Show HN Daily Selection (2025-07-17)

• A 'Choose Your Own Adventure' written in Emacs Org Mode
• Improving search ranking with chess Elo scores
• An MCP server that gives LLMs temporal awareness and time calculation
• DataRamen, a Fast SQL Explorer with Automatic Joins and Data Navigation
• Clippy – a better pbcopy for macOS that handles files properly
• Achieves Perfect 100 Score Across 6 Leading AI Model Evaluations
• Display Photos on a World Map
• GitGuard - Painless GitHub PR Automations
• Fast word game to test your vocab and speed
• Git Blame Made Interactive – Ask Your Git Repo Who Did What and When
• Infinite Canvas for Notes
• I Made a Simple Tool to Get English IPA Pronunciation Fast
• HN v0.2.1 – Native macOS app for reading HN
• Hot Take Generator – Turn your thoughts into hot takes
• I built a dream interpreter in JavaScript, no AI, no server, just logic
• Tlsinfo.me – check your JA3/JA4 TLS fingerprints
• Created a Chrome extension to practice typing on any website

A 'Choose Your Own Adventure' written in Emacs Org Mode [Education]

37 points, 3 comments

An interactive children's book about entrepreneurship and money management, created using Emacs Org Mode and Twinery for a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' experience.

• Written in Emacs Org Mode with custom tools (Twiorg and ox-twee) for seamless integration with Twinery
• Teaches money management through interactive storytelling with play money transactions
• Available in digital (web book) and physical formats
• Includes a sample storyline for previewing the interactive experience
• Open-source tools (Twiorg and ox-twee) available on GitHub for others to use

Discussion Link, Original Link

Improving search ranking with chess Elo scores [Developer Tools]

130 points, 42 comments

ZeroEntropy introduces state-of-the-art search rerankers trained using a novel Elo score-inspired pipeline for high-accuracy search infrastructure.

• Offers two new rerankers, zerank-1 and zerank-1-small, with one fully open-source under Apache 2.0
• Uses an Elo-style rating system (Bradley-Terry) to convert pairwise document comparisons into absolute scores
• Normalizes relevance scores across queries with bias correction via cross-query comparisons and MLE
• Available via API or HuggingFace for testing and integration
• Detailed technical report and blog post explaining the training methodology

Discussion Link, Original Link

An MCP server that gives LLMs temporal awareness and time calculation [Developer Tools]

70 points, 34 comments

An open-source MCP server that enables LLMs to perceive and calculate time, enhancing their contextual awareness.

• Provides temporal awareness via functions like current_datetime, time_difference, and timestamp_context
• Allows LLMs to detect pauses, analyze rhythms, and structure conversations
• Runs locally in under 60 seconds (Python) or via a hosted demo
• Explores potential extensions like location, weather, device state, and biometric cues
• Open-source with feedback and contributions encouraged

Discussion Link, Original Link

DataRamen, a Fast SQL Explorer with Automatic Joins and Data Navigation [Developer Tools]

43 points, 49 comments

DataRamen is a local-first SQL explorer designed for fast, intuitive data exploration without repetitive query writing.

• Automatic joins and related data navigation via right-click
• Keyboard-driven UI for quick navigation and filtering
• Named tabs with saved queries for easy access and comparison
• Instant edit and insert functionality without writing full queries
• Multi-DB support for connecting and searching across multiple databases
• Search across all columns even without knowing exact column names

Discussion Link, Original Link

Clippy – a better pbcopy for macOS that handles files properly [Developer Tools]

33 points, 13 comments

Clippy is a macOS tool that improves pbcopy by enabling proper file copying for GUI apps.

• Copies files (e.g., PDFs, images) for pasting into apps like Slack or email
• Handles piped input (e.g., curl image.png | clippy) as pasteable files
• Supports multiple files at once (e.g., clippy *.jpg)
• Maintains pbcopy functionality for text files
• Uses direct Objective-C bindings via CGo for efficiency
• Auto-cleans temporary files without AppleScript hacks

Discussion Link, Original Link

Achieves Perfect 100 Score Across 6 Leading AI Model Evaluations [Developer Tools]

5 points, 3 comments

TXT Blah Blah Blah Lite is an open-source plain-text AI reasoning engine that achieves perfect scores across six leading AI model evaluations.

