Fernando Marichal

Author: Fernando

  • Armageddon Detox is alive!

    TL,DR: I Built a Game to Help You Quit Doom-scrolling: Armageddon Detox

    Install on iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/armageddon-detox/id6752503165

    Learn more: https://armageddondetox.com/

    A couple of months ago I finally started building an app I’d been day-dreaming about for years: a game that helps you detox from your phone.

    It’s called Armageddon Detox, and it turns your time away from distracting apps into a fantasy adventure. Instead of white-knuckling your way through a “digital detox,” you set timers, win allies, fight battles, and unlock achievements—so your discipline feels like progress, not punishment.

    Pick a hero!
    Challenges!

    How it works (in plain English)

    • Set your detox goals. Choose how long you want to stay off your phone.
    • Earn allies. Every goal you complete unlocks a new hero to add to your party.
    • Face battles. At the end of each campaign (every 3 days, weekly, etc.), your team fights a boss. Your recent behavior determines whether you win.
    • Collect achievements. Victories add badges (and sometimes dragons 🐉) to your trophy case.
    • Track your streak. See your wins stack up and keep your momentum going.

    It’s playful on purpose. Quitting bad habits is hard, making it a game gives you feedback, rewards, and a reason to try “just one more day.”

    Why I built it

    Like many of us, I’ve had stretches where “five minutes on my phone” silently becomes forty. I wanted a tool that wasn’t preachy or joyless—something that nudged me toward better habits while making the process feel fun. So I fused two things I love: game design and solid engineering.

    Under the hood (for the nerds)

    Armageddon Detox is powered by a fast, reliable backend and a smooth mobile experience:

    • Backend: Rust + PostgreSQL + Redis
    • Mobile: Flutter (iOS today; Android is coming soon)

    If you’re not technical, the short version is: it’s built to be quick, secure, and scalable.

    Multilingual from day one

    The app is available in English and Spanish, and I plan to keep adding more languages over time.

    Try it (and please leave a review!)

    If you enjoy it—or if it helps you win back time—a rating and review would mean the world. And if you have feedback or ideas, I’m all ears. This is very much a living project, and your experience will shape what I build next.

    Thanks for reading—and good luck in your next battle against the doom-scroll boss. ⚔️

  • Activate Xdebug in VVV

    Activate Xdebug in VVV

    How to activate Xdebug in VVV

    From Activate Xdebug in VVV

    Running xdebug_on inside Vagrant:

    • Copy and paste output from phpinfo() to Xdebug wizard, analyze and check step about editing the php.ini file (step 9 in my case).
    • Check if /usr/lib/php/*/xdebug.so is present in the VM (it should be): 
    $ ls /usr/lib/php/20170718/xdebug.so
    • Update /etc/php/*/fpm/php.ini inside the Vagrant VM according to instructions from the Xdebug wizard website.
    $ sudo tee -a /etc/php/7.2/fpm/php.ini >/dev/null <<'EOF'
 [xdebug]
 zend_extension = /usr/lib/php/20170718/xdebug.so
 EOF
    • Restart php service
    $ sudo service php7.2-fpm restart
    • Check phpinfo()–it should contain a new section for Xdebug
  • Symlinks on VVV

    Symlinks on VVV

    Trying to use outside symlinks in a WordPress environment can be a headache.

    If you are using VVV and want to create a symlink (for example, in order to have your plugins folder outside the Vagrant installation), the following is a way to do it.

    Go to your ./Vagrantfile and add the following code:

    if vagrant_version >= "1.3.0"
   config.vm.synced_folder "/Users/path/to/your/plugins/folder/", "/srv/www/wordpress-one/wp-content/plugins", :owner => "www-data", :mount_options => [ "dmode=775", "fmode=774" ]
 else
   config.vm.synced_folder "/Users/path/to/your/plugins/folder/", "/srv/www/wordpress-one/wp-content/plugins", :owner => "www-data", :extra => 'dmode=775,fmode=774'
 end

    Details:

    • In the ./Vagrantfile you should use the param: config.vm.synced_folder
    • The first path should point to the folder where you want to keep your plugins
    • The second path should point to the Vagrant folder that has the plugins
  • PHPUnit on VVV

    PHPUnit on VVV

    If you are developing something for WooCommerce Admin, you will probably want to use PHPUnit. If you are using Vagrant, you will already have everything ready to get started.

    These are some steps to run PHPUnit on a VVV instance.

    1 – SSH into a running Vagrant machine (more info) with this command:

    $ vagrant ssh [instance id]

    2 – Go to the plugin’s folder with this command:

    $ cd /srv/www/wordpress-one/public_html/wp-content/plugins/woocommerce-admin

    3 – Update composer:

    $ composer update

    4 – Execute tests:

    $ vendor/bin/phpunit

    4.1 – Install tests if it’s necessary, running:

    $ bin/install-wp-tests.sh 'wordpress-one-test' 'wp' 'wp' 'localhost' '5.3.2' 'true' //dbname=wordpress-one-test user=wp password=wp host=localhost wp-version=5.3.2 skip-database-creation=true

    And try step 4 again.