Show HN Daily Selection (2025-08-05)
- I spent 6 years building a ridiculous wooden pixel display
- I've been building an ERP for manufacturing for the last 3 years
- Sidequest.js – Background jobs for Node.js using your database
- Tiny logic and number games I built for my kids
- Kimu – Open-Source Video Editor
- I made a competitive debating game(like chess.com but for debating)
- FFlags – Feature flags as code, served from the edge
- A tiny reasoning layer that steadies LLM outputs (MIT; +22.4% accuracy)
- I made a platform to create Telephone Voice AI Agencies
- IRC /Whois Gallery
- An Infinite Wiki Simulator
- A Programmer's Guide to Life
- GPT helped me rebuild a .NET app in 30 mins what took 3 weeks in MFC
I spent 6 years building a ridiculous wooden pixel display [Consumer Tech]
650 points, 96 comments
A wooden pixel display that allows global participation in drawing images one pixel at a time over 30-60 minutes per image.
- 1000-pixel wooden display
- Draws one pixel at a time
- Takes 30-60 minutes per image
- Global participation for voting and submitting images
- Interactive project at kilopx.com
Discussion Link, Original Link
I've been building an ERP for manufacturing for the last 3 years [Business]
25 points, 2 comments
Custom ERP system for manufacturing developed over three years.
- Tailored for manufacturing processes
- Three years of development
- Designed to streamline operations
Discussion Link, Original Link
Sidequest.js – Background jobs for Node.js using your database [Developer Tools]
44 points, 11 comments
Sidequest.js is a background job runner for Node.js that avoids API blocking and vendor lock-in while supporting various databases and job management features.
- Runs jobs in isolated worker threads to prevent API blocking
- Supports Postgres, MySQL, SQLite, or MongoDB (no Redis required)
- Includes retries, uniqueness, concurrency, snoozing, and prioritization
- Comes with a CLI and simple dashboard
- Works in monoliths without extra infrastructure
Discussion Link, Original Link
Tiny logic and number games I built for my kids [Education]
66 points, 25 comments
A collection of browser-based logic and number games designed for kids and curious adults to develop reasoning skills.
- Includes games like Word Ladder, Prime Hunter, and Math Maze
- No installation required, playable directly in the browser
- Aims to enhance logic and reasoning skills
- Open to feedback and suggestions for new puzzle types
Discussion Link, Original Link
Kimu – Open-Source Video Editor [Video]
69 points, 21 comments
Kimu is an open-source, non-linear video editor designed for the web, addressing the lack of functional web-based video editing tools.
- Supports video, audio, and text editing
- Includes transitions and z-axis overlays
- Features split/trim functionality and export options
- Plans to add a cute AI agent
- Open-source and available on GitHub
Discussion Link, Original Link
I made a competitive debating game(like chess.com but for debating) [Entertainment]
9 points, 11 comments
A competitive debating platform where users debate friends or bots, with an LLM judging the winner and a leaderboard system.
- Debates can be with friends or AI bots
- Uses an LLM to judge the winner based on logic
- Includes a points system and leaderboard
- Features live chatrooms with Google account sign-in
- No misuse of user emails
Discussion Link, Original Link
FFlags – Feature flags as code, served from the edge [Developer Tools]
4 points, 1 comments
FFlags is a feature flagging system that combines performance, open standards, and a developer-friendly approach.
- Feature Flags as Code: Define flag logic in TypeScript for complex rules.
- Open Standard: Built on OpenFeature's Remote Evaluation Protocol to avoid vendor lock-in.
- Edge Network Performance: Sub-25ms latency for globally distributed applications.
- Cost-Effective: Generous free tier with $39 per million requests beyond that.
Discussion Link, Original Link
A tiny reasoning layer that steadies LLM outputs (MIT; +22.4% accuracy) [Developer Tools]
6 points, 0 comments
A lightweight reasoning layer that improves LLM accuracy by 22.4% by addressing common failure modes without requiring model changes.
- Identifies 16 common LLM failure patterns (e.g., OCR drift, table mismatches)
- Implements four model-agnostic checks (knowledge-boundary probes, semantic jump detection, layout-aware anchoring, semantic trace)
- Boosts semantic accuracy (+22.4%), reasoning success (+42.1%), and stability (3.6×)
- No servers or SDKs needed—just logic from a single MIT-licensed PDF
- Validated by ~2,400 downloads and adoption in OCR community (e.g., tesseract.js creator)
Discussion Link, Original Link
I made a platform to create Telephone Voice AI Agencies [Business]
3 points, 0 comments
A platform for creating and managing Telephone Voice AI Agencies with performance insights and billing.
- Enables users to build voice AI agents for customer service, appointments, and cold outreach
- Provides performance insights and analytics for AI agents
- Supports usage-based billing for clients
- Built on top of Vapi.ai's technology
Discussion Link, Original Link
IRC /Whois Gallery [Text]
3 points, 1 comments
A collection of /whois output from an old IRC client showcasing creative ASCII art and custom formatting.
- Features /whois output from XiRCON + kano.tcl
- Highlights creative ASCII art
- Demonstrates IRC client customization as an art form
Discussion Link, Original Link
An Infinite Wiki Simulator [Text]
3 points, 0 comments
A demo that generates infinite wiki-style articles on the fly using a small LLM model.
- Generates wiki-style articles instantly (within ~2 seconds)
- Articles are cached after generation for faster access
- Not factually accurate due to small model size
- Part of a broader exploration of non-chat LLM interfaces
- Open-source code available on GitHub
Discussion Link, Original Link
A Programmer's Guide to Life [Education]
4 points, 0 comments
A programmer's guide to life, framed as an onboarding manual using game engine analogies to explain scientific concepts.
- 11-chapter guide covering origins of the universe to present
- Uses simple language and visual elements
- Targeted at programmers, gamers, and rationalists
- Designed to be short and engaging
Discussion Link, Original Link
GPT helped me rebuild a .NET app in 30 mins what took 3 weeks in MFC [Developer Tools]
5 points, 2 comments
AI-assisted .NET app development achieved in 30 minutes what previously took 3 weeks in MFC.
- GPT guided step-by-step to rebuild an Excel-to-PDF automation tool
- No prior .NET or VB knowledge required, just copy-paste execution
- Handled a complex algorithm the user thought would be too tricky for AI
- Real-time video demo shows uncut, sped-up development process
- Raises questions about AI's future impact on software development