docs/INTEGRATION.md

@@ -477,6 +477,28 @@ DELETE /towncrier/{id}
 
 Caps apply (line count/length, active entries, duration); an over-cap post returns `towncrier.error`.
 
+### Publish / remove Town Cryer **news** (Protocol 2.1)
+
+Distinct from the scrolling-crier lines above: this puts a full article — title, HTML body, image, and a "more info" URL — into the in-game **Town Cryer News gump**, and (by default) has the criers proclaim the **title** in-world.
+
+```
+POST /news
+{ "id": "42", "title": "Double XP Weekend",
+  "body": "<CENTER>Double XP Weekend</CENTER><BR><BR>Starts Friday 7PM.",
+  "image": 1614, "url": "https://yoursite/news/42" }
+```
+→ **200** `{"kind":"news.ok","id":"42"}`. Re-posting the same `id` **replaces** the prior article in place.
+
+- `id`, `title` required. `body` (HTML supported), `image` (a UO gump id; a neutral scroll if omitted), `url` (a browser button in the gump) optional.
+- `announce` defaults to **true** — the criers proclaim the title. Send `"announce": false` to post silently (e.g. a correction).
+
+```
+DELETE /news/{id}
+```
+→ **200** `{"kind":"news.ok","id":"42"}`, or **404** `{"kind":"news.error","reason":"unknown id"}`.
+
+Caps apply (title/body length, max active articles). The **website is the source of truth**: the shard rebuilds its news list on restart and does not persist yours, so the sidecar automatically re-pushes your articles (silently) whenever the shard reconnects. Stock ServUO news is left intact — your articles are tracked separately.
+
 ### Staff moderation — the write plane
 
 Account and session moderation against the live shard. **These are privileged.** The sidecar does

docs/PROTOCOL_2.md

@@ -482,7 +482,7 @@ Deployed the overlay to the ServUO checkout, booted the shard and the real sidec
 
 ## 16. Town Cryer news — website articles into the news gump (Protocol 2.1)
 
-**Status:** Design, grounded in the shard's `Scripts/Services/Town Cryer/` files. Not yet built.
+**Status:** **Built and smoke-tested live** (2026-07-17). `BridgeNews.cs` (pure overlay, no stock edit) + `POST /news` / `DELETE /news/{id}` + reconnect replay. Verified against a booted shard: `news.add` (full + title-only) → `news.ok`, missing title → 400, idempotent replace, `news.remove` → `news.ok`, unknown id → `news.error`, no shard exceptions, and the **reconnect replay** confirmed (after a shard restart the stored article was re-pushed with `announce:false` and re-accepted). The gump rendering itself is verified by source inspection (needs a UO client to view).
 
 There are **two** distinct town-crier surfaces in ServUO, and 2.0 has so far touched only the first:
 
@@ -514,7 +514,7 @@ Everything else in the pasted note stands, and the "this is one of the easier in
 On an inbound article the bridge does two things on the Core thread:
 
 1. **News gump** — build `new TownCryerNewsEntry(new TextDefinition(title), new TextDefinition(body), image, null, url)` and `Insert(0, …)` at the top of `TownCryerSystem.NewsEntries`, tracking it in `_ours`; trim `_ours` past the cap by removing the oldest (from both `_ours` and `NewsEntries`).
-2. **Say the title** — reuse the scrolling-crier path (`GlobalTownCrierEntryList`, as `BridgeTownCrier` does) to announce a single line, the **title only**, for a short duration, so the crier proclaims it in-world. Optional per article (`announce: true`), so silent corrections don't re-proclaim.
+2. **Say the title** — reuse the scrolling-crier path (`GlobalTownCrierEntryList`, as `BridgeTownCrier` does) to announce a single line, the **title only**, for a short duration, so the crier proclaims it in-world. **On by default**; set `announce: false` on an article to suppress it (e.g. a silent correction that should not re-proclaim).
 
