RenderIO’s Post

I’ve launched my new JetBrains plugin - Obsidian Lens 🚀 This project was born out of a pretty simple frustration: I constantly switch between my IDE and Obsidian. Code lives in one place, thoughts and knowledge in another - and that gap slows things down more than we’d like to admit. So I decided to bridge it. Obsidian Lens integrates your Obsidian vault directly into JetBrains IDE, allowing you to stay in your development flow while still having access to your knowledge base. 💡 Why I built it: As a backend developer, I rely heavily on notes - architecture decisions, ideas, TODOs, research. But constantly context-switching breaks focus. I wanted something that makes knowledge feel like a native part of the IDE, not a separate tool. ⚙️ What it can do: Navigate [[wiki-links]] directly in IDE Autocomplete links to your notes View backlinks to understand context Parse YAML frontmatter for structured metadata Search across your vault without leaving the editor Graph view - interactive force-directed graph of all vault notes and their wiki-link connections; zoom, pan, drag nodes Bridge TODO / FIXME comments in code with your notes 🧠 The goal is simple: make your thinking process as integrated as your coding process. This is just the first version, and I have a lot of ideas for where it can go next (deeper code ↔ knowledge linking, smarter navigation, etc.). If you’re using Obsidian alongside JetBrains - I’d love for you to try it out and share your feedback 🙌 https://lnkd.in/duPHmqdc

Small thing I built recently that turned out to be quite useful. I often record quick demo videos (screen recordings using Snagit, short walkthroughs), and they usually end up a bit longer, heavier… and honestly a bit slower-paced than I’d like (especially when I’m explaining things step by step). So I put together a simple PowerShell script around FFmpeg that: ✅ Speeds up videos (e.g. 1.3x) ✅ Compresses them at the same time ✅ Keeps quality at a reasonable level One example: 50MB → 17MB Result: Slightly faster playback, still easy to follow, and a smaller size, easier to send/share. ✨ It has a simple UX: 1. File picker (no path typing) 2. Choose speed 3. Choose quality 4. Shows progress while processing Added it to my homelab scripts repo: https://lnkd.in/dZu_UM2i Sometimes small tools like this save more time than bigger systems 🙂 #Script #FFmpeg #VideoConvert #DevOps #PowerShell

Your website’s not “broken”. It’s just lying somewhere in the code. Start with a few print statements, then use a proper debugger to step through what’s actually happening. Fix the root, not the symptom. #Debugging #SmallBusiness #WebDev

Joget DX 9.1 Preview is live 🚀 Multi-column forms without CSS. Collapsible sections. Smarter diffs for scripts. Git-friendly YAML exports. One-click cleanup tools. The small improvements that make building apps feel right. Full breakdown here → https://lnkd.in/g3rxYfek 

Vite 8.0 is out: What’s new and why it matters 🧑💻 Recently, Vite released version 8 with a new bundler, Rolldown, introducing a major architectural shift. Earlier, Vite relied on: • esbuild for development • Rollup for production We no longer need separate bundlers for development and production. Vite is moving toward a unified approach with Rolldown, a Rust-based bundler designed for better performance and scalability, delivering significantly faster builds (up to 10–30x compared to Rollup). What I found even more interesting is a smaller (but impactful) change 🤔 Browser console logs can now be forwarded directly to the terminal (like VS Code, Cursor and other IDEs). 💡 Why this matters Browser errors can now be seen directly in the terminal, enabling faster debugging without switching to the browser and improving modern workflows where tools (including AI-assisted tools like Cursor, Claude, Codex and Copilot) can access these errors more directly in the terminal. As AI becomes a bigger part of development, tools are evolving fast. It will be interesting to see how other tools evolve in the future. #Vite #JavaScript #ReactJS #DeveloperExperience #WebDevelopment #FrontendDevelopment #FullStackDeveloper #SoftwareEngineering

