How Freshness Labels Work

What NEW and UPDATED mean on the site, and how freshness is derived from pattern metadata.

Overview

The site uses freshness labels to help readers spot entries that were added recently or updated materially. These labels are meant to answer a simple question:

Which patterns should I look at first if I want recent signal?

What the Labels Mean

`NEW`

Use this when a pattern has been added recently enough that it should stand out as a new entry in the catalog.

`UPDATED`

Use this when an existing pattern has been revised recently enough that returning readers should know it changed.

NEW should take precedence over UPDATED.

Where Freshness Comes From

Freshness in the current site is driven by pattern metadata, especially updated_at, with a fallback to the file modification date when updated_at is missing.

That means:

if you materially revise a pattern, update updated_at
if a pattern does not specify updated_at, generated data will fall back to the markdown file’s modification time

For Contributors

You do not need a separate tracking file for freshness labels.

When you update a pattern:

Edit the markdown file in patterns/
Update updated_at if the content changed materially
Run validation and rebuild generated data

bun run validate:patterns
bun run build:data

Recommended Contributor Rule

Update updated_at when any of these change:

the pattern summary or core thesis
the implementation guidance
trade-offs, safety notes, or limitations
references or examples that materially change how the pattern should be read

Do not update it for trivial formatting or typo-only edits.

Why This Is Better Than Manual Tracking

Freshness stays attached to the pattern itself
The site can derive recent updates automatically during data generation
Contributors only need to maintain one source of truth: the pattern file