Ask HN: What are you working on? (July 2025)

Hacker News Discussion ↗

AI, LLM, and Agent Tools

  • Many projects wrap or extend LLMs: an open-source LLM proxy to hide API keys and handle auth/rate limits; spreadsheet and Excel add‑ins that treat LLM calls as formulas; a queryable document platform with RAG; AI newsletter curators; MCP-focused tools (config managers, voice add‑ons, orchestration frameworks); AI-assisted CLI/context managers for Claude Code and coding agents.
  • Some see LLMs as back-end utilities (SQL explorers, code generators, typing assistants), while others push agentic workflows (multi-step reasoning, automated hyperparameter tuning, AI-driven dev environments).
  • There’s excitement about productivity gains but also attention to hallucinations, tool overload, and the need for transparency and control over “personalization.”

Developer Infrastructure, Data, and DevTools

  • New client-side and sync-first data layers (e.g. TanStack DB), schema visualizers (ChartDB), and DuckDB/streaming/quantum optimization tools.
  • Secret and config management appears repeatedly (kiln for encrypted env vars, TACoS for Terraform, simple observability/uptime, GitHub–Slack integration, better job queues on Postgres).
  • Several language/runtime experiments: a Go-like typed language that compiles to Go, a new safe systems language, web app DSLs, JS/Web Components helpers, and Excel-like engines as reusable services.

Privacy, Security, and Anonymity

  • Tools focused on ephemeral and anonymous communication (ClosedLinks), encrypted variable stores, custom VPN/multi-hop tunnels, and secure self-hosted email/relay services.
  • Discussion around anonymity vs. usability: email-based signup vs. “no traceable sender,” browser-side encryption, and whether such tools should be open-sourced for high‑stakes use (journalists/whistleblowers).

Robotics, Hardware, and the Physical World

  • The mosquito-killing drone project (Tornyol) drives the largest debate: technical details (ultrasonic sonar, micro‑Doppler signatures to distinguish insects, 40g micro‑drones), scaling (city‑wide control), and ecological concerns about harming non‑target insects and food chains.
  • Some commenters frame drones as potentially transformational public-health tools; others warn of “surface-level thinking” and ecological disaster, arguing targeted malaria interventions are preferable.
  • Related hardware projects include EBike batteries designed for reparability, acoustic meta-surface absorbers, IoT management on NixOS, and various hobby electronics.

Productivity, Learning, and Creative Apps

  • Numerous note-taking, journaling, and time-tracking apps, often local-first and privacy-preserving, plus tools for language learning (polyglot SRS, interactive audiobooks, vocabulary builders) and education (math, lab management).
  • Creative work spans voxel engines, TTRPG tools, games, live visuals, music systems, and art/poetry projects, often mixing traditional craft with novel tooling or AI.