 ### 16.4 Protocol
 
@@ -522,7 +522,8 @@ On an inbound article the bridge does two things on the Core thread:
 // website → sidecar → shard
 {"kind":"news.add","id":"42","title":"Double XP Weekend",
  "body":"<CENTER>Double XP Weekend</CENTER><BR><BR>Starts Friday 7PM.",
- "image":1614,"url":"https://uomysticmoon.com/news/42","announce":true}
+ "image":1614,"url":"https://uomysticmoon.com/news/42"}
+// announce defaults to true; add "announce":false to suppress the crier proclamation
 {"kind":"news.remove","id":"42"}
 ```
 

overlay/Config/Bridge.cfg

@@ -58,6 +58,15 @@ TownCrierMaxLineLength=200
 TownCrierMaxActive=20
 TownCrierMaxDurationSec=86400
 
+# Town Cryer news gump. Website articles (news.add) become entries in the modern Town
+# Cryer News gump (TownCryerSystem.NewsEntries), separate from the scrolling-crier lines
+# above. The article title is also proclaimed by the criers (announce defaults on). Caps
+# are defense in depth on top of the loopback trust boundary.
+NewsMaxTitleLength=100
+NewsMaxBodyLength=2000
+NewsMaxExternal=20
+NewsAnnounceDurationSec=300
+
 # Admin write plane (staff moderation from the website). OFF by default: the whole
 # feature is opt-in per shard. When enabled, inbound admin.* commands (kick/ban/unban/
 # broadcast) are honored. Authorization is enforced on the website; the shard trusts the

overlay/Scripts/Custom/Bridge/BridgeConfig.cs

@@ -43,6 +43,12 @@ namespace Server.Custom.Bridge
         public static int TownCrierMaxActive { get; private set; }
         public static int TownCrierMaxDurationSec { get; private set; }
 
+        // Town Cryer news gump (docs/PROTOCOL_2.md §16).
+        public static int NewsMaxTitleLength { get; private set; }
+        public static int NewsMaxBodyLength { get; private set; }
+        public static int NewsMaxExternal { get; private set; }
+        public static int NewsAnnounceDurationSec { get; private set; }
+
         public static bool AdminWriteEnabled { get; private set; }
         public static AccessLevel AdminAccessFloor { get; private set; }
         public static int AdminBroadcastMaxLength { get; private set; }
@@ -108,6 +114,13 @@ namespace Server.Custom.Bridge
             TownCrierMaxActive = Config.Get("Bridge.TownCrierMaxActive", 20);
             TownCrierMaxDurationSec = Config.Get("Bridge.TownCrierMaxDurationSec", 86400);
 
+            NewsMaxTitleLength = Config.Get("Bridge.NewsMaxTitleLength", 100);
+            NewsMaxBodyLength = Config.Get("Bridge.NewsMaxBodyLength", 2000);
+            NewsMaxExternal = Config.Get("Bridge.NewsMaxExternal", 20);
+            NewsAnnounceDurationSec = Config.Get("Bridge.NewsAnnounceDurationSec", 300);
+            if (NewsAnnounceDurationSec < 1)
+                NewsAnnounceDurationSec = 1;
+
             AdminWriteEnabled = Config.Get("Bridge.AdminWriteEnabled", false);
             AdminAccessFloor = ParseAccessLevel(Config.Get("Bridge.AdminAccessFloor", "CoOwner"), AccessLevel.CoOwner);
             AdminBroadcastMaxLength = Config.Get("Bridge.AdminBroadcastMaxLength", 300);

overlay/Scripts/Custom/Bridge/BridgeNews.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,176 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+
+using Server.Mobiles;
+using Server.Services.TownCryer;
+
+namespace Server.Custom.Bridge
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     Website news articles pushed into the modern Town Cryer News gump
+    ///     (docs/PROTOCOL_2.md §16). Distinct from BridgeTownCrier, which drives the scrolling-crier
+    ///     announcement lines (GlobalTownCrierEntryList). Here the full article — title, body (HTML),
+    ///     image, and a "more info" URL — becomes a TownCryerNewsEntry in TownCryerSystem.NewsEntries,
+    ///     which the stock news gumps already render (they branch on TextDefinition.Number, so string
+    ///     content needs no gump change).
+    ///
+    ///     No stock edit: NewsEntries is a public mutable list, so we insert/remove directly and keep
+    ///     our own id -> entry map, leaving the stock entries untouched. On add we also proclaim just
