Nicholas C. Zakas — Independent software developer, author, and coach, creator of ESLint, and former principal engineer at Yahoo and Box, sharing expertise in JavaScript, developer tooling, career growth, and sustainable software practices.
17 articles from this blog
A beginner-friendly guide to Git worktrees, explaining how they enable parallel development and efficient branch management.
Guide to testing Expo React Native apps on physical Android devices via USB and local dev server.
GitHub Copilot switches to usage-based pricing, passing AI costs to users after years of subsidies.
Learn how to create a VS Code agent hook that automatically responds to file changes, like regenerating TypeScript types when a config file is edited.
Explains how GitHub merge queue improves developer velocity by automating pull request merging and reducing manual CI babysitting.
A guide to proxying fetch() requests in Node.js, Deno, Bun, and Cloudflare Workers for logging, caching, and security.
Explains why creating documentation and other artifacts is crucial for traceability and maintenance in professional AI-assisted software development.
Explores the AI-driven evolution of software engineering from autocomplete to autonomous agents, shifting the developer's role from coder to orchestrator.
Analysis of npm supply chain attacks in 2025 and a critique of GitHub's security response, proposing stronger measures.
A developer shares a method for using AI personas like Product Manager and Architect to improve AI-assisted programming workflows for non-trivial changes.
Introduces Crosspost, an npm CLI tool and MCP server for posting to multiple social media platforms (Twitter, Mastodon, etc.) from the command line or via Claude Desktop.
Introduces Mentoss, a new JavaScript library designed to mock fetch() requests for testing, focusing on developer experience and documentation.
A guide for software engineers on structuring technical presentations using a storytelling framework to engage audiences effectively.
A developer recounts how a forgotten DNS record allowed someone to hijack a subdomain via an abandoned S3 bucket, discovered only through Google Analytics alerts.
A developer details their journey implementing a 3-2-1 backup strategy using a Synology NAS to protect personal and work data from cloud dependency risks.
Explores how senior engineers must shift from assigned tasks to self-managing a complex mix of projects, tasks, and priorities.
Explains the technical distinction between JavaScript engines (like V8) and JavaScript runtimes (like Node.js), clarifying their roles and components.
