Listing Writer 🪄

A free, open-source web app for resellers. Dump in a pile of item photos → it sorts them into separate items → writes a full eBay listing for each → posts them to eBay. Runs as your own private website on Vercel; works on your computer and your phone.

It's bring-your-own-keys: you plug in your own Anthropic (AI) key and your own eBay developer keys, so you're in full control and there's no middleman.

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What it does

• 📸 Upload a whole batch of photos at once
• 🔀 Auto-sorts them into separate items (group → verify → un-split)
• 🏷️ Assigns bin/SKU codes so you can find items later (e.g. K42-A, K42-B)
• 🤖 Writes a title, description, item specifics, condition, and suggested price
• ✍️ Everything is editable before you post
• 🚀 Posts straight to eBay — one item or the whole batch
• 📋 Or export everything as CSV / JSON
• 🔒 Your keys live in environment variables, never in the code

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What you'll need (all free to start)

1. An Anthropic API key — the AI that writes listings. Get one at https://console.anthropic.com/ (you pay Anthropic per use; pennies per item).
2. An eBay developer keyset — to post listings. Free at https://developer.ebay.com/. You'll need the App ID, Cert ID, and a RuName (explained below). Only needed for posting — sorting and writing work without it.
3. A Vercel account — free hosting. https://vercel.com/
4. Node.js installed on your computer — https://nodejs.org/ (the "LTS" version).

There are two ways to set this up. Not a coder? Use the Quick Start. Comfortable in a terminal? Skip to Setup for developers.

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🚀 Quick Start (no coding required)

You can get your own copy running without ever opening a terminal.

1. Make your free accounts and grab your keys.

• Anthropic key at https://console.anthropic.com/ → "API Keys" → create one (starts with sk-ant-).
• eBay developer keyset at https://developer.ebay.com/ (do this part later if you only want to write listings, not post them).
• A Vercel account at https://vercel.com/ — sign up with GitHub (it'll make a free GitHub account too if you don't have one).

2. Deploy your own copy in a few clicks. Click the button (it copies this project to your own GitHub and deploys it on Vercel):

Set both of these environment variables. Vercel sometimes asks for them during the deploy — but its current flow often doesn't ask at all. If you weren't prompted, deploy first, then add them under your project → Settings → Environment Variables and hit Redeploy (Deployments → ⋯ → Redeploy):

• ANTHROPIC_API_KEY — your Anthropic key (starts with sk-ant-).
• APP_SECRET — any access code you make up (a memorable phrase works). A deployed app won't run without this: it stops strangers from spending your Anthropic credits, and every AI action returns an error until it's set.

(You can add the eBay variables later.) After deploying you'll get a web address like https://your-app.vercel.app.

3. Bookmark your app on your computer and add it to your phone's home screen. You can start sorting and writing listings immediately.

4. To enable posting to eBay (optional), follow Set up eBay posting below using your new web address, then add the eBay values in Vercel → your project → Settings → Environment Variables and redeploy.

That's it — no terminal, no code editing. Everything else below is for people who want to run it locally or tinker.

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Setup for developers (command line)

1. Get the code

git clone https://github.com/ashnicholes-droid/hahm-ebay-lister.git
cd hahm-ebay-lister
npm install

2. Try it locally (optional)

Create a file called .env.local (copy from .env.example) and add at least your Anthropic key:

cp .env.example .env.local
# then edit .env.local and set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000. You can sort and write listings right away. (eBay posting needs the eBay setup below + a deployed URL.)

3. Deploy to Vercel

The easiest path:

npm i -g vercel     # one time
vercel login        # one time
vercel --prod       # deploys; gives you a URL like https://your-app.vercel.app

Then add your environment variables in the Vercel dashboard (Project → Settings → Environment Variables) — see the full list below — and redeploy with vercel --prod.

Prefer no terminal? You can also push this repo to GitHub and import it at vercel.com → "Add New Project", then add the env vars there.

4. Set up eBay posting (optional, for the "Post to eBay" button)

1. At https://developer.ebay.com/ create a Production keyset. Note the App ID (Client ID) and Cert ID (Client Secret).
2. Under that keyset → User Tokens → Add eBay Redirect URL (RuName). Set, using your deployed URL:
   • Auth accepted URL: https://your-app.vercel.app/api/ebay/callback
   • Auth declined URL: https://your-app.vercel.app/?ebay=declined
   • Privacy policy URL: https://your-app.vercel.app/privacy
   • Choose OAuth (not Auth'n'Auth).
3. Copy the generated RuName — the short identifier (like Name-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX), not the long "eBay Production Sign In (OAuth)" URL shown on the same page.
4. Put all the values into Vercel's env vars (below) and redeploy.
5. On the live site, click Connect eBay, approve on eBay, and paste the URL from eBay's confirmation page back into the app. Done (lasts ~18 months).

This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