Full Stack Developers Wes Bos and Scott Tolinski dive deep into web development topics, explaining how they work and talking about their own experiences. They cover from JavaScript frameworks like React, to the latest advancements in CSS to simplifying web tooling.
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In this episode, Scott and CJ dive into their personal workflows, revealing their top productivity apps and web services. They discuss innovative tools like the AI-powered Kiro IDE, minimalist to-do list apps such as Tweek.so, and strategies for digital detox, including grayscale phone settings and disconnecting smart TVs. The conversation offers practical insights into optimizing digital workspaces and personal habits for enhanced focus and efficiency.
Wes and Scott explore the world of local data and sync engines, explaining how they make applications feel instantaneous. They review several prominent solutions like LiveStore, ZeroSync, InstantDB, Convex, and ElectricSQL, highlighting their unique approaches, benefits, and ideal use cases. The discussion also touches on the potential for local-first sync engines to become the "next React" and observes a trend of tech companies pivoting their focus to AI.
Scott and Wes share their top strategies for getting high-quality results from AI coding tools like Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT, and Windsurf. From better prompting to building reusable rule sets, they cover practical tips for making AI your most productive coding partner. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! Wes' Tweet 02:56 How to get the best results when using AI. 03:15 Scaffold it out yourself. 05:40 Be clear with your prompts. 07:45 Use XML tags around specific items 08:47 Utilize Rules like Cu...
In this potluck episode of Syntax, Wes and Scott answer your questions about code reviews, migrating legacy apps, CSS attr() use cases, pre-commit hooks, the future of creative web development, whether front-end devs need to be full-stack, and more! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:43 When is the appropriate time to use requestAnimationFrame? 05:10 How do you handle code reviews on larger teams? 13:08 When to use the CSS attr() function 19:01 The future of browsing websites and the impact ...
Scott and Wes break down how to code with and for AI; perfect for skeptics, beginners, and curious devs. They cover everything from Ghost Text and CLI agents to building your own AI-powered apps with embeddings, function calling, and multi-model workflows. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 03:56 How to interface with AI. 04:07 IDE Ghost Text. 05:45 IDE Chat, Agents. 08:00 CLI Agents. Claude Code . Open Code . Gemini . 11:13 MCP Servers. Context7 14:47 GUI apps. v0 . Bolt.new . Lovable . Windsu...
Wes and Scott talk about how developers can expose powerful tools to AI using the Model Context Protocol. They discuss tool calling, remote MCP specs, authentication, and real-world use cases that make AI more capable through smarter integrations. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:36 What is MCP? 07:23 MCP tools 11:33 MCP resources 13:43 Saving reusable prompts 16:18 Creating and validating MCP tools 18:31 Brought to you by Sentry.io 18:31 Tool calling vs MCP servers 21:28 Remote vs local M...
Scott and Wes recap the current state of web authentication and explore how Better Auth simplifies the whole process. With built-in plugins, modern features, and no need to hand-roll your own solution, Better Auth makes secure login a breeze for developers. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:59 Scott’s history with authentication. 02:05 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 03:15 My opinion has changed on auth. 04:40 Current authentication options. 06:32 Arctic. 06:56 OpenAUTH. 07:36 Auth.js. 08:02 ...
Wes and Scott talk with Loïc Houssier about how Superhuman builds lightning-fast, delightfully-designed email software. They dig into engineering philosophy, offline-first architecture, local databases, AI-powered productivity, and what it takes to create tools that people love. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 03:05 Inside Superhuman and Loïc’s role 06:49 Is Superhuman native? What’s the tech stack? 08:16 How Superhuman approaches product design and speed 12:17 Local-first architecture – Syn...
Scott and Wes round up the hottest AI tools you should have on your radar; from text-to-speech wizards to self-hosted image generators. They break down what they’re using, what’s worth paying for, and which tools are changing their workflows. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:49 Getting too cozy with your tools. 01:34 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 03:40 LangFlow . 08:44 Super Whisper and Whisper Flow . 15:00 Dia . 23:16 Chat apps. Claude ChatGPT Raycast Cursor Midjourney (Imagine.art) 26:58...
