Jake Goldsborough

Blog

• Skin Shedding, Not Bikeshedding

  Published on 2025-11-23

  5 min read

  On letting go of endless debates and just building things to see what works.

• Date-Ver: A Formal Spec for Date-Based Versioning

  Published on 2025-11-15

  3 min read

  I created a formal specification for date-based version numbers because nobody else had. Now both Ubuntu and yaml-janitor are officially valid Date-Ver.

• Building yaml-janitor: Solving the Comment Preservation Problem

  Published on 2025-11-14

  3 min read

  How I built a YAML linter that preserves comments, validated 1,736 production files, and published it to RubyGems

• Like a Pig in Shit: Why I Love AI "Slop"

  Published on 2025-11-08

  6 min read

  I'm having the time of my life building projects with AI assistance. Call it slop if you want - I'm too busy shipping to care.

• vimdeck.nvim: Markdown Presentations in Neovim

  Published on 2025-11-07

  5 min read

  Rewrote vimdeck for Neovim using Treesitter. No Ruby, no temp files, just native Lua and clean slide rendering.

• Invite Tree to Invite Stats - How A Simple Tree Flourished Into A Full Moderation Plugin

  Published on 2025-11-05

  3 min read

  How a simple visualization plugin evolved into a moderation tool.

• Visualizing Discourse Invite Trees

  Published on 2025-11-03

  2 min read

  A simple Discourse plugin that visualizes who invited whom as an ASCII tree, inspired by Lobsters.

• Shelltrax Part 2: Footer, Tests, and CI

  Published on 2025-10-29

  5 min read

  Fixing footer playback progress, implementing unit tests, and setting up GitHub Actions CI for the Rust TUI music player.

• Replacing MessageBus Pub/Sub with REST APIs: Fixing Production Outages

  Published on 2025-10-27

  5 min read

  Converting postgres-manager from fire-and-forget MessageBus to synchronous HTTP APIs to eliminate message replay issues and gain operational visibility.

• Building The Guest Spot: Part 2 - Two Refactors

  Published on 2025-10-26

  6 min read

  Two major refactors: custom model to Topics, then custom feed to plugin outlets. Less code, more features, better maintainability.

• Building The Guest Spot: Part 1 - My First Community

  Published on 2025-10-25

  7 min read

  Building an Instagram-style showcase for tattoo artists using Discourse. My first attempt at helping build a community from scratch.

• How I'm Using Claude Code for Daily Development Work

  Published on 2025-10-24

  5 min read

  Real-world AI pair programming: what works, what doesn't, and how to avoid the traps

• Building Yaks: A Virtual Currency System for Discourse (Part 4: Custom Titles and Earning System)

  Published on 2025-10-19

  7 min read

  Implementing custom user titles and the Yaks earning system. This post covers serializer overrides for titles and building a complete earning system with rate limiting, trust level requirements, and real-time balance updates.

• Building Yaks: A Virtual Currency System for Discourse (Part 3: Advanced Features)

  Published on 2025-10-18

  5 min read

  Implementing topic-level features and user customization in the Yaks virtual currency plugin. This post covers topic boosting with global pinning and custom avatar flair.

• ChatGPT assisted Changelog - 42/52

  Published on 2025-10-17

  2 min read

  A week of creative experiments and follow-ups -- from launching a live transit board inside Discourse and polishing your AWS SDK Ruby series, to debugging GoatCounter exports and exploring privacy-friendly tools on GrapheneOS.

• Building Yaks: A Virtual Currency System for Discourse (Part 2: Features and Expiration)

  Published on 2025-10-17

  6 min read

  Part 2 covers implementing topic pinning, building a modular service architecture, and creating an expiration system with background jobs.

• Building Slumprutt: A Random Route Generator in Under an Hour

  Published on 2025-10-16

  5 min read

  Built a complete random route generator app with TypeScript, Svelte, and OSRM to find new walking and cycling routes in my neighborhood.

• AWS SDK Ruby Part 3: When "Working as Intended" Means "Broken by Design"

  Published on 2025-10-14

  5 min read

  The conclusion to the AWS credential chain saga, where maintainers close a valid bug report, the feature remains broken, and we learn about the politics of backward compatibility in open source.

