926: RSS Is NOT Dead
Scott and CJ explore why RSS still matters and how it’s more underused than outdated. They discuss how to self-host RSS readers, escape the noise of the modern web, and reclaim a cleaner, ad-free reading experience across devices. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:09 Brought to you by Sentry.io 02:41 What is RSS and how does it work? RSS Atom (web standard) JSON Feed 06:14 Hosting your own RSS server: Miniflux, FreshRSS, and more Miniflux FreshRSS 11:00 Decluttering the web with article scraping 12:38 Best RSS clients for desktop and mobile Capy Reader Google Reader ReadKit Pocket is shutting down wallabag mymind 18:51 Where to find RSS feeds The Brutalist Report Programming Subreddit Hacker News BlueSky Shameless Plugs Syntax YouTube Channel: Cursor User Tries Claude Code Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads
6 Aug 29min
925: Scott & CJ’s Fave Productivity Apps & Web Apps
Scott and CJ go full productivity nerd, swapping notes on their favorite web apps for writing, coding, planning, and more. From terminals to to-do lists to dumb phones, it’s a deep dive into the tools powering their workflows. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:35 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 01:56 Text to speech or speech to text. 02:20 Superwhisper. 08:29 Kiro. 16:16 CJ’s current editor preference. 17:59 Finding the right editor. 18:47 Terminals. 20:22 Ghostty. 24:16 Note-taking. 26:32 Obsidian. 30:24 Logseq. 31:03 Todo lists. 31:08 Tweek.so 34:42 Trello. 37:25 Notion Calendar. 38:55 Email. 43:21 FairEmail. 43:43 Dumb phones. 45:10 Olauncher 47:39 Audio Bookshelf. Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads
4 Aug 51min
924: Sync Engines and Local Data
Wes and Scott talk about local-first sync engines—why they matter, what makes apps feel fast, and which platforms stand out. From LiveStore to Convex to Instant DB, they break down the pros and cons of each and debate what the “next React” might look like in a local-first future. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:52 Intro to local data: what makes apps feel fast 05:08 Could the next React be a local-first sync engine? 08:23 LiveStore 18:01 Zero 21:58 Instant DB 24:18 Brought to you by Sentry.io 24:43 Convex 27:54 ElectricSQL 29:48 PowerSync and PartyKit 30:51 Choosing the right sync engine 40:34 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs Sick Picks Scott: Rummikub Wes: Headphone covers Shameless Plugs Syntax YouTube Channel Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads
30 Juli 46min
923: Getting the Most Out of AI Coding
Scott and Wes share their top strategies for getting high-quality results from AI coding tools like Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT, and Windsurf. From better prompting to building reusable rule sets, they cover practical tips for making AI your most productive coding partner. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! Wes' Tweet 02:56 How to get the best results when using AI. 03:15 Scaffold it out yourself. 05:40 Be clear with your prompts. 07:45 Use XML tags around specific items 08:47 Utilize Rules like Cursor rules or Copilot rules. 13:20 Ask it to create some rules based on an existing codebase. 16:03 Break things down into clear concise actionable items. 17:22 Where to store your rules files. 18:37 Utilizing llm.txt files. 19:24 Context7. 20:28 Tag relevant files, functions, etc. 21:38 Feed logs back into the AI. 22:36 Logging Errors. 22:54 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 24:14 Long running chats get worse. Wes' Tweet Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads
28 Juli 26min
922: Pre-commit Hooks, requestAnimationFrame, Code Reviews, and More
In this potluck episode of Syntax, Wes and Scott answer your questions about code reviews, migrating legacy apps, CSS attr() use cases, pre-commit hooks, the future of creative web development, whether front-end devs need to be full-stack, and more! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:43 When is the appropriate time to use requestAnimationFrame? 05:10 How do you handle code reviews on larger teams? 13:08 When to use the CSS attr() function 19:01 The future of browsing websites and the impact of AI 28:45 Brought to you by Sentry.io 29:10 Navigating browser preview in VS Code 31:31 Pre-populating email content with mailto 34:29 Is there increasing pressure for front-end developers to become full-stack? 43:14 What pre-commit checks should you run and how? 46:16 How do you deal with a poorly-built codebase when you already have thousands of active users? 50:05 What GitHub Copilot features should you disable while you’re learning something new? 52:22 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs Sick Picks Scott: WOLFBOX MF100 Electric Air Duster Wes: Competition Kettlebells Shameless Plugs Syntax YouTube Channel Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads
23 Juli 58min
921: AI Coding Roadmap for Newbies (And Skeptics)
Scott and Wes break down how to code with and for AI; perfect for skeptics, beginners, and curious devs. They cover everything from Ghost Text and CLI agents to building your own AI-powered apps with embeddings, function calling, and multi-model workflows. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 03:56 How to interface with AI. 04:07 IDE Ghost Text. 05:45 IDE Chat, Agents. 08:00 CLI Agents. Claude Code. Open Code. Gemini. 11:13 MCP Servers. Context7 14:47 GUI apps. v0. Bolt.new. Lovable. Windsurf. 19:07 Existing Chat app like ChatGPT. 22:37 Building things WITH AI. 23:32 Prompting. 26:53 Streaming VS not streaming. 28:14 Embeddings and Rag. 31:09 MCP Server. CJ’s MCP Deep Dive. 32:36 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 33:25 Multi-model, multi-provider. 36:27 npm libs to use to code with AI. OpenAI SDK. AI SDK. Cloudflare Agents. Langchain. Local AI Tensorflow. Transformers.js. Huggingface. 44:12 Processes and exploring. Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads
21 Juli 48min
920: How to Build MCP Servers
Wes and Scott talk about how developers can expose powerful tools to AI using the Model Context Protocol. They discuss tool calling, remote MCP specs, authentication, and real-world use cases that make AI more capable through smarter integrations. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:36 What is MCP? 07:23 MCP tools 11:33 MCP resources 13:43 Saving reusable prompts 16:18 Creating and validating MCP tools 18:31 Brought to you by Sentry.io 18:31 Tool calling vs MCP servers 21:28 Remote vs local MCP servers mcp-remote 26:24 Useful MCP servers mcp-server-cloudflare use-mcp awesome-mcp-servers 32:48 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs Sick Picks Scott: Mario Kart World Wes: anyloop Kid’s Watch Shameless Plugs Syntax YouTube Channel Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads
16 Juli 37min
919: Better Auth with Better Auth
Scott and Wes recap the current state of web authentication and explore how Better Auth simplifies the whole process. With built-in plugins, modern features, and no need to hand-roll your own solution, Better Auth makes secure login a breeze for developers. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:59 Scott’s history with authentication. 02:05 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 03:15 My opinion has changed on auth. 04:40 Current authentication options. 06:32 Arctic. 06:56 OpenAUTH. 07:36 Auth.js. 08:02 Better Auth. 10:45 Better Auth CLI. 11:37 Email integration. 12:09 Hooks and Tokens. 13:43 CAPTCHA Integration. 14:36 Database Integration. 15:04 Integrations. 15:19 Plugin Ecosystem. 17:40 Admin features. 19:41 The Docs. Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads
14 Juli 26min
