The best Hacker News stories from Show from the past week

Go back

Latest posts:

Show HN: Duck-UI – Browser-Based SQL IDE for DuckDB

I built Duck-UI, a web-based SQL editor that runs DuckDB entirely in your browser via WebAssembly. No backend required.<p>The Problem: Every time I needed to query csv, parquet, or even to play with SQL, I had to either: (a) spin up a Jupyter notebook (b) use the CLI (c) upload to a hosted service.<p>Friction at every step (TOO MUCH to load a csv or even to test some sql (study)...<p>The Solution: DuckDB's WASM runtime lets us run SQL analysis client-side. Load CSV/JSON/Parquet files from disk or URL, write SQL, get results instantly. Data stays on your machine. What It Does:<p>SQL editor with autocomplete & syntax highlighting Import CSV, JSON, Parquet, Arrow (local or remote URLs) Query history, keyboard shortcuts, theme toggle Persistent storage via OPFS (data survives browser refresh) Optional: Connect to external DuckDB servers One-liner Docker deployment or Node 20+ dev server<p>Technical Details:<p>DuckDB compiled to WASM; query execution in-browser OPFS-backed persistence Apache 2.0 licensed Runs on Chrome 88+, Firefox 79+, Safari 14+<p>Use Cases:<p>Learning SQL without setting up databases Ad-hoc data exploration (CSV → SQL in seconds) Quick prototyping before shipping to production Privacy-conscious workflows (no data leaves your browser)<p>GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/ibero-data/duck-ui" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/ibero-data/duck-ui</a> Live Demo: <a href="https://demo.duckui.com" rel="nofollow">https://demo.duckui.com</a> Quick Start: docker run -p 5522:5522 ghcr.io/ibero-data/duck-ui:latest<p>Would love feedback on: (1) Use cases I'm missing (2) Performance bottlenecks you hit (3) Features that would make this your default SQL scratchpad.

Show HN: Firm, a text-based work management system

Show HN: Scriber Pro – Offline AI transcription for macOS

Hey HN! Built this because I was tired of waiting hours for transcription services and didn't want to upload sensitive recordings to the cloud.<p><pre><code> Real metrics from my M1 Max: 4.5hr video file transcribed in 3 minutes 32 seconds. Works completely offline. First 5 HN users who click the button on the page get it free. Literally promo code straight to the app sore Key differences vs Rev/Otter: - No 2-hour file limits (handles any length) - Timecodes stay accurate on long files (no drift from chunking) - Supports MP3, WAV, MP4, MOV, M4A, FLAC - Exports to SRT, VTT, JSON, PDF, DOCX, CSV, Markdown Built for macOS. Happy to answer questions!</code></pre>

Show HN: Halloy – Modern IRC client

I started working on Halloy back in 2022, with the goal of giving something back to the community I’ve been a part of for the past two decades. I wanted to create a modern, multi-platform IRC client written in Rust.<p>Three years later, I’ve made new friends who have become core contributors, and there are now over 200 people idling in our #halloy channel on Libera.<p>My hope is that this client will outlive me and that IRC will live on.

Show HN: Baby's first international landline

Hi HN,<p>As a weekend project, I hacked together a physical phone, a Raspberry Pi running Asterisk and Twilio, to let toddlers safely make international calls.<p>I’ve documented the setup in this write-up and published the code + Ansible playbooks on GitHub so others can replicate it.<p>I built this so kids of expats can easily stay in touch with family on other continents.<p>Would love feedback from anyone who’s worked on something similar or tries building this themselves!<p>writeup: <a href="https://wip.tf/posts/telefonefix-building-babys-first-international-landline/" rel="nofollow">https://wip.tf/posts/telefonefix-building-babys-first-intern...</a> github repos: - <a href="https://github.com/nbr23/ansible-role-telefonefix" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/nbr23/ansible-role-telefonefix</a> - <a href="https://github.com/nbr23/allo-wed" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/nbr23/allo-wed</a>

