Add per-category "No AI" toggle to skip clustering/synthesis

Category priority admin pane gains a "No AI" checkbox alongside
Private/More. When set, items whose source falls under that category
skip embedding, clustering, and LLM synthesis entirely — each
publishes on its own, verbatim from its source (title + body/summary),
the same direct-publish path YouTube/Nitter/Telegram items always use.

Backend: new categories.disable_ai column (default off, migrated in
for existing installs), threaded through categories.ts CRUD and the
POST /api/admin/categories + PATCH /api/admin/settings routes.
priorityQueue.ts's runSynthesisCycle now partitions items three ways
before clustering: source-type direct (youtube/nitter/telegram),
category-disabled direct (new), then whatever's left goes through the
normal embed/cluster/synthesize pipeline.

Tracked-event recaps are a separate, already-existing per-event
toggle (TrackedEvent.recapIntervalHours) since events aren't tied to
a single category — unaffected by this change.

backend/src/api/admin.ts

@@ -69,9 +69,14 @@ export async function registerAdminRoutes(app: FastifyInstance) {
 
 	// --- Categories (add/remove — reordering/privacy is via PATCH /settings above) ---
 	app.post('/api/admin/categories', async (req, reply) => {
-		const { name, isPrivate, isSpillover } = req.body as { name?: string; isPrivate?: boolean; isSpillover?: boolean };
+		const { name, isPrivate, isSpillover, disableAi } = req.body as {
+			name?: string;
+			isPrivate?: boolean;
+			isSpillover?: boolean;
+			disableAi?: boolean;
+		};
 		if (!name || !name.trim()) return reply.code(400).send({ error: 'name required' });
-		const created = categoriesDb.createCategory(name.trim(), !!isPrivate, !!isSpillover);
+		const created = categoriesDb.createCategory(name.trim(), !!isPrivate, !!isSpillover, !!disableAi);
 		return reply.code(201).send(created);
 	});
 

backend/src/queue/priorityQueue.ts

@@ -45,6 +45,16 @@ function primaryCategoryRank(item: ContentItem, rankByName: Map<string, number>,
 	return best;
 }
 
+/** True if any of the item's source's categories (same leading-segment match as primaryCategoryRank) has AI disabled. */
+function inAiDisabledCategory(item: ContentItem, disabledNames: Set<string>, sourcesById: Map<string, Source>): boolean {
+	const source = sourcesById.get(item.sourceId);
+	for (const cat of source?.category ?? []) {
+		const leading = cat.split(':')[0].trim().toLowerCase();
+		if (disabledNames.has(leading)) return true;
+	}
+	return false;
+}
+
 /**
  * Shared by both the passthrough (no-AI) and synthesis direct-publish paths — same
  * publish-then-tag-then-log/error shape, differing only in how the success/failure
@@ -114,6 +124,8 @@ export async function runSynthesisCycle(provider: InferenceProvider, settings: G
 	// direct-publish partition and each item's category/type lookups — avoids a
 	// separate sourcesDb.getSource() round-trip per item.
 	const sourcesById = new Map(sourcesDb.listSources().map((s) => [s.id, s]));
+	const categories = categoriesDb.listCategories();
+	const rankByName = new Map(categories.map((c) => [c.name.toLowerCase(), c.priorityRank]));
 
 	// YouTube videos, Nitter tweets, and Telegram messages never get LLM-merged with
 	// anything else — each is always its own article, same shape whether the AI service
@@ -121,18 +133,31 @@ export async function runSynthesisCycle(provider: InferenceProvider, settings: G
 	const directPublishSourceIds = new Set(
 		[...sourcesById.values()].filter((s) => s.type === 'youtube' || s.type === 'nitter' || s.type === 'telegram').map((s) => s.id)
 	);
-	const [directItems, mergeableItems] = partition(items, (item) => directPublishSourceIds.has(item.sourceId));
+	const [typeDirectItems, remaining] = partition(items, (item) => directPublishSourceIds.has(item.sourceId));
 
-	const publishedDirect = await publishItemsDirect(
-		directItems,
+	// A category with disableAi set (see the Category priority admin pane) opts its
+	// items out of clustering/synthesis entirely — each publishes on its own, using its
+	// own source's text, same as the source-type-driven direct items above.
+	const aiDisabledCategoryNames = new Set(categories.filter((c) => c.disableAi).map((c) => c.name.toLowerCase()));
+	const [categoryDirectItems, mergeableItems] = partition(remaining, (item) =>
+		inAiDisabledCategory(item, aiDisabledCategoryNames, sourcesById)
+	);
+
+	const publishedTypeDirect = await publishItemsDirect(
+		typeDirectItems,
 		settings,
 		activeEvents,
 		(item) => sourcesById.get(item.sourceId)?.type ?? 'unknown',
 		'Direct publish failed'
 	);
 