+    ///     the title through the existing crier say path (default on), so players hear it in-world.
+    ///
+    ///     Everything runs on the Core thread (inbound lines are marshaled through Timer.DelayCall),
+    ///     which is required to touch the shared news list and to send crier packets.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static class BridgeNews
+    {
+        // A neutral scroll gump when the website supplies no image.
+        private const int DefaultImage = 0x64E;
+
+        // Website id -> the news entry we created for it, so a later remove/replace can find it.
+        private static readonly Dictionary<string, TownCryerNewsEntry> _ours =
+            new Dictionary<string, TownCryerNewsEntry>(StringComparer.Ordinal);
+
+        public static void Initialize()
+        {
+            if (!BridgeConfig.Enabled)
+                return;
+
+            BridgeBoot.RegisterHandler("news.add", OnAdd);
+            BridgeBoot.RegisterHandler("news.remove", OnRemove);
+        }
+
+        private static void OnAdd(Dictionary<string, object> o)
+        {
+            var id = BridgeJson.GetString(o, "id");
+
+            if (id == null)
+            {
+                Reply("news.error", null, "missing id");
+                return;
+            }
+
+            var list = TownCryerSystem.NewsEntries;
+            if (list == null)
+            {
+                Reply("news.error", id, "town cryer unavailable");
+                return;
+            }
+
+            var title = BridgeJson.GetString(o, "title");
+            if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(title))
+            {
+                Reply("news.error", id, "missing title");
+                return;
+            }
+
+            var body = BridgeJson.GetString(o, "body") ?? "";
+            var url = BridgeJson.GetString(o, "url");
+            int image = BridgeJson.GetInt(o, "image", DefaultImage);
+
+            // announce defaults to true (proclaim the title in-world); "announce":false suppresses it.
+            bool announce = true;
+            object rawAnnounce;
+            if (o.TryGetValue("announce", out rawAnnounce) && rawAnnounce is bool)
+                announce = (bool)rawAnnounce;
+
+            if (title.Length > BridgeConfig.NewsMaxTitleLength)
+                title = title.Substring(0, BridgeConfig.NewsMaxTitleLength);
+            if (body.Length > BridgeConfig.NewsMaxBodyLength)
+                body = body.Substring(0, BridgeConfig.NewsMaxBodyLength);
+
+            try
+            {
+                // Replace an existing id in place: drop the old entry first.
+                TownCryerNewsEntry old;
+                if (_ours.TryGetValue(id, out old) && old != null)
+                {
+                    list.Remove(old);
+                    _ours.Remove(id);
+                }
+                else if (_ours.Count >= BridgeConfig.NewsMaxExternal)
+                {
+                    Reply("news.error", id, "too many news entries");
+                    return;
+                }
+
+                var entry = new TownCryerNewsEntry(
+                    new TextDefinition(title),
+                    new TextDefinition(body),
+                    image,
+                    null,
+                    url);
+
+                list.Insert(0, entry); // newest first, as the gump reads top-down
+                _ours[id] = entry;
+
+                if (announce)
+                    Announce(title);
+
+                Reply("news.ok", id, null);
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex)
+            {
+                Console.WriteLine("[Bridge] news.add threw: {0}", ex.Message);
+                Reply("news.error", id, "internal error");
+            }
+        }
+
+        private static void OnRemove(Dictionary<string, object> o)
+        {
+            var id = BridgeJson.GetString(o, "id");
+
+            if (id == null)
+            {
+                Reply("news.error", null, "missing id");
+                return;
+            }
+
+            TownCryerNewsEntry entry;