In this potluck episode, Wes and Scott answer listener questions on maintaining popular open source projects, upskilling after a layoff while balancing life, state management in Nuxt, and the value of a CS degree today. They also discuss coding conventions, reverse proxies, dealing with imposter syndrome, and share details on Scott's recording setup and their latest Sick Picks.
AI coding agents are getting wild. Scott and Wes break down the latest tools that run in the background, write code across multiple steps, and charge you $200 a month to do it. From CLI-based primitives to full-on copilots, this episode covers the next wave of dev tools and what it takes to use them effectively. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 03:13 Background Agents. 04:26 Appropriate tasks for background agents. 12:46 CLI tooling. 14:17 Claude Code Pricing. 18:20 Approaches to get the most...
Wes and Scott talk about the latest JavaScript proposals from TC39, including features like import defer, the powerful new random namespace, Array.fromAsync, and native clamp and upsert methods. They break down what’s coming, why it matters, and how it might improve your code. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 02:55 Brought to you by Sentry.io 05:37 Import Defer proposal-defer-import-eval proposal-deferred-reexports Rob Palmer 09:30 Random Functions proposal-random-functions proposal-seeded-ra...
Wes and CJ break down the latest web dev news, including big changes in Safari 26, TypeScript Native Previews, and Remix dropping React. They also chat about new proposals from TC39, Vite 7 beta, and a surprise project from the Astro team. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:41 Safari WWDC . 01:05 SVG Favicons. 02:01 Every site can be a web app on iOS and iPadOS. 03:08 WebGPU in Safari. 08:02 Lots of CSS goodies. @Una Tweet . 10:19 Remix 3 dropping React. Wake Up Remix . @mjackson Tweet . 17:...
Wes chats with James Mikrut, founder of Payload CMS, about their acquisition by Figma. They discuss the strategic reasons behind Figma integrating a CMS, focusing on bridging the gap between design, code, and data, and leveraging AI with declarative systems. James reassures the community that Payload will remain open source and explains how the acquisition will lead to deeper integrations and new opportunities within the Figma ecosystem.
Scott and Wes break down the state of web browsers in 2025, from the rise and fall of Arc and the fate of Firefox to hot takes on Opera GX, Raycast, and why power users might not be profitable. They compare rendering engines, rant about dev tools, and reveal what browser stats say about Syntax listeners. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:37 Rendering Engines. 02:11 Arc Browser. 02:41 Microsoft Edge. 03:45 Why not Brave? 05:25 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 05:50 Google Manifest v2. 07:32 Ope...
Wes and Scott explore the new CSS if() function, discussing its syntax, current browser support (Chrome 137+), and how it allows for conditional logic directly in CSS properties using variables and attributes. They demonstrate use cases like theming and button states, compare it to traditional CSS classes and JavaScript, and touch upon its integration with media queries and the broader trend towards declarative CSS APIs.
We break down how to properly throw, catch, and log errors in JavaScript and TypeScript. They cover client-side and server-side strategies, using tools like Sentry, and how to handle errors without taking down your whole app. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:19 Error terminology. 01:42 Thrown and catching. 03:01 What’s in an error. 04:09 Name and message. 04:42 Stack. 07:12 Node system errors. 07:34 Messages: strings, objects, or custom errors. 08:19 Throwing errors. 12:01 Promise errors. ...
Wes and Scott interview Jeppe Reinhold about Storybook 9, highlighting its major improvements like significantly reduced bundle size, seamless Vite integration, and enhanced testing capabilities. The discussion covers component design best practices, visual regression testing with Chromatic, automated accessibility checks, and the philosophy behind testing UI components in isolation to build more robust applications.
Wes rebuilt his personal site from Gatsby to a modern stack using Waku, React Server Components, and Cloudflare Workers — all while keeping the same design. Scott and Wes break down the pain points with Next.js, MDX, image handling, caching, and the custom setup that now powers a blazing-fast blog. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:03 Barcelona Conference. 04:09 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 04:33 Existing stack, goodbye to Gatsby. 06:11 New stack, the goals for moving. 06:56 So what is the...