-	const categories = categoriesDb.listCategories();
-	const rankByName = new Map(categories.map((c) => [c.name.toLowerCase(), c.priorityRank]));
+	const publishedCategoryDirect = await publishItemsDirect(
+		categoryDirectItems,
+		settings,
+		activeEvents,
+		() => 'AI disabled for category',
+		'Direct publish failed'
+	);
 
 	const ranked = mergeableItems
 		.map((item) => ({ item, rank: primaryCategoryRank(item, rankByName, sourcesById) }))
@@ -184,5 +209,5 @@ export async function runSynthesisCycle(provider: InferenceProvider, settings: G
 		);
 	}
 
-	return published + publishedDirect;
+	return published + publishedTypeDirect + publishedCategoryDirect;
 }

backend/src/storage/db/categories.ts

@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ function rowToCategory(row: any): Category {
 		priorityRank: row.priority_rank,
 		isDefault: !!row.is_default,
 		isPrivate: !!row.is_private,
-		isSpillover: !!row.is_spillover
+		isSpillover: !!row.is_spillover,
+		disableAi: !!row.disable_ai
 	};
 }
 
@@ -24,18 +25,20 @@ export function listPrivateCategoryNames(): string[] {
 	return rows.map((r) => r.name);
 }
 
-export function setCategoryOrder(order: { id: string; priorityRank: number; isPrivate: boolean; isSpillover: boolean }[]) {
-	const stmt = db.prepare('UPDATE categories SET priority_rank = ?, is_private = ?, is_spillover = ? WHERE id = ?');
-	for (const c of order) stmt.run(c.priorityRank, c.isPrivate ? 1 : 0, c.isSpillover ? 1 : 0, c.id);
+export function setCategoryOrder(
+	order: { id: string; priorityRank: number; isPrivate: boolean; isSpillover: boolean; disableAi: boolean }[]
+) {
+	const stmt = db.prepare('UPDATE categories SET priority_rank = ?, is_private = ?, is_spillover = ?, disable_ai = ? WHERE id = ?');
+	for (const c of order) stmt.run(c.priorityRank, c.isPrivate ? 1 : 0, c.isSpillover ? 1 : 0, c.disableAi ? 1 : 0, c.id);
 }
 
-export function createCategory(name: string, isPrivate = false, isSpillover = false): Category {
+export function createCategory(name: string, isPrivate = false, isSpillover = false, disableAi = false): Category {
 	const id = `cat-${name.toLowerCase().replace(/[^a-z0-9]+/g, '-').replace(/(^-|-$)/g, '')}-${randomUUID().slice(0, 6)}`;
 	const maxRank = db.prepare('SELECT COALESCE(MAX(priority_rank), 0) as m FROM categories').get() as { m: number };
 	db.prepare(
-		'INSERT INTO categories (id, name, priority_rank, is_default, is_private, is_spillover) VALUES (?, ?, ?, 0, ?, ?)'
-	).run(id, name, maxRank.m + 1, isPrivate ? 1 : 0, isSpillover ? 1 : 0);
-	return { id, name, priorityRank: maxRank.m + 1, isDefault: false, isPrivate, isSpillover };
+		'INSERT INTO categories (id, name, priority_rank, is_default, is_private, is_spillover, disable_ai) VALUES (?, ?, ?, 0, ?, ?, ?)'
+	).run(id, name, maxRank.m + 1, isPrivate ? 1 : 0, isSpillover ? 1 : 0, disableAi ? 1 : 0);
+	return { id, name, priorityRank: maxRank.m + 1, isDefault: false, isPrivate, isSpillover, disableAi };
 }
 
 export function deleteCategory(id: string) {

backend/src/storage/db/index.ts

@@ -179,7 +179,8 @@ export function migrate() {
 			priority_rank INTEGER NOT NULL,
 			is_default INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
 			is_private INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
-			is_spillover INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 -- collapsed into the nav's "More »" overflow page instead of its own tab
+			is_spillover INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, -- collapsed into the nav's "More »" overflow page instead of its own tab
+			disable_ai INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 -- skip clustering/synthesis for this category's items; publish each one directly
 		);
 