• Building Yaks: A Virtual Currency System for Discourse (Part 1: Backend Architecture)

  Published on 2025-10-11

  5 min read

  Building a virtual currency plugin for Discourse. Part 1 covers the backend architecture: wallets, transactions, features, and the service layer that ties it together.

• ChatGPT assisted Changelog - 41/52

  Published on 2025-10-10

  2 min read

  A quieter but productive week focused on publishing the Discourse transit tracker post, analyzing GoatCounter data across 37 countries and six continents, and continuing open source contributions to the AWS SDK for Ruby.

• Building a Live Transit Departure Board with Discourse

  Published on 2025-10-08

  10 min read

  Experimenting with Discourse as a live transit departure board - blending GTFS data, aviation APIs, and forum topics into one real-time display.

• My First Official Contribution to Discourse

  Published on 2025-10-06

  3 min read

  A small but satisfying first PR to the Discourse core codebase.

• Going off the Rails on the AWS Credential Chain

  Published on 2025-10-04

  4 min read

  Uncovering a deeper architectural issue in the AWS Ruby SDK where credential chain precedence prevented role assumption from working correctly with environment variable source credentials.

• ChatGPT assisted Changelog - 40/52

  Published on 2025-10-03

  2 min read

  Weekly topics spanning Czechia residency planning, Anki language learning setup, Framework 16 NixOS troubleshooting, Discourse plugin ideas, and practical logistics for international relocation.

• ChatGPT assisted Changelog - 36-39/52

  Published on 2025-09-26

  4 min read

  A ChatGPT-generated summary covering Prague travel notes, Czech visa preparation, camera research, Discourse experiments, desktop tooling, email deliverability, and personal logistics from weeks 36-39.

• First time in Europe: One week in Prague

  Published on 2025-09-16

  6 min read

  Field notes from a first-timer: a castle, smooth city transit, and tattoos.

• Reverse Engineering A Unique Data Structure - Part 3, Course & Course Details

  Published on 2025-09-03

  4 min read

  Decoding deeply nested course data by resolving schema maps within schema maps to extract readable information about disc golf courses including layouts, holes, and amenities.

• Reverse Engineering A Unique Data Structure - Part 2, Search

  Published on 2025-08-30

  2 min read

  Discovering and using search endpoints for places and courses that return well-formed data, making it easy to find specific locations and query disc golf course information.

• ChatGPT assisted Changelog - 35/52

  Published on 2025-08-29

  1 min read

  Weekly updates on cashctl budgeting tool development, Zola site improvements, AWS SDK contributions, and resume refinements for showcasing open source work.

• Reverse Engineering A Unique Data Structure - Part 1, Courses

  Published on 2025-08-27

  6 min read

  Uncovering how a Remix-based disc golf app encodes course data in obfuscated arrays using index maps and schema maps, then writing TypeScript to parse it into usable objects.

• Contributing to the AWS Ruby SDK: When Documentation and Implementation Don't Match

  Published on 2025-08-23

  4 min read

  Discovering and fixing a missing credential source implementation in the AWS Ruby SDK where documentation promised Environment support but the code didn't deliver.

• ChatGPT assisted Changelog - 34/52

  Published on 2025-08-22

  1 min read

  A week balancing travel research for Europe, Shelltrax autoplay debugging, Discourse logo design experiments, and technical problem-solving across multiple projects.

• ChatGPT assisted Changelog - 32+33/52

  Published on 2025-08-17

  2 min read

  Two weeks of NixOS troubleshooting, node-postgres-exporter development, Framework 16 hardware configuration, and preparation for upcoming European travel.

• ChatGPT assisted Changelog - 31/52

  Published on 2025-08-01

  2 min read

  Weekly progress on Nix package development, NixOS Wi-Fi setup on Framework 16, Git commit signing, Hyprland keybinds, and exploring privacy-focused smartwatch options.

• Hyprland Tricks - Close Window Keybind With Confirmation Window

  Published on 2025-07-28

  1 min read

  Adding a simple Wofi confirmation dialog to Hyprland's window close keybind to prevent accidentally closing important windows with a quick Yes/No prompt.

