1What FoxPlug reads from Canny
These are the exact things it reads, and nothing else.
| What | The details it takes |
|---|---|
| Posts you marked Complete | post id, title (first 160 characters), score (the vote count), status, and the time the status last changed (falls back to the created time); the newest 50 by status change |
| Posts still being considered | the same fields for posts with status open, under review, planned or in progress; the top 100 by score |
| The status of each post | mapped to done (complete), closed, planned, in progress or open |
| What is stored from the read | up to 30 requests as id, title, votes and status, how many matched something you shipped, and the time of the read; no voter name or email |
| Your own recent updates, for matching | titles of the updates FoxPlug already holds from your other tools in the last 30 days (up to 80), compared word by word with open request titles |
2Moments it finds, and what each becomes
A moment is one thing that happened in Canny worth a second look. Each one is scored, then it becomes a post, a changelog entry, a thing to fix or an idea to email, or it is skipped.
A post you marked Complete in the last 60 days that has at least 1 vote
The moment is titled like this: Shipped what 14 people asked for: Dark mode
You mark the post 'Dark mode' Complete on your Canny board, and it has 14 votes. At your next Check for what's new, FoxPlug writes the moment 'Shipped what 14 people asked for: Dark mode' with the line that 14 people asked for it on Canny and it is marked complete there. The brain turns it into a say card: tell the people who asked.
Two or more posts marked Complete in the same stretch
The moment is titled like this: Shipped 3 things users asked for (31 people voted)
You close 'Dark mode' (14 votes), 'CSV export' (11) and 'Slack alerts' (6). FoxPlug adds one total moment listing up to the first five as 'Dark mode (14); CSV export (11); Slack alerts (6). Counted from Canny.' alongside the three single moments.
A post still open with at least 2 votes whose words match something you shipped in the last 30 days
The moment is titled like this: Looks like you shipped what 9 people asked for: Export to CSV
Your board still shows 'Export to CSV' open with 9 votes, and an update from your other tools in the last 30 days is called 'Shipped CSV export'. FoxPlug writes a 'Looks like' moment that says the post is still open on Canny with 9 votes, to check that it matches and mark it complete there. At most 3 such moments per read.
3How the brain uses it
The rules below are the ones that apply to Canny. The same rules, with worked examples, are on the brain page.
- A request marked complete in Canny in the last 60 days with at least one vote becomes a say line: shipped, N people asked for it. Two or more in the same stretch also give one total line. How the brain decides
- An open request with at least 2 votes whose words match something you shipped in the last 30 days becomes a 'looks like you shipped it' say line that asks you to mark it complete in Canny. Matching is by words in the titles, so check it before you post. How the brain decides
- FoxPlug keeps titles and counts, not who asked, so it cannot email the people who voted. It gives you the post; telling the voters is yours to do in Canny. How the brain decides
- Example row: you shipped a feature people asked for, the brain says 'Shipped it. N people asked for it. Tell them.' The request is matched to what shipped. How the brain decides
4Set up Canny in a few steps
Access: secret API key, pasted by you. What to give it: secret API key (FoxPlug only reads).
- In Canny, open Settings and then API. You need to be an admin.
- Copy your secret key. Keep it private; FoxPlug only reads and never writes.
- Paste it into the Canny box in FoxPlug.
- Press Check for what's new.
5Limits worth knowing
Where it stops, so nothing surprises you.
- Reads the newest 50 complete posts and the top 100 open ones by score, one page each.
- A complete post is turned into a 'Shipped what people asked for' moment only if it changed status in the last 60 days and has at least 1 vote.
- Title matching to what you shipped is by words: a request of 1 or 2 words needs all of them, a longer one needs at least 2 words and half of them. Stop-words and words under 3 letters are ignored.
- At most 3 'Looks like you shipped it' moments per read, and only for requests with at least 2 votes.
- Titles are cut at 160 characters.
6What it never reads
Read only means read only, and the list below is what the code leaves alone.
- Voter names or emails
- Anything that writes to Canny: it never changes a post status, comments or merges posts
- The people who voted, so nobody can be written to from this data
7How Canny differs from the tools next to it
Near-identical to Featurebase. Canny: POST to canny.io/api/v1/posts/list with the key in the request body; two list calls (the newest 50 posts with status complete, ordered by status change, and the top 100 posts with status open, under review, planned or in progress, ordered by score); votes come from the post score; status from Canny's own status names. Featurebase: GET do.featurebase.app/v2/posts with the key in an X-API-Key header; up to 3 pages of 100 posts of any status; votes come from upvotes; status from the post status type and name. Both then produce the same moments and the same match against what you shipped.
8Questions
Does FoxPlug change my Canny board or notify the people who voted?
No. It only reads post titles, votes and statuses with your secret key. It keeps no voter name or email, so it cannot write to voters; it gives you a post to publish and you tell the voters yourself in Canny.
How does FoxPlug know I shipped what people asked for?
Two ways. A post you marked Complete in the last 60 days with at least one vote becomes a certain 'Shipped what N people asked for' moment. A post still open becomes a 'Looks like you shipped it' moment when its title words match something you shipped in the last 30 days; that one asks you to check it and mark it complete in Canny.
When does FoxPlug read Canny?
Only when you press Check for what's new. Nothing is fetched on a timer for your project.
Has the Canny connection been tested against a real account?
No. It is marked code-path-only: the code path exists and its offline checks pass, but no real Canny account of ours has exercised it.
FoxPlug reads this tool only when you press Check for what's new, and only to read. Plans and limits are on the pricing page. Questions: support.