Show HN: AI toy I worked on is in stores

Alt link: <a href="https://mrchristmas.com/products/santas-magical-telephone" rel="nofollow">https://mrchristmas.com/products/santas-magical-telephone</a><p>Video demo: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z7QJxZWFQg" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z7QJxZWFQg</a><p>The first time I talked with AI santa and it responded with a joke I was HOOKED. The fun/nonsense doesn't click until you try it yourself. What's even more exciting is you can build it yourself:<p>libpeer: <a href="https://github.com/sepfy/libpeer" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/sepfy/libpeer</a><p>pion: <a href="https://github.com/pion/webrtc" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/pion/webrtc</a><p>Then go do all your fun logic in your Pion server. Connect to any Voice AI provider, or roll your own via Open Source. Anything is possible.<p>If you have questions or hit any roadblocks I would love to help you. I have lots of hardware snippets on my GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/sean-der" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/sean-der</a>.

Show HN: SQLite Online – 11 years of solo development, 11K daily users

Show HN: I made an esoteric programming language that's read like a spellbook

i made an esoteric programming language which i call spellscript. every program is a "spell" written in a "grimoire," and you have to use keywords like summon, enchant, inscribe, and conjure.<p>it's literally read like a spellbook because the syntax consists of all natural language, and newlines are optional. your code can now be an essay, like everybody wants!<p>for example, if you want to print something, you'd write: `begin the grimoire. inscribe whispers of "hello, world!". close the grimoire.`<p>it has variables, dynamic typing, arrays, functions, conditionals, loops, string manipulation, array manipulation, type conversion, and user input, among other (listed in the docs!)<p>but why? i wanted to see how far you could push natural language syntax while still being parseable. most esolangs are intentionally obtuse (BF, Malbolge), but i wanted something that's weird but readable, like you're reading instructions from a spellbook, which makes it incredibly easy to read and understand. like an anti-esolang? hmm...<p>github: <a href="https://github.com/sirbread/spellscript" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/sirbread/spellscript</a><p>docs: <a href="https://github.com/sirbread/spellscript/blob/main/resources/documentation.md" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/sirbread/spellscript/blob/main/resources/...</a>

Show HN: Rift – A tiling window manager for macOS

Show HN: Rift – A tiling window manager for macOS

Show HN: I built a simple ambient sound app with no ads or subscriptions

I’ve always liked having background noise while working or falling asleep, but I got frustrated that most “white noise” or ambient sound apps are either paywalled, stuffed with ads, or try to upsell subscriptions for basic features.<p>So I made Ambi, a small iOS app with a clean interface and a set of freely available ambient sounds — rain, waves, wind, birds, that sort of thing. You can mix them, adjust volume levels, and just let it play all night or while you work. Everything works offline and there are no hidden catches.<p>It’s something I built for myself first, but I figured others might find it useful too. Feedback, bugs, and suggestions are all welcome.<p><a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/ambi-white-noise-sleep-sounds/id6753184615">https://apps.apple.com/app/ambi-white-noise-sleep-sounds/id6...</a>

Show HN: I built a simple ambient sound app with no ads or subscriptions

I’ve always liked having background noise while working or falling asleep, but I got frustrated that most “white noise” or ambient sound apps are either paywalled, stuffed with ads, or try to upsell subscriptions for basic features.<p>So I made Ambi, a small iOS app with a clean interface and a set of freely available ambient sounds — rain, waves, wind, birds, that sort of thing. You can mix them, adjust volume levels, and just let it play all night or while you work. Everything works offline and there are no hidden catches.<p>It’s something I built for myself first, but I figured others might find it useful too. Feedback, bugs, and suggestions are all welcome.<p><a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/ambi-white-noise-sleep-sounds/id6753184615">https://apps.apple.com/app/ambi-white-noise-sleep-sounds/id6...</a>

Show HN: I invented a new generative model and got accepted to ICLR

I invented Discrete Distribution Networks, a novel generative model with simple principles and unique properties, and the paper has been accepted to ICLR2025!<p>Modeling data distribution is challenging; DDN adopts a simple yet fundamentally different approach compared to mainstream generative models (Diffusion, GAN, VAE, autoregressive model):<p>1. The model generates multiple outputs simultaneously in a single forward pass, rather than just one output. 2. It uses these multiple outputs to approximate the target distribution of the training data. 3. These outputs together represent a discrete distribution. This is why we named it "Discrete Distribution Networks".<p>Every generative model has its unique properties, and DDN is no exception. Here, we highlight three characteristics of DDN:<p>- Zero-Shot Conditional Generation (ZSCG). - One-dimensional discrete latent representation organized in a tree structure. - Fully end-to-end differentiable.<p>Reviews from ICLR:<p>> I find the method novel and elegant. The novelty is very strong, and this should not be overlooked. This is a whole new method, very different from any of the existing generative models. > This is a very good paper that can open a door to new directions in generative modeling.

