Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats

Scott and Wes ditch Electron and Tauri for GPUI, the GPU accelerated Rust UI framework from the Zed team. They get into its React-like API, styling that feels a lot like Tailwind, GPUI Kit components, the community fork drama, and the tiny desktop apps Scott has built with it.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!

GPUI

01:24 Electron, Tauri, and the Trouble With Web Views

04:05 Enter GPUI: Why We Don’t Take Money to Talk About Tools

05:32 Brought to you by Sentry.io

05:59 What GPUI Is: GPU Accelerated, Cross Platform, Native All the Way Down

06:50 A React Like API in Rust: Divs, Flex, and Chained Methods

09:35 Components, Props, and State in GPUI

Scott’s GPUI Demo Gist

11:21 How Much of CSS Does GPUI Actually Reimplement?

12:52 Flexbox Everywhere, But Where Is CSS Grid?

14:17 Where Does Your App Logic Live? No RPC Layer Needed

15:53 Render vs RenderOnce: Stateful and Static Components

16:57 GPUI Kit: The shadcn of GPUI

18:46 GPUI CE: The Community Fork and Ecosystem Tension

21:29 Apps Scott Built With GPUI: Gendo, File Bro, and Mr. Space

22:48 Why Tiny Utility Apps Should Stay Tiny

24:25 File Bro: File Automations a la Hazel

25:27 Mr. Space: Building a macOS Window Manager

27:05 The Downsides: No Native UI Elements and No Browser DOM

Scott’s Rust Best Practices Skill

29:56 Testing GPUI Apps With Jev and the Accessibility Tree

gpui-agent

30:39 GPUI Mobile: Experimental, But It Works

GPUI Kit Mobile Docs

gpui-mobile

31:52 Final Verdict: GPUI for Personal Desktop Software

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Is Jev actually a leap forward for classification or just hype and fake demos? We dig in, plus Claude Code’s new AGENTS.md support, TinyCast (the free, open-source Raycast alternative), an iPhone Fold simulator in Xcode, and a stack of dev tools you’ll want to try

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!

01:17 The iPhone Fold Simulator and Foldable Web APIs

Features behind a flag

Syntax Meetup in San Francisco

07:03 Claude Code Finally Supports agents.md
Changelog

11:42 Using Your Claude Subscription Inside PI

13:07 Raycast Pricing Changes and the Rise of Tinycast

18:24 Our Most Used Raycast Features

21:22 Browser Hopping: Back on Helium After Ditching Dia

22:12 1Password’s Redesign and Reliability Problems

23:11 Jev Explained: A Model That Only Answers Questions

31:59 CJ’s Jev Chat Bot Demo With MCP Tools

36:09 The Kevs in the Room: Open Source Jev Alternatives

Cloudflare’s Kev

Jared Palmer’s Kev

45:39 What We’ve Actually Built With Jev So Far

Jev Benchmarks

51:59 Brought to you by Sentry.io

52:55 GPUI Kit: Building Native Rust Desktop Apps

58:07 Antfu’s DevFrame: A Framework for Building Dev Tools

59:45 Where Is the Line on Using AI in Video Editing?

Runwayml Upscaling

01:06:00 AI Upscaled Security Photos and Internet Detectives

01:08:07 Qwen Image 2.1 and Real Transparent Backgrounds

01:10:18 AI Generated Posters Don’t Have to Be Horrible

01:13:28 Orca: A GUI for Wrangling Your Fleet of Agents

01:15:37 Grok 4.7 First Impressions and Its Pricing

01:18:58 Waiting on Google and Microsoft’s Big Models

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Scott and Wes talk about how non-developers are actually using AI today. They also cover the stuff they don’t think holds up, like AI-staged listings and automated marketing.

Show Notes

00:00 Intro

00:38 Welcome to Syntax!

Wes’ post about using AI

01:50 Finding Parts With AI: Van Buckles and Weird Bolts

03:59 Brought to you by Sentry!