I kept using a JWT decoder that sent tokens to some random server. I only noticed because DevTools was open — saw the POST request and realized I'd been pasting production tokens with user emails and roles to a stranger's endpoint for months. That became the first tool in my toolkit. Then I kept running into the same pattern: needed a Base64 encoder, found one buried in ads. Needed a regex tester, had to sign up. Needed a color converter, watched it make network calls for no reason. So I built 45 tools that just work in the browser: • JWT decoder, Base64 encoder, hash generators — no servers involved • JSON formatters, YAML validators, markdown converters — process locally • QR codes, gradients, chart animations — generate without tracking • DNS lookup, SSL checker — the few that actually need network calls Three of them outgrew the toolkit and became npm packages. The text-to-gradient system now powers all the cover images across my site. The animation engine runs every hover effect. The markdown repository handles all my content queries. Worth checking out if you're tired of ad-heavy tools that phone home when they don't need to:

Building browser extensions has been one of those experiences that looks simple from the outside… but feels completely different once you get into it. At first, it’s not the coding that challenges you — it’s the architecture. You’re suddenly dealing with: • Multiple environments (popup, background, content scripts) • Messaging between different layers • Strict permissions and manifest rules • Debugging across separate consoles And honestly, that’s where most of the friction comes from. But here’s the interesting part — once the mental model clicks, everything starts to feel structured and predictable. It shifts from “Why is nothing working?” → to → “Okay, I know exactly where this belongs.” That’s when real progress happens. One thing that helped me: Break the system into layers and build step by step instead of trying to solve everything at once. Still learning, still building — but definitely understanding things at a much deeper level now. #webdevelopment #chromeextensions #buildinpublic #softwareengineering #learning

Why does virtual scrolling still feel harder than it should? A lot of solutions solve performance, but they also force you into framework-specific APIs or awkward layout patterns like absolute positioning. I wanted something that felt much closer to normal HTML and CSS. So I built a virtual-scroll custom element and wrote about the thinking behind it here: https://lnkd.in/diZkRt8r Curious how others think about this trade-off: should virtualization feel like a library feature, or more like a native platform primitive?

Stop wasting time "stepping through" your code. 🛑 If you’re still debugging by adding 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗲.𝗹𝗼𝗴 everywhere and hoping for the best, you’re playing on hard mode. The 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 are packed with "hidden" features that can save you hours of frustration. Here are 5 pro-tips to level up your debugging game: 🧠 𝟭. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 Stop pausing every single time a loop runs. Right-click the line number and select Add conditional breakpoint. Example: response.status === 500 The Win: The debugger only kicks in when things actually go wrong. 🎯 𝟮. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 Ever inherit a codebase and have no idea which function triggers a button click? Where: Sources Panel → Event Listener Breakpoints. The Win: Check "click" or "input," and the browser will automatically pause the moment that event fires. 🕵️ 𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 “𝗜𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿” 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗻 Stop guessing which script triggered that random API call. Enable the Initiator column in your Network tab. The Win: Hover over the value to see the exact call stack that started the request. Tracing API logic becomes instant. 📦 𝟰. 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 (𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗩𝗣 🚀) Want to test a UI fix or a different API response without waiting for a backend deploy? Where: Sources → Overrides. The Win: Edit JS, CSS, or mock an API response directly in the browser. It persists even after a refresh. 🐢 𝟱. 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 & 𝗖𝗣𝗨) Your M3 Macbook Pro isn't how your users experience your site. The Win: Simulate "Slow 3G" and "6x CPU slowdown" to see how your app behaves on low-end devices. Catch performance bottlenecks before your users do. Which one of these is a permanent part of your workflow? Or did I miss your favorite? Let’s swap tips in the comments! 👇 #WebDevelopment #JavaScript #ProgrammingTips #Frontend #Debugging #SoftwareEngineering

Understanding URLs made simple 🌐 — from protocol to parameters, every part plays a role in how the web works. Master the basics, build smarter! #WebDevelopment #LearnTech #ProgrammingBasics #TechEducation #DeveloperLife