Show HN: I've built a tiny hand-held keyboard

I bet you didn't knew you can use modelling clay (as opposed to 3d printing) to make nice devices by hand :)

Show HN: I built a web framework in C

Show HN: Recall: Give Claude memory with Redis-backed persistent context

Hey HN! I'm José, and I built Recall to solve a problem that was driving me crazy.<p>The Problem: I use Claude for coding daily, but every conversation starts from scratch. I'd explain my architecture, coding standards, past decisions... then hit the context limit and lose everything. Next session? Start over.<p>The Solution: Recall is an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that gives Claude persistent memory using Redis + semantic search. Think of it as long-term memory that survives context limits and session restarts.<p>How it works: - Claude stores important context as "memories" during conversations - Memories are embedded (OpenAI) and stored in Redis with metadata - Semantic search retrieves relevant memories automatically - Works across sessions, projects, even machines (if you use cloud Redis)<p>Key Features: - Global memories: Share context across all projects - Relationships: Link related memories into knowledge graphs - Versioning: Track how memories evolve over time - Templates: Reusable patterns for common workflows - Workspace isolation: Project A memories don't pollute Project B<p>Tech Stack: - TypeScript + MCP SDK - Redis for storage - OpenAI embeddings (text-embedding-3-small) - ~189KB bundle, runs locally<p>Current Stats: - 27 tools exposed to Claude - 10 context types (directives, decisions, patterns, etc.) - Sub-second semantic search on 10k+ memories - Works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, any MCP client<p>Example Use Case: I'm building an e-commerce platform. I told Claude once: "We use Tailwind, prefer composition API, API rate limit is 1000/min." Now every conversation, Claude remembers and applies these preferences automatically.<p>What's Next (v1.6.0 in progress): - CI/CD pipeline with GitHub Actions - Docker support for easy deployment - Proper test suite with Vitest - Better error messages and logging<p>Try it:<p>npm install -g @joseairosa/recall # Add to claude_desktop_config.json # Start using persistent memory

Show HN: I'm building a browser for reverse engineers

Show HN: Timelinize – Privately organize your own data from everywhere, locally

Hey HN -- thanks for showing interest in this. Happy to collaborate on this project. I'm hoping to get it stable soon so my own family can start using it.<p>I've been working on this for about 10+ years, nights and weekends. It's been really slow going since I only have my own personal data to test it with.<p>I just don't love that my data is primarily stored on someone else's computer up in the cloud. I want my own local copy at least. And while I can download exports from my various accounts, I don't want them to just gather dust and rot on my hard drive.<p>So, Timelinize helps keep that data alive and relevant and in my control. I don't have as much worry if my cloud accounts go away. Hopefully you'll find it useful, and I hope we can collaborate.<p>(PS. I'm open to changing the name. Never really liked this one...)

Show HN: Kent Dybvig's Scheme Machine in 400 Lines of C (Heap-Memory Model)

Show HN: Write It Down – Personal finance tracker

Everyone’s chasing AI hype. I built a Google Sheet and it quietly took off.<p>In 2020, I made it to track my own finances for income, expenses, savings, yearly summaries etc. I shared it once on Reddit, forgot about it for a year… When I checked back, it had over 130k views and I was honestly stoked!<p>No launch. No funding. No AI. Just a spreadsheet people actually stick with and find useful.<p>I finally gave it a proper home: write-it-down.com Now, more than 2,300 people use it.<p>It’s intentionally boring and that’s why it works.<p>People don’t always need AI. They just need something that actually solves their problem. This isn’t a billion-dollar startup of course, but it taught me more about building products than almost anything else.<p>Build something useful. Solve a real problem. Even if it’s just a simple spreadsheet.<p>So, what’s the most “boring” thing you’ve built that found unexpected traction?

1 2 3 ... 150 151 152 >