• NixOS as a daily driver or Zero to Nixty, part 9/? - Enabling Wi-Fi

  Published on 2025-07-27

  2 min read

  Troubleshooting and fixing Wi-Fi on a Framework 16 laptop running NixOS by loading the Intel AX210 driver, enabling firmware, and configuring NetworkManager with wpa_supplicant.

• ChatGPT assisted Changelog - 30/52

  Published on 2025-07-25

  2 min read

  First week at Discourse covering Waybar configuration, Nixvim setup, Kolide agent deployment, TUI music player fixes, and various NixOS system troubleshooting.

• Today is my first day at Discourse!

  Published on 2025-07-21

  2 min read

  Celebrating the start of a new role at Discourse as a software engineer on the infrastructure team, working on open source software with an async, remote-first company.

• NixOS as a daily driver or Zero to Nixty, part 8/? - Modular Config

  Published on 2025-07-20

  4 min read

  Breaking down a NixOS configuration into reusable modules organized by host and common settings, making it easy to deploy consistent environments across multiple machines.

• ChatGPT assisted Changelog - 29/52

  Published on 2025-07-18

  2 min read

  Refining NixOS setup with modular dotfiles, exploring Framework laptop RGB customization, researching task managers, and planning for NixCon 2025 attendance.

• NixOS as a daily driver or Zero to Nixty, part 7.5/? - Trial by Encrypted Fire

  Published on 2025-07-13

  4 min read

  A detailed account of struggling through manual LUKS encryption setup on NixOS, hitting multiple roadblocks, and ultimately succeeding with the graphical installer after three failed attempts.

• ChatGPT assisted Changelog - 28/52

  Published on 2025-07-11

  1 min read

  Publishing NixOS daily driver posts, fighting encrypted disk installation issues, playing disc golf, continuing Swedish language studies, and garden updates.

• NixOS as a daily driver or Zero to Nixty, part 6/? - Dev environment

  Published on 2025-07-08

  3 min read

  Introducing NixVim for declarative Neovim configuration and exploring nix-shell for creating reproducible, project-specific development environments without global installs.

• NixOS as a daily driver or Zero to Nixty, part 5/? - QoL enhancements

  Published on 2025-07-07

  5 min read

  Configuring keyboard remapping with Interception Tools to make Caps Lock act as Escape when tapped and Control when held, plus setting up hypridle and hyprlock for automatic screen locking.

• Fairway Client Not Fair Enough for MyFrisbee

  Published on 2025-07-06

  2 min read

  The story of building an open source library to access public MyFrisbee data endpoints, receiving a takedown request despite working with user-submitted information, and the disappointment that followed.

• ChatGPT Changelog - 27/52

  Published on 2025-07-04

  1 min read

  Week of NixOS and NixVim work including caps lock remapping, Starship integration, PipeWire setup, MyFrisbee reverse engineering takedown, woodworking projects, and job offer celebration.

• ChatGPT Changelog (fka Weekly Summary) - 26/52

  Published on 2025-06-27

  2 min read

  Refining NixOS workflow with nix-shell and Flakes, progressing GitVote CLI with GPG signatures, continuing blog writing, and maintaining Swedish language learning streak.

• NixOS as a daily driver or Zero to Nixty, part 4/? - dotfile/config management

  Published on 2025-06-27

  5 min read

  Using Dotter to manage NixOS configuration and Hyprland settings in version control with symlinks, making it simple to deploy and reproduce your setup across machines.

• How I accidentally wrote my first Neovim plugin

  Published on 2025-06-25

  3 min read

  A journey from regex-powered single-line rewrites to a fully tested Neovim plugin for formatting JavaScript and Rust imports, learning why simpler solutions sometimes beat powerful tools like Treesitter.

• Introducing Shelltrax - Or how I vibe programmed my way to a TUI music player

  Published on 2025-06-24

  4 min read

  Building a terminal-based music player in Rust from scratch to learn the language through real-world challenges like TUI rendering, audio streaming, metadata parsing, and concurrent state management.