• Runs fully offline as a single .txt file
• Generates 50 coherent answers within 60 seconds without training or external APIs
• Uses semantic boundary heatmaps to prevent hallucinations
• Beginner-friendly with clear documentation and customization options
• Open-source and rigorously evaluated with full transparency

Discussion Link, Original Link

Display Photos on a World Map [Image]

3 points, 1 comments

A tool to display photos on a world map in real-time, currently using cat pictures.

• Displays photos on an interactive world map
• Uses real-time updates for photo locations
• Currently features cat pictures as placeholder content
• Open-source project available on GitHub

Discussion Link, Original Link

GitGuard - Painless GitHub PR Automations [Developer Tools]

8 points, 4 comments

GitGuard simplifies GitHub PR automations with a custom DSL for enforcing policies without complex scripts.

• Enforces PR policies like required reviews, test checks, and labels via a simple DSL
• Runs instantly on PRs without waiting for GitHub Actions
• Supports stateful actions like adding labels or requesting reviews
• Allows emergency bypasses for hotfixes
• Reports policy violations in plain English

Discussion Link, Original Link

Fast word game to test your vocab and speed [Entertainment]

3 points, 0 comments

Fast word game to test vocabulary and speed by chaining words based on letters.

• Tests vocabulary by requiring a new word for each letter of the current word
• Dynamic gameplay where the last word becomes the next challenge
• Currently in beta, seeking user feedback

Discussion Link, Original Link

Git Blame Made Interactive – Ask Your Git Repo Who Did What and When [Developer Tools]

3 points, 0 comments

Interactive CLI tool for querying Git commit history using natural language.

• Open Source with configurable models (HF or OpenAI)
• Uses embeddings for semantic search via LangChain
• Fast local storage with ChromaDB
• Simple Typer-based CLI for managing embeddings
• Ideal for developers exploring version history

Discussion Link, Original Link

Infinite Canvas for Notes [Productivity]

3 points, 5 comments

Infinite Canvas for Notes

• Provides an unlimited workspace for note-taking
• Supports freeform organization of ideas and content

Discussion Link, Original Link

I Made a Simple Tool to Get English IPA Pronunciation Fast [Education]

3 points, 1 comments

Get English IPA pronunciation quickly with a simple tool.

• Fast IPA pronunciation lookup
• Simple and easy-to-use interface
• Designed for quick access to phonetic transcriptions

Discussion Link, Original Link

HN v0.2.1 – Native macOS app for reading HN [Consumer Tech]

7 points, 2 comments

Native macOS app for reading Hacker News with improved AI summaries and user experience.

• Remembers window size, position, and sidebar state between sessions
• Enhanced AI summaries with concise, relevant content and comment links
• Improved navigation and layout for smoother usability
• Upcoming local LLM support in future releases
• Free to use

Discussion Link, Original Link

Hot Take Generator – Turn your thoughts into hot takes [Text]

3 points, 2 comments

A tool that transforms random thoughts into tweetable hot takes using AI APIs.

• Converts stream-of-consciousness input into sharp, tweetable hot takes
• Supports OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google APIs
• Does not store user API keys
• Open-source and available on GitHub

Discussion Link, Original Link

I built a dream interpreter in JavaScript, no AI, no server, just logic [Life Assistant]

10 points, 4 comments

A browser-based dream interpreter using deterministic logic and a custom keyword engine to analyze dreams without AI or tracking.

• Runs entirely in the browser with no backend or server
• Uses a custom keyword engine with 300+ symbolic meanings
• Saves dream interpretations locally via localStorage
• Allows revisiting and reflecting on past dreams
• No AI or machine learning, purely deterministic logic

Discussion Link, Original Link

Tlsinfo.me – check your JA3/JA4 TLS fingerprints [Developer Tools]

3 points, 0 comments

A simple service to check JA3/JA4 TLS fingerprints via curl or browser requests.

• Returns JA3, JA3_r (raw), JA4, and JA4_r fingerprints
• No authentication required
• Supports QUIC
• Rate-limited at 10 requests per 10 seconds per IP
• Useful for TLS learning, debugging, client fingerprint analysis, and automation
• