Best of daily.dev — September 2025

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Article
Anton Zhiyanov·33w
Write the damn code
Software engineers should avoid endless prompt refinement when working with AI and instead actively write code themselves. Rather than trying to perfect prompts to get AI to generate complete solutions, developers should engage with the code directly by refactoring AI-generated code, writing initial versions for AI review, handling critical parts manually, or creating code outlines for AI to complete. This hands-on approach produces better results than attempting to 'program in English' through prompt iteration.
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Article
Engineer’s Codex·35w
How to Not Write "Garbage Code" (by Linus Torvalds)
Linus Torvalds criticized a Meta engineer's code for creating unnecessary abstractions that increase cognitive load. The piece argues that good code should minimize context switches and mental overhead for both humans and AI systems. Sometimes code duplication is preferable to complex helper functions when it keeps logic self-contained and easier to understand. The principle of "Please Repeat Yourself" can reduce cognitive burden, especially as AI coding tools become more prevalent.
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Article
Hacker News·35w
Why our website looks like an operating system
PostHog redesigned their website to function like an operating system, featuring window management, keyboard shortcuts, and multitasking capabilities. The design addresses the common problem of managing multiple tabs on technical websites by allowing users to open and arrange multiple pages simultaneously within a single browser window. The implementation includes OS-inspired UI elements like file explorers, PowerPoint-style presentations, and spreadsheet layouts, built using TypeScript and Tailwind CSS with a JSON-driven content architecture.
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Article
Szymon Omieciński·35w
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Article
System Design Newsletter·36w
7 Best Practices for API Design 🔥
Seven essential practices for designing robust APIs: REST fundamentals for organizing data resources, proper error handling with clear status codes, API versioning for backward compatibility, rate limiting to prevent abuse, pagination techniques (offset vs cursor) for large datasets, idempotency to avoid duplicate processing, and filtering/sorting for efficient data retrieval. Each practice includes implementation details and trade-offs to consider.
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Dev World·35w
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Nestjs Developers·34w
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Article
80 LEVEL·35w
Level Up Your Coding Skills With This Farming Game
The Farmer Was Replaced is a farming game that teaches programming through automation. Players use a Python-like language to program drones that handle repetitive farming tasks. The game offers continuous progression rather than isolated levels, making it beginner-friendly while still challenging experienced programmers. It launches October 10 with features like multiple drone support, expanded tech trees, and multilingual support.
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Article
Serdarcan Buyukdereli·36w
A Great Resource for Open-Source Tools
A curated directory featuring over 200 open-source tools serves as an alternative discovery platform to commercial software. The directory integrates with GitHub to display real-time star counts, helping developers assess community adoption and tool popularity when building new technology stacks or replacing existing solutions.
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Article
Fabian Letsch·33w
Being "Smart" Is Painfull
A developer argues against overly clever code patterns, using a TypeScript namespace trick for component props as an example. The post explains why 'smart' code that combines component exports with prop types creates unnecessary complexity, confuses team members, breaks in edge cases, and makes code harder to maintain. The author advocates for writing boring, idiomatic code that prioritizes clarity and maintainability over cleverness.
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Article
Hacker News·36w
MitchIvin XP
An interactive portfolio website designed to mimic the Windows XP operating system interface, showcasing design, video, and UI work through a nostalgic desktop simulation built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
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Article
Dev World·34w
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Article
Cassidy's blog·35w
I made a tree visualizer
A developer created a standalone web application for visualizing tree data structures, originally used for teaching React component hierarchies and concepts like prop drilling and context. The tool features keyboard shortcuts for node manipulation, visual effects like pulsing and drilling arrows, and the ability to save tree diagrams as images for sharing.
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Article
Claudette·33w
Australia thinks GitHub is as risky for kids as TikTok
The Australian government is considering age restrictions for GitHub, potentially treating it similarly to TikTok by limiting access for users under 16. This proposal has generated controversy, with supporters citing online safety concerns while critics argue that GitHub's educational value and coding community benefits outweigh potential risks.
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Article
WebCraft·33w
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Article
Mitesh Viras·35w
Before Linux Vs After Linux
A humorous take on how Linux transforms users from casual web browsers into system administrators running their own infrastructure, highlighting the learning curve and responsibilities that come with adopting Linux.
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Article
Lobsters·36w
You Don't Need Animations
Animations should serve a clear purpose rather than being added for decoration. Key considerations include frequency of use (high-frequency interactions should avoid animations), speed (UI animations should stay under 300ms), and user goals. Examples demonstrate how purposeful animations can explain features, provide feedback, or improve perceived performance, while unnecessary animations can slow down workflows and frustrate users.
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Article
Hacker News·35w
Apple has a private CSS property to add Liquid Glass effects to web content
Apple has developed a private CSS property called `-apple-visual-effect` that enables Liquid Glass effects in web content within iOS apps. The property supports various system materials including the new glass effects from iOS 26, but requires enabling a private WKPreferences setting called `useSystemAppearance`. While this feature can't be used in App Store apps due to its private nature, it suggests Apple is using webviews with native UI integration in their own applications without users realizing it.
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Article
Collections·35w
Transforming a Disposable Vape into a Functional Web Server
A creative hardware project successfully repurposed a disposable vape's PY32F002B microcontroller (24MHz ARM Cortex-M0+, 24KB flash, 3KB RAM) into a functional web server. Using semihosting communication, SLIP protocol for networking, and the uIP TCP/IP stack, the project achieved 20ms ping times and 160ms page load times through careful optimization including ring buffers. This demonstrates the potential of transforming resource-constrained everyday electronics into versatile computing devices.
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Article
Flavio Copes·36w
The CSS Handbook, 2025 edition
Flavio Copes has released an updated 2025 edition of his CSS Handbook, covering modern CSS features like container queries, cascade layers, CSS nesting, and new color spaces. The comprehensive guide spans from fundamentals like selectors and the box model to advanced topics including CSS Grid, responsive design, animations, and best practices for maintainable code.
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Article
Anton Zhiyanov·33w
Go is #2 among newer languages
Programming language rankings for newer languages (version 1.0 released after 2010) show TypeScript leading, followed by Go in second place, then Rust, Kotlin, Dart, and Swift. The analysis combines data from IEEE, Stack Overflow, and Languish rankings, highlighting TypeScript's dominance and Go's strong position for backend development.
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Article
omg! ubuntu!·37w
SuperFile is a Command-Line File Manager You’ll Enjoy Using
SuperFile is a modern terminal file manager written in Go that offers a colorful, icon-rich interface as an alternative to traditional tools like Midnight Commander. It features multiple panels, keyboard-driven navigation, vim-compatible keybindings, and integrates with external editors while maintaining simplicity and usability for command-line file operations.
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Article
Armin Ronacher·36w
996
A critique of the 996 work culture (9am-9pm, 6 days a week) promoted by some tech companies and founders. The author argues that while intensity and dedication matter, sustainable productivity comes from output rather than hours worked. Excessive work schedules lead to burnout and are particularly problematic when founders impose them on employees who lack the same risks and leverage. True success requires balancing professional commitment with personal life and well-being.
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Video
JavaScript Mastery·35w
DevOps Full Course | Build and Deploy a Scalable Production Ready API
A comprehensive DevOps course covering fundamentals through production deployment. Teaches Git version control, CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions, Docker containerization, Kubernetes orchestration, and infrastructure as code. Includes hands-on project building a production-ready API with authentication, database integration, monitoring, and security features using modern tools like PostgreSQL, Neon DB, and Arkjet.
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Article
Shaaf·37w
My first 6 hours with Rust
A beginner's exploration of Rust fundamentals after 6 hours of learning, covering key concepts like ownership, borrowing, structs, enums, and memory management. The author compares Rust's unique ownership system to Java's garbage collection, explains how references work with borrowing rules, and demonstrates practical examples of data structures and method implementations. The post highlights Rust's safety guarantees through compile-time checks and its approach to modularity with default privacy.
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