• Building a Fully Decentralized Voting System Using Just Git and Pull Requests

  Published on 2025-06-23

  4 min read

  Creating a transparent, auditable voting system where Git commits are the ledger, pull requests are ballots, and CI validates every vote without any centralized servers or databases.

• The Accidental Complexity of Doing The Right Thing or The Pain of Setting Up Privacy-Focused Analytics (2025 Edition)

  Published on 2025-06-22

  5 min read

  The frustrating journey of setting up GoatCounter for privacy-respecting analytics, encountering broken Docker registries, build failures, and tooling friction that makes ethical software harder to deploy.

• node-postgres-exporter — A Lightweight, Configurable PostgreSQL Prometheus Exporter

  Published on 2025-06-20

  4 min read

  Building a flexible Node.js-based Prometheus exporter for PostgreSQL with multi-database support, dynamic custom metrics via JSON configuration, and production-ready fault isolation.

• ChatGPT Changelog (fka Weekly Summary) - 25/52

  Published on 2025-06-20

  1 min read

  Weekly accomplishments including Shelltrax TUI refinements, MyFrisbee API decoding progress, node-postgres-exporter release, NixOS configuration improvements, and Swedish study milestone.

• ChatGPT Changelog (fka Weekly Summary) - 24/52

  Published on 2025-06-13

  3 min read

  Introducing ChatGPT-generated personal changelogs covering MyFrisbee blog series, PostgreSQL exporter deployment, NixOS Hyprland configuration, and ongoing Swedish language learning.

• Typing åäö in Hyprland: A US, Mac-style Keyboard Guide

  Published on 2025-06-12

  3 min read

  Configuring Hyprland to type Swedish characters using a US keyboard layout with Right Alt as a modifier, perfect for learners who want proper typing practice without remapping keys.

• Weekly Summary - 23/52

  Published on 2025-06-07

  2 min read

  Accomplishments in reverse engineering MyFrisbee API, TypeScript module publishing, static site improvements, NixOS blog series, Gitea self-hosting, and reaching 179-day Swedish streak.

• NixOS as a daily driver on a late 2011 Macbook Pro, part 3/? - user, WM, tools

  Published on 2025-06-05

  3 min read

  Setting up a non-root user with sudo access, installing Hyprland as a window manager, and configuring essential daily driver tools like Neovim, Git, and Librewolf on NixOS.

• NixOS as a daily driver on a late 2011 Macbook Pro, part 2/? - Installation, Basic Configuration

  Published on 2025-06-04

  5 min read

  A step-by-step guide to installing NixOS from a minimal ISO, including partitioning with EFI, formatting drives, generating configuration files, and completing the first system build.

• How Vulfmon Inspired Me to Learn to Weave

  Published on 2025-05-31

  2 min read

  Discovering a beautiful weaving in a Vulfmon music video sparked a new creative journey, resulting in six handmade pieces inspired by Jack Stratton's aesthetic.

• Weekly Summary - 22/52

  Published on 2025-05-30

  1 min read

  A productive week focused on API inspection and blog writing, continuing Swedish language studies for 172 days, and sending out 13 job applications.

• Deploying a Zola static site to a custom domain with Github Actions

  Published on 2025-05-24

  3 min read

  Setting up automated deployment for a Zola-based static site using GitHub Actions to build and publish to GitHub Pages with a custom domain and DNS configuration.

• Weekly Summary - 21/52

  Published on 2025-05-23

  1 min read

  Celebrating RockPro64 revival, continuing Swedish studies, starting API inspection work, and solving NixOS Hyprland boot issues.

• NixOS as a daily driver on a late 2011 Macbook Pro, part 1/? - What and why?

  Published on 2025-05-18

  3 min read

  An introduction to Nix and NixOS, explaining purely functional package management, declarative system configuration, atomic rollbacks, and why this approach makes for a powerful daily driver OS.

• Weekly Summary - 20/52

  Published on 2025-05-16

  1 min read

  Starting a weekly reflection series covering site deployment, Raspberry Pi revival, Rust learning with blockchain and TUI projects, woodworking, and job hunting progress.