+            if (!_ours.TryGetValue(id, out entry))
+            {
+                Reply("news.error", id, "unknown id");
+                return;
+            }
+
+            _ours.Remove(id);
+
+            try
+            {
+                var list = TownCryerSystem.NewsEntries;
+                if (list != null && entry != null)
+                    list.Remove(entry);
+
+                Reply("news.ok", id, null);
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex)
+            {
+                Console.WriteLine("[Bridge] news.remove threw: {0}", ex.Message);
+                Reply("news.error", id, "internal error");
+            }
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>Proclaims a single line — the article title — through the town criers.</summary>
+        private static void Announce(string title)
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                GlobalTownCrierEntryList.Instance.AddEntry(
+                    new[] { title },
+                    TimeSpan.FromSeconds(BridgeConfig.NewsAnnounceDurationSec));
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex)
+            {
+                // A failed proclamation must not fail the news add — the article is already posted.
+                Console.WriteLine("[Bridge] news announce threw: {0}", ex.Message);
+            }
+        }
+
+        private static void Reply(string kind, string id, string reason)
+        {
+            var sb = BridgeJson.Begin(kind);
+            if (id != null) sb.Str("id", id);
+            if (reason != null) sb.Str("reason", reason);
+            BridgeLink.Emit(sb.End());
+        }
+    }
+}

sidecar/src/main.rs

@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let route_rpc = rpc.clone();
     let event_store = store.clone();
     let last_event_ts = last_event.clone();
+    let replay_handle = handle.clone(); // re-push external news to the shard on (re)connect
     let mut total: u64 = 0;
     tokio::spawn(async move {
         while let Some(ev) = event_rx.recv().await {
@@ -187,6 +188,26 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
                 }
             }
 
+            // On a shard (re)connect, re-push the stored external news: the shard rebuilds
+            // TownCryerSystem.NewsEntries from scratch each boot and does not persist ours. Replay
+            // with announce=false so a restart does not re-proclaim every article at once. news.add
+            // is idempotent by id, so replaying to a still-populated shard is harmless.
+            if ev.kind == "server.hello" {
+                match event_store.news_all().await {
+                    Ok(items) => {
+                        for mut item in items {
+                            if let Some(obj) = item.as_object_mut() {
+                                obj.insert("announce".to_string(), serde_json::json!(false));
+                            }
+                            if !replay_handle.send(item.to_string()).await {
+                                break; // shard went away mid-replay
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                    Err(e) => tracing::warn!(error = %e, "news replay: could not read stored news"),
+                }
+            }
+
             let _ = feed_tx.send(ev.value.to_string());
         }
     });

sidecar/src/store.rs

@@ -280,6 +280,42 @@ impl Store {
             .await?;
         Ok(parse_json_column(rows))
     }
+
+    // ---- Town Cryer news (Protocol 2.1) ----
+
+    /// Stores/replaces one external news article (the `news.add` command json), keyed by id. The
+    /// website is the source of truth; this lets the sidecar replay the set to the shard on reconnect
+    /// (the shard does not persist NewsEntries across a reboot).
+    pub async fn upsert_news(&self, id: &str, json: &str, t: i64) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        sqlx::query(
+            "INSERT INTO news (id, json, updated_t) VALUES (?, ?, ?)
+             ON CONFLICT(id) DO UPDATE SET json = excluded.json, updated_t = excluded.updated_t",
+        )
