Show HN: Xkcd #2347 lived in my head, so I built the dependency tower for real

#1

Post by matzehuels » Thu, Dec 04, 2025, 3:41 PM UTC

I finally got tired of XKCD #2347 living rent-free in my head, so I built Stacktower: a tool that takes any real package’s dependency graph and turns it into an actual tower of bricks. Along the way I had to wrestle some surprisingly spicy problems.

Full blog post here: https://stacktower.io

The result is half visualization tool, half love letter to the chaos of modern dependency trees. Open-source, works with PyPI, Cargo, npm, and more.

Code: https://github.com/matzehuels/stacktower

Show HN: Xkcd #2347 lived in my head, so I built the dependency tower for real
stacktower.io

Re: Show HN: Xkcd #2347 lived in my head, so I built the dependency tower for real

#2

Post by MisterTea » Thu, Dec 04, 2025, 3:54 PM UTC

The Github link you posted is broken. https://github.com/matzehuels/stacktower

edit, forgot to add: should have a gallery of dependency towers for a few different projects to illustrate the programs ability.

Re: Show HN: Xkcd #2347 lived in my head, so I built the dependency tower for real

#3

Post by matzehuels » Thu, Dec 04, 2025, 3:55 PM UTC

MisterTea wrote: post #2

The Github link you posted is broken. https://github.com/matzehuels/stacktower edit, forgot to add: should have a gallery of dependency towers for a few different projects to illustrate the programs ability.

thanks, fixed it!

Re: Show HN: Xkcd #2347 lived in my head, so I built the dependency tower for real

#4

Post by matzehuels » Thu, Dec 04, 2025, 4:01 PM UTC

MisterTea wrote: post #2

The Github link you posted is broken. https://github.com/matzehuels/stacktower edit, forgot to add: should have a gallery of dependency towers for a few different projects to illustrate the programs ability.

The gallery is right there! (https://stacktower.io/#gallery/python/openai). I'll need to make this more clear :)

Re: Show HN: Xkcd #2347 lived in my head, so I built the dependency tower for real

#5

Post by samtheDamned » Thu, Dec 04, 2025, 11:46 PM UTC

This is excellent!

Re: Show HN: Xkcd #2347 lived in my head, so I built the dependency tower for real

#6

Post by MisterTea » Fri, Dec 05, 2025, 1:19 PM UTC

matzehuels wrote: post #4

MisterTea wrote: post #2

The Github link you posted is broken. https://github.com/matzehuels/stacktower edit, forgot to add: should have a gallery of dependency towers for a few different projects to illustrate the programs ability.

The gallery is right there! ( https://stacktower.io/#gallery/python/openai ). I'll need to make this more clear :)

Ah, I did not notice the text at the top. It sorta disappears into the background.