04:37 Fixing Printers, Drivers, and Annoying Home Network Stuff

Skylight Calendar

05:32 Rescuing E-Waste: Flashing a Broken Skylight Calendar

08:42 Red Tape, Permits, and Filling Out Awful PDF Forms

09:57 Self-Hosting Made Easy: Updating Your NAS and Docker Containers

11:18 Fighting Home Assistant Rot With Agents

13:20 Inbox and Calendar Management for a Family of Six

18:05 AI in Real Estate and Property Staging

Real Estate Canada subreddit

21:10 Using Agents for Video Editing and Multicam Automation

23:53 GFX.computer: Building Better Infographics

25:59 Things That Won’t Hold Up: Generated Text and Automated Marketing

30:27 Home Lab Management Over Tailscale and SSH

32:46 3D Printing Parts With Nurb: Stands, Cases, and Airflow

Nurb

34:51 MCP Servers for Software You Only Use Occasionally

36:58 Travel Planning: Great at Logistics, Terrible at Taste

39:31 Proposals and Job Applications: Everybody Sounds the Same

42:14 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs

Sick Picks

Scott: Nomadix Backpack

Wes: Silicone chair socks

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Scott, Wes, and CJ break down developing for the iPhone Duo with the Device Posture and Viewport Segments APIs, plus the React 19.3 release and Pi’s new Radius platform. Also on deck: Tailwind joining Shopify, Shopify going back to native, Homebrew 7, Aeropeek, and Meta’s Muse Agent.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!

01:05 React 19.3

05:30 Pi announces Radius

15:26 iPhone Duo Initial Reactions

iPhone Duo for developers

22:35 Developing for the iPhone Duo

Viewport Segments API

Device Posture API

WebKit Standards Positions

Jen Simmons’ post

32:16 Syntax Meetup in SF

32:52 Brought to you by Sentry!

33:10 Tailwind Labs is joining Shopify

35:36 Native is the Future of Mobile at Shopify

40:23 Herdr remote agents

46:13 Homebrew 7 Released

50:55 Meta Muse AI Agent

01:00:19 Scott’s Switzerland Trip

ZurichJS Conference

01:07:25 Mic FX from Teenage Engineering

01:10:46 Three.js conference Badge

More amazing badges

01:13:29 Don’t let anyone take away your big box of cables

01:16:22 Aerospace Tiling Manager

AeroPeek

01:24:26 Scott’s new backpack

01:26:52 Claude, change this button to blue

Hacker News post

01:31:23 Knap markdown template language

Comark plugin

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Scott and Wes dig into a listener mailbag full of AI questions: how to bill freelance work when the tools make you faster, whether coding still matters in interviews, and if the AI bubble is about to pop. Plus sandboxing your agents, managing block-based CMS chaos, and what it takes to leave a stable job when you’re risk averse.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!

01:09 Freelance Billing in the Age of AI: Who Gets the Speed Savings?

04:33 Value Based Pricing and Leveling Up Your Skills

06:37 Will Writing Code Become Irrelevant in Job Interviews?

Ghostty, Superlogical

Better Auth

11:05 Finding Human Answers in a Sea of AI Slop

14:57 Trust and Community Are the New Currency

15:49 Nobody Watches Conference Talks Anymore

AI Engineer

18:18 Is the AI Bubble Going to Pop?

The AI Bubble Survives on $1.65 Trillion in Hidden Debt

24:07 Where Is All the Software AI Was Supposed to Build?

26:19 AI Fatigue: When All You Do Is Review Code

True Cost of AI Coding

30:03 Managing Large Block Based CMS Systems

Fimo

Sanity

38:57 Taking the Leap: Leaving a Stable Job as a Risk Averse Dev

43:45 Sandboxing Your Agents Instead of Running YOLO Mode

CJ’s Video: Every Developer Should Know This

Docker

45:38 Will AI Companies Fingerprint and Ad Target You?

Colemak

Web Audio API

Brave on X

49:36 Labeling YouTube Exclusive Episodes for Podcast Listeners

52:16 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs

Sick Picks

Scott: Sandpaper Pads, Jellyfin, Apps2Samsung

Wes: Hisense TV

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