Launch HN: Haystack (YC S24) – Visualize and edit code on an infinite canvas

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Product concept & value proposition

  • Haystack is a VS Code fork that puts code editors on an infinite 2D canvas, auto-linking related files/symbols as you navigate.
  • Goal: reduce cognitive load when understanding large/legacy codebases, support spatial reasoning, and make multi-file flows easier to grasp.
  • Several devs relate it to their own ad‑hoc pane/tab setups, method-of-loci style memory, and visual tools like Miro/Heptabase.

VS Code fork vs. extension

  • Many commenters want this as a VS Code extension, or compatible with Cursor, to avoid switching IDEs and easing enterprise adoption.
  • Authors say extensions can’t deeply change UI or treat multiple embedded editors as first-class tabs, hence the fork; a “lite” extension is planned.
  • Some see the proliferation of VS Code forks as risky and think platform ownership/monetization is the real driver; others cite Cursor as a counterexample that a fork can succeed.

UX, keyboard use, and monitor constraints

  • Enthusiasts like the idea of spatial layout, especially with ultrawide monitors or VR/3D concepts.
  • Skeptics find canvas UIs slower than LSP + keyboard workflows and worry about mouse dependence and clutter with many editors.
  • There are keybindings and some tiling/auto-positioning; users request better demos of pure-keyboard workflows and more automation in layout.
  • Vim plugin mostly works but has some navigation bugs. Laptop users worry about limited screen real estate.

Visualization depth & features

  • Requests for:
    • Caller/callee graphs and semantic zooming.
    • 3D or layered visualizations, clustering, and background/minimap aids.
    • Sticky notes, diagramming, documentation mixing, UML-like overviews, multi-service graphs, and visual diff/test-coverage views.
    • Cross-repo/API/service linking, possibly via AI.

Licensing & enterprise concerns

  • Current Polyform Strict-style license is seen as too restrictive and confusing for commercial use and contributions; authors plan to adjust it.
  • A few note they can’t adopt it at work until the license risk is clarified.

Monetization & roadmap

  • Planned revenue from collaborative and generative-AI features: shared workspaces, natural-language search, multi-file edits.
  • Some are enthusiastic about collaboration; others are wary of “GenAI” focus.

Technical scope

  • Works with VS Code extensions and aims to track upstream.
  • Python support is good; C# is limited by ecosystem features, especially for call graph details.