 		CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS logs (
@@ -319,6 +320,9 @@ export function migrate() {
 	if (!hasColumn('categories', 'is_spillover')) {
 		db.exec('ALTER TABLE categories ADD COLUMN is_spillover INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0');
 	}
+	if (!hasColumn('categories', 'disable_ai')) {
+		db.exec('ALTER TABLE categories ADD COLUMN disable_ai INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0');
+	}
 	if (!hasColumn('content_items', 'telegram_message')) {
 		db.exec('ALTER TABLE content_items ADD COLUMN telegram_message TEXT');
 	}

backend/src/storage/db/types.ts

@@ -206,6 +206,8 @@ export interface Category {
 	isPrivate: boolean;
 	/** Grouped into the nav's "More »" overflow page instead of getting its own top-level tab — see +layout.svelte and /more. */
 	isSpillover: boolean;
+	/** Skips clustering/AI synthesis for this category's items — each one publishes directly (own article, own source's text), same as YouTube/Nitter/Telegram items always do. See priorityQueue.ts's runSynthesisCycle. */
+	disableAi: boolean;
 }
 
 export interface StockTicker {

frontend/src/lib/adminApi.ts

@@ -69,10 +69,16 @@ export const updateSettings = (patch: Partial<AdminSettings>, fetchFn?: typeof f
 	request<AdminSettings>('/api/admin/settings', { method: 'PATCH', body: JSON.stringify(patch) }, fetchFn);
 
 // Categories
-export const createCategory = (name: string, isPrivate = false, isSpillover = false, fetchFn?: typeof fetch) =>
+export const createCategory = (
+	name: string,
+	isPrivate = false,
+	isSpillover = false,
+	disableAi = false,
+	fetchFn?: typeof fetch
+) =>
 	request<CategoryPriority>(
 		'/api/admin/categories',
-		{ method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ name, isPrivate, isSpillover }) },
+		{ method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ name, isPrivate, isSpillover, disableAi }) },
 		fetchFn
 	);
 

frontend/src/lib/adminTypes.ts

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ export interface CategoryPriority {
 	isDefault: boolean;
 	isPrivate: boolean;
 	isSpillover: boolean;
+	disableAi: boolean;
 }
 
 export interface WeatherHourEntry {

frontend/src/lib/components/admin/MergeTab.svelte

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 	let newCategoryName = $state('');
 	let newCategoryPrivate = $state(false);
 	let newCategorySpillover = $state(false);
+	let newCategoryDisableAi = $state(false);
 	let addingCategory = $state(false);
 
 	// Advisory only — the nav starts getting too wide / wrapping past ~10 tabs, so this
@@ -48,11 +49,12 @@
 		if (!name) return;
 		addingCategory = true;
 		try {
-			const created = await createCategory(name, newCategoryPrivate, newCategorySpillover);
+			const created = await createCategory(name, newCategoryPrivate, newCategorySpillover, newCategoryDisableAi);
 			local.categoryPriority = [...local.categoryPriority, created];
 			newCategoryName = '';
 			newCategoryPrivate = false;
 			newCategorySpillover = false;
+			newCategoryDisableAi = false;
 		} finally {
 			addingCategory = false;
 		}
@@ -68,6 +70,11 @@
 		scheduleSave();
 	}
 
+	function toggleDisableAi(id: string) {
+		local.categoryPriority = local.categoryPriority.map((c) => (c.id === id ? { ...c, disableAi: !c.disableAi } : c));
+		scheduleSave();
+	}
+
 	async function removeCategory(id: string, isDefault: boolean, name: string) {
 		if (isDefault) {
 			// Sensible-default categories can still be removed — e.g. a fresh install's
@@ -98,7 +105,9 @@
 		private category (and everything in it) is hidden from the public site until a visitor
 		logs in with the lock icon in the masthead. A "More" category is collapsed into a single
 		"More »" nav tab instead of getting its own, and shows up on that overflow page with its
-		latest few articles.
+		latest few articles. "No AI" skips clustering and synthesis for that category — each item
+		publishes on its own, using its own source's text, instead of being merged/rewritten by the
+		model.
 	</p>
 	{#if primaryCategoryCount > 10}
 		<p class="hint warn">
@@ -120,6 +129,10 @@
 						<input type="checkbox" checked={cat.isSpillover} onchange={() => toggleSpillover(cat.id)} />
 						More
 					</label>
+					<label class="private-toggle">
+						<input type="checkbox" checked={cat.disableAi} onchange={() => toggleDisableAi(cat.id)} />
+						No AI
+					</label>
 				{/if}
 				<button class="icon-btn" onclick={() => move(i, -1)} disabled={i === 0} aria-label="Move up">▲</button>
 				<button
@@ -151,6 +164,10 @@
 			<input type="checkbox" bind:checked={newCategorySpillover} />
 			More
 		</label>
+		<label class="private-toggle">
+			<input type="checkbox" bind:checked={newCategoryDisableAi} />
+			No AI
+		</label>
 		<button onclick={addCategory} disabled={addingCategory || !newCategoryName.trim()}>
 			{addingCategory ? 'Adding…' : '+ Add'}
 		</button>