Investor Dan Levine provides insights into venture capital for developers. He explains how to approach VCs, what makes a startup attractive for investment, and typical funding amounts like Seed and Series A. Dan also shares his perspective on investor influence versus support, the nuances of bootstrapping vs. fundraising, the AI market's current state, and the potential outcomes for venture-backed companies.
CJ steps in for Scott and joins Wes to share his experience working with Nuxt, from routing and data fetching to the pros and cons of the framework. They break down the Nuxt ecosystem, directory structure, and how it handles server routes and modules. Show Notes 00:00 Syntax Meetup ! 00:26 Welcome to Syntax 01:21 The deal with Nuxt. CJ’s Nuxt Course . 02:51 Why do you like Vue? 04:52 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 05:17 Routing with Nuxt. h3 - The Web Framework for Modern JavaScript Era . Nuxt Gu...
In this potluck episode of Syntax, Wes and CJ answer your questions about OpenAI’s $3B Windsurf acquisition, the evolving role of UI in an AI-driven world, why good design still matters, React vs. Svelte, and more! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! Devs Night Out 02:35 OpenAI acquires Windsurf for $3B Windsurf Ep 870: Windsurf forked VS Code to compete with Cursor. Talking the future of AI + Coding 05:20 What is the future of UI now that AI is such a heavy hitter? 08:45 Handling spam submissio...
Scott and Wes are joined by Erich Gamma, creator of VS Code, and Kai Maetzel, Copilot Lead, to share some big news about the future of VS Code and Copilot. They discuss what it means for developers, how AI is shaping the future of coding, and why staying open to the community is key. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:00 The inception of VS Code. 02:49 VS Code adoption. 04:31 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 04:55 Syntax Denver Meetup ! 05:19 The big announcement. 06:25 The current state of Cop...
Wes talks with Peter Pistorius about RedwoodSDK, a new React framework built natively for Cloudflare. They dive into real-time React, server components, zero-cost infrastructure, and why RedwoodSDK empowers developers to ship faster with fewer tradeoffs and more control. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:52 What is RedwoodSDK ? 04:49 Choosing openness over abstraction 08:46 More setup, more control 12:20 Why RedwoodSDK only runs on Cloudflare 14:25 What the database setup looks like 16:15 D...
Scott and Wes break down the latest in JavaScript news, including new async patterns in Svelte, React Server Component tooling with Parcel, and Redwood’s push into Cloudflare with its new SDK. They also cover what’s new in Storybook 9 Beta, from visual testing to a sleeker, lighter build. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 02:50 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 03:37 Syntax Meetup ! 04:09 React View Transitions . 08:58 addTransitionType. 11:18 Activity API. Offscreen Renamed to Activity . 14:22 Ma...
Scott and Wes sit down with Cassie Evans of GSAP to talk all things animation—from SVGs and scroll timelines to GSAP’s new rebrand and exciting features. They also dig into performance, plugins, and what makes GSAP such a powerful tool for web developers. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:59 What is GSAP ? Cassie Codes . 01:53 GSAP Rebranding. 04:44 GSAP under the hood. 05:29 The big announcement ! 07:19 GSAP Showcase . 11:01 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 11:26 Why is GSAP easier for animat...
Wes and Scott talk all things 3D printing—from fixing every day items to organizing tools, printing gadgets, and even teaching their kids entrepreneurship. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 03:34 Brought to you by Sentry.io 05:03 Practical uses of 3D printing 07:34 Creating tools for organization Gridfinity 10:33 Improving and adapting everyday items Underware 14:34 The benefits of printing something vs buying it 15:32 Choosing the right 3D printer Bamboo Lab Elegoo Prusa Flashorge 25:26 Proje...
Scott and Wes break down the tricks and techniques for making your app feel blazing fast—even when it’s not. From optimistic UI to preload-on-hover, it’s all about perception, not just performance. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:12 Brought to you by Sentry.io . 02:34 Mousedown or pointerdown events. 06:00 UI animations should be fast. 08:00 Animations should not block interaction. 08:20 Animations should be cancellable / reversible. 10:50 Optimistic UI. 12:37 Local Data. 13:36 Delay load...
