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Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)

news.ycombinator.com

181–190 of 823 posts

Re: Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)

#181
I’ve been building a dark software factory. A system that takes stray thoughts and automatically plans and builds.

I’ve built two (successful) iterations and am now working on the third. They are all very minimal.

The main one works well and runs full time waiting for my next idea. The second targeted an open weights model and worked in limited cases.

Now I’m working on a more autonomous version. I give it only a goal and a strategy, it decides its own projects.

Re: Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)

#183
At the beginning of this year I was fractional CTO at a small b2b startup and was surprised by how what I considered to be the basic requirements of a customer support platform was split across multiple tools and all priced per-user. This essentially forced a small team to limit who in the org had visibility into what was being communicated to customers.

I set out to solve that with https://stayupfront.com and now that the build is in a good place i’m finally having to bite the bullet and learn marketing. I’m also realising that all the advice to start with marketing first was probably good advice!

Re: Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)

#184
I'm buildingan open-source way to fill U.S. immigration forms without fighting clunky PDFs

Github: https://github.com/athos2113/fillvisa-os

Demo: https://fillvisa.com/demo/

US Immigration still relies on outdated XFA PDFs - you can't fill them on your browser. Most immigrants end up printing the form and fill it manually.

So, I converted the PDF forms into smart web forms. They are replica of the official USCIS forms and follow conditonal logic. In the output, you get the official USCIS pdf form filled.

Re: Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)

#185
I'm working on a way to make some pretty advanced software in a single HTML file.

The idea is simple: store state you'd normally store in a separate database in the document itself.

Then, also give the the document a bunch of powerful APIs granted to it by its host:

(1) Sync changes to the document with live collaborators

(2) Extract data from the document using a simple JSON map config

(3) Boot up a full content CMS from the same simple JSON map config

(4) More features added every month

I'm really excited with even the tiny bit of early traction I've gotten. About a dozen paying users so far.

Long term, I'd love to have this file type (vanilla HTML file + some extra features granted by the host) become a file type other companies offer tools and their own hosting for (like Wordpress).

Hosted platform: https://hyperclay.com

Native offline apps (source available, almost MIT license):

- https://htmlclay.com

- https://hyperclaylocal.com

Re: Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)

#186
I’m building https://www.freefocusgames.com, a free collection of browser-based attention and working-memory exercises, including Dual N-Back, Stroop, Schulte tables, attention-control exercises, and memory games.

I started it because I wanted simple brain-training exercises that didn’t require an account, app install, or subscription.

It’s also open source: https://github.com/loethen/freefocusgames

Re: Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)

#187
I'm working on a new independent LaTeX engine written in Rust and no C dependencies at all. You can see it working at https://telox.dev/app/scratchpad/

There's currently not a way to invert LaTeX engine output for bidirectional editing. So you can't easily drag objects around or interact with the page on LaTeX. That's what I'm setting out to change in the name of mathematical exposition.

I have more details on my plans here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49689856

I've experimented with a few ways of making the editing realtime and I'm getting in the 10 millisecond ballpark on some edits, but I want to work backwards from the light speed path to see what it takes (besides a lot of time).

Re: Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)

#188
Inbound message AI assistant. Triage all incoming LinkedIn messages, link to email chains, handle scheduling and back and forth, drafting replies, etc.

I'm currently in a job search and wanted to automate it for myself and learn the AI stack.

If anyone wants to try it out lmk!

Re: Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)

#189
I am working on an SRS based early literacy acquisition webapp: https://letterspractice.com

The app has recently moved into production, so I'd encourage anyone with verbal but pre-literate kids to check it out.

The basic pitch is high efficiency acquisition of the highest yield phonetic mapping skills, and nothing else. I myself am something of a screen-time zealot and very wary of applying engagement mind hacks against kids. The narrow focus allows for good progress on a very modest schedule (recommended cap at n minutes per day for n years old, n >= 2). I defer the social and cultural aspects of learning to read entirely to parents.

It is mostly intended for parent-child co-use, although kids with a bit of experience can drive many of their own sessions most of the time.

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