UUID v7 vs. ULID: Which Sortable ID Should You Choose?
For a long time, if you wanted a primary key that was both unique and chronological, you reached for ULID. It was the perfect “indie” solution to the randomn...
Stop Making Ugly Apps: Simple Tailwind Tricks for Backend Developers
I know the feeling of opening a blank index.html.erb file and having no idea how to make it look “premium.” You have the Rails backend working perfectly, but...
The Better Primary Key: A Guide to ULIDs for Rails Developers
In a previous article, I talked about Snowflake IDs. They are great, but they require a bit of configuration because you need to manage “Worker IDs.”
Stop Chasing Hype: Why I Chose Postgres Over ‘New-Age’ Databases
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been tempted by a “revolutionary” new database.
n8n vs ByteChef: Which Automation Engine Should You Self-Host?
Automating the “glue work” of a SaaS business is a survival skill for a solo developer. You need to sync Stripe payments to your database, send Discord alert...
Distributed Uniqueness: Implementing Twitter Snowflake IDs in Rails 8
When you run rails generate model, Rails defaults to using a standard auto-incrementing integer for your primary keys. Your first user is ID: 1, your second ...
The Vibe Coder’s Survival Guide: Concepts You Can’t Just Prompt Away
We are living in a wild time for software development. With tools like Cursor, Windsurf, and ChatGPT, you can “vibe” your way into a working application with...
The Perfect Zsh Setup: Oh My Zsh on CachyOS/Arch
If you want a terminal that tells you if a command is valid, predicts what you’re about to type, and shows your Git branches, follow this clean-slate guide.
Completing the Puzzle: Adding Signup and Password Resets to Rails 8 Auth
If you’ve tried the new rails generate authentication command in Rails 8, you know it’s a breath of fresh air. It gives you a solid, secure foundation for se...
Rails 8 Built-in Auth vs. Devise: Why the Default Finally Wins
For almost 15 years, if you wanted to build a Rails app with a login system, the answer was always the same: Devise.