEY=<key> \
  legislator-lookup

The Dockerfile is a standard Node 20 build. It works on any container platform.

Fly.io

1. Install flyctl
2. Run fly launch from the repo root (it will detect the Dockerfile)
3. Set secrets: fly secrets set GEOCODE_EARTH_API_KEY=<key> NEXT_PUBLIC_PROTOMAPS_API_KEY=<key>
4. Deploy: fly deploy

Static export (not recommended)

The app relies on server-side API routes for geocoding (to keep API keys secret). A static export would require rewriting the geocoding calls to run client-side, which exposes API keys.

---

Phase 7 — Testing & Validation

Goal: Make sure everything works before going live.

After making changes, run through this checklist:

1. Install and build

cd frontend
npm ci
npm run build

Fix any TypeScript errors. Common issues:

• Mismatched layer IDs between app-config.ts officeSlots and officials.yaml
• Missing GeoJSON files referenced in config
• Typos in geocoding provider name

2. Run tests

npm test

Some tests reference Illinois-specific coordinates and data. Tests that may need updating:

• __tests__/lookup-coordinates.test.ts — endpoint tests using specific lat/lng
• __tests__/lookup-address.test.ts — address geocoding tests (need valid API key)
• __tests__/services.test.ts — district lookup and official matching tests
• __tests__/lookup-validation.test.ts — bounds validation tests

Run npm run test:fast to skip geocoding-dependent tests during development.

3. Lint

npm run lint

4. Manual smoke test

npm run dev

Then test:

• Visit http://localhost:3000
• Click "Use My Current Location" button
• Type an address in the autocomplete field
• Verify officials appear in the result cards with correct office labels
• Check that district map embeds render (if showDistrictShapes is enabled)
• Test an address outside the jurisdiction (should show an error)
• Test the shareable URL by copying the ?lat=...&lng=... query string

5. API smoke test

# By coordinates
curl "http://localhost:3000/api/lookup?lat=<lat>&lng=<lng>"

# By address
curl "http://localhost:3000/api/lookup?address=<address in jurisdiction>"

# Autocomplete
curl "http://localhost:3000/api/autocomplete?q=<partial address>"

# Reverse geocode
curl "http://localhost:3000/api/reverse?lat=<lat>&lng=<lng>"

# Health check
curl "http://localhost:3000/api/health"

---

Phase 8 — Final Touches

Before handing off, consider these:

CI/CD

The repo has a GitHub Actions workflow at .github/workflows/ci.yml that runs lint, tests, and build on push to main and on PRs. Make sure the tests pass after your changes, or update the test fixtures for the new jurisdiction.

Security

• Never commit API keys. Use environment variables.
• The geocoding API key is server-side only (no NEXT_PUBLIC_ prefix).
• The Protomaps key uses NEXT_PUBLIC_ because it is used client-side for map tile requests.
• The app has no database, auth, or user accounts — it is read-only.

Performance

• GeoJSON files are loaded into memory and cached on first request. Very large shapefiles (>10 MB) may slow cold starts. Consider simplifying geometries with mapshaper.org or turf.simplify() before adding them.
• The showDistrictShapes config returns simplified GeoJSON geometry in API responses. District shapes are simplified with turf.simplify({ tolerance: 0.002 }) before being sent to the client.

Accessibility

• The app uses semantic HTML and has keyboard navigation for the autocomplete dropdown (arrow keys, enter, escape).
• Color contrast should be checked if you change the theme colors. Use the WebAIM contrast checker.

Non-US jurisdictions

The app assumes US-style geocoding (addresses, states, ZIP codes) but the core architecture is jurisdiction-agnostic. For non-US use:

• Update countryCode in config
• Provide appropriate GeoJSON boundaries
• Choose a geocoding provider with good coverage in the target country
• The bounds and focus point system works globally

---

Quick Reference — File Change Checklist

When forking for a new org and jurisdiction, at minimum you must touch:

• frontend/src/lib/app-config.ts — branding, geography, office slots, geocoding provider, map provider
• frontend/data/officials.yaml — replace with real officials roster
• frontend/data/district-maps/<state-slug>/ — add GeoJSON shapefiles + boundary
• frontend/src/app/globals.css — update color theme (if rebranding)
• frontend/src/app/layout.tsx — update fonts (if rebranding)
• frontend/src/app/favicon.ico — replace with org favicon
• Set geocoding env var in deployment platform
• Set map tiles env var (if using Protomaps)
• Update test fixtures for new jurisdiction coordinates