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Updated: 11 min 5 sec ago

Baseline Drift

Thu, 02/19/2026 - 11:00am
Categories: Hacker News

Show HN: Crit – Visual QA for iOS apps and AI coding agents

Thu, 02/19/2026 - 10:59am

I built Crit, a CLI tool that lets you capture screenshots from iOS Simulator, drop pins on what's wrong, and hand structured feedback to any coding agent.

You just:

crit capture — screenshot your app screens crit serve — review in browser, click to pin bugs and add comments Tell your agent: "review .crit and fix each issue"

It saves annotated screenshots and JSON to a .crit/ folder. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini — anything that can read images. No plugins, no MCP, no dependencies.

macOS + Xcode required. Android not yet supported. Repo: https://github.com/natethegreat/crit

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47075182

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

Categories: Hacker News

Show HN: How far can you push file conversion into the browser?

Thu, 02/19/2026 - 10:58am

Hi HN,

I’ve been experimenting with how much file conversion can realistically be pushed into the browser. Last year I tried compiling LibreOffice headless to WASM. The smallest build I could get was ~150MB — far too large just to convert a DOCX to PDF. That’s when I shifted to a hybrid approach. Today ~90% of conversions run client-side using WASM (FFmpeg, PDF/image tooling, spreadsheets, etc.). The heavier edge cases fall back to a small server pipeline (LibreOffice, Pandoc, Poppler).

The main challenges weren’t the libraries themselves, but: browser memory ceilings handling large files without freezing the UI lazy-loading ~30MB of WASM only when needed Safari vs. Chromium behavior differences

FFmpeg.wasm runs at roughly 10–20% of native speed. Acceptable for small/medium files, less so for large media. I also experimented with multithreaded FFmpeg in the browser, but haven’t found a stable setup yet. Curious how others think about the tradeoff between client-side processing vs. fully server-side pipelines.

→ anythingconverter.com

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47075166

Points: 4

# Comments: 0

Categories: Hacker News

Epitome – Open-source shared memory layer for AI agents

Thu, 02/19/2026 - 10:57am

Article URL: https://epitome.fyi

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47075157

Points: 1

# Comments: 1

Categories: Hacker News

Fire calculator that takes Bitcoin holdings into account

Thu, 02/19/2026 - 10:56am

Article URL: https://calc.firebtc.io/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47075139

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Categories: Hacker News

Tell HN: A production-ready "Hello World" is now ~600 files

Thu, 02/19/2026 - 10:07am

I recently ran an audit on our latest full-stack repo to figure out why "spinning up a new project" felt like such a heavy lift. I counted every file required just to reach a "production-ready" baseline—before writing a single line of unique feature code.

The count was roughly 600 files.

To be clear, I'm not talking about a `create-react-app` sandbox. I mean a compliant, scalable SaaS foundation: Next.js frontend, Node.js/NestJS backend, mobile wrapper, CI/CD pipelines, and enough security config to pass a SOC2 audit.

It sounds ridiculous (and honestly, it feels ridiculous), but when I broke it down, I couldn't find many files I was willing to delete.

Here is where the bloat comes from:

First, the "Configuration Hell" accounts for about 40-50 files alone. We aren't just dealing with `package.json` anymore. It's `tsconfig.json` (base), `tsconfig.build.json`, `tsconfig.spec.json`... multiplied across frontend, backend, and shared libraries. Then add `.eslintrc.js`, `.prettierrc`, `jest.config.js`, `vitest.config.ts`, `nodemon.json`, and the Docker-compose variants for dev, test, and prod.

Then there’s the DevOps and Quality layer. We have roughly 20-30 files for GitHub Actions workflows (lint, test, build, deploy, semantic release), Husky hooks (pre-commit, commit-msg), and pull request templates.

But the real multiplier is the separation of concerns. In a modern monorepo, a "Hello World" isn't just `console.log`. It’s: - A NestJS module (Controller, Service, Module, DTO, Entity, Unit Test, E2E Test). - A Next.js slice (Page, Component, Type definition, API client wrapper). - A shared library entry.

We found that adding a single "minimal" API endpoint usually touches 5-7 files just to maintain architectural standards.

The trade-off is painful. On one hand, this setup handles the things we used to forget: security headers, proper logging, consistent error handling, and type safety across boundaries. It prevents the "spaghetti code" distinct to startups that scale too fast.

On the other hand, the cognitive load of managing a 600-file "empty" project is massive. Updating dependencies becomes a chore because a major version bump in one tool (like ESLint) cascades through forty config files.

I’m curious how others are handling this "starting line" complexity.

Are you accepting the boilerplate as the cost of doing business? Or have you found a way to strip this down without sacrificing the compliance/safety guardrails that enterprise clients demand?

It feels like we've over-engineered the entry point of software development, but I’m not sure what the alternative is for a serious project. We tried going "lean" initially, but spent weeks retrofitting auth and testing harnesses later—which was worse.

Is there a middle ground I'm missing, or is ~600 files just the new normal?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47074571

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Categories: Hacker News

Ask HN: Play your favorite DOS retro games on mac

Thu, 02/19/2026 - 10:03am

I am feeling nostalgic about games like Dangerous Dave. Haven't found a good hack to do that. Thinking of utilising my over powered macbook to host LLMs offline and use agents to build those games.

Any simple stage games, you can think off for me to start?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47074532

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Categories: Hacker News

Agent Orchestrators Are Bad

Thu, 02/19/2026 - 10:00am
Categories: Hacker News

Show HN: Offerlog – buy or sell anything on your own terms

Thu, 02/19/2026 - 10:00am

I had the idea for this site when I wanted to hire a CAD designer to turn a drawing of a simple enclosure into a 3D model. Fiverr wasn’t gonna work for me: fees cut into what I could pay the freelancer, flat rates don't reflect project complexity, and hourly rates are unpredictable when you're a broke college student on a tight budget. I'd rather share a form made to collect offers, then pay whoever offered a good deal directly. So I built offerlog.io.

Offerlog is a free and simple tool to hire, sell, barter, buy, or auction without being restricted by an online marketplace:

- No account necessary - Create and customize your campaign - Share your public URL (on campus, social media, around town, …) - Receive offers via private link

It's 2 parts Google Forms, one part Craigslist, one part eBay :) This is my first launch — any feedback is a huge win. Try it out and let me know what you think, bonus points if you find a bug!

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47074513

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

Categories: Hacker News

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