+        .bind(id)
+        .bind(json)
+        .bind(t)
+        .execute(&self.pool)
+        .await?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// Removes one external news article.
+    pub async fn delete_news(&self, id: &str) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        sqlx::query("DELETE FROM news WHERE id = ?")
+            .bind(id)
+            .execute(&self.pool)
+            .await?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// Every stored external news article (as its `news.add` command), oldest first so a replay
+    /// re-inserts them in the same order the website added them.
+    pub async fn news_all(&self) -> anyhow::Result<Vec<Value>> {
+        let rows = sqlx::query("SELECT json FROM news ORDER BY updated_t")
+            .fetch_all(&self.pool)
+            .await?;
+        Ok(parse_json_column(rows))
+    }
 }
 
 fn parse_json_column(rows: Vec<sqlx::sqlite::SqliteRow>) -> Vec<Value> {
@@ -338,4 +374,10 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS houses (
     json      TEXT NOT NULL,
     updated_t INTEGER NOT NULL
 );
+
+CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS news (
+    id        TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
+    json      TEXT NOT NULL,
+    updated_t INTEGER NOT NULL
+);
 "#;

sidecar/src/web.rs

@@ -59,6 +59,9 @@ pub async fn serve(addr: &str, state: AppState) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         .route("/link/:account", get(link_lookup).delete(link_delete))
         .route("/towncrier", post(towncrier_add))
         .route("/towncrier/:id", axum::routing::delete(towncrier_remove))
+        // Town Cryer news gump (Protocol 2.1). Add/replace an article; delete one.
+        .route("/news", post(news_add))
+        .route("/news/:id", axum::routing::delete(news_remove))
         // Staff write plane (correlated by reqId). The shard enforces the real authorization;
         // the website must gate these behind admin/moderator roles before calling.
         .route("/admin/kick", post(admin_kick))
@@ -661,6 +664,50 @@ async fn towncrier_remove(State(st): State<AppState>, Path(id): Path<String>) ->
     respond(st.rpc.call(&st.shard, cmd, &id).await)
 }
 
+/// Body: {"id":"42","title":"...","body":"<html>","image":1614,"url":"...","announce":true}.
+/// Adds/replaces a Town Cryer news article. Correlated on `id`. A success is stored so the sidecar
+/// can replay the article to the shard on reconnect (NewsEntries is not persisted across a reboot).
+async fn news_add(State(st): State<AppState>, Json(body): Json<Value>) -> impl IntoResponse {
+    let id = body.get("id").and_then(|i| i.as_str()).unwrap_or_default();
+    let title_ok = body
+        .get("title")
+        .and_then(|t| t.as_str())
+        .map(|s| !s.trim().is_empty())
+        .unwrap_or(false);
+    if id.is_empty() || !title_ok {
+        return (
+            StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST,
+            Json(json!({"error": "id and title are required"})),
+        );
+    }
+
+    let mut cmd = body.clone();
+    cmd["kind"] = json!("news.add");
+    let id = id.to_string();
+    let result = st.rpc.call(&st.shard, cmd.clone(), &id).await;
+
+    // Persist the article (as its news.add command) so it can be replayed on shard reconnect.
+    if let Ok(value) = &result {
+        if value.get("kind").and_then(|k| k.as_str()) == Some("news.ok") {
+            let t = value.get("t").and_then(|v| v.as_i64()).unwrap_or(0);
+            let _ = st.store.upsert_news(&id, &cmd.to_string(), t).await;
+        }
+    }
+    respond(result)
+}
+
+async fn news_remove(State(st): State<AppState>, Path(id): Path<String>) -> impl IntoResponse {
+    let cmd = json!({"kind":"news.remove","id":id});
+    let result = st.rpc.call(&st.shard, cmd, &id).await;
+
+    if let Ok(value) = &result {
+        if value.get("kind").and_then(|k| k.as_str()) == Some("news.ok") {
+            let _ = st.store.delete_news(&id).await;
+        }
+    }
+    respond(result)
+}
+
 // ---- history (from SQLite) ----
 
 #[derive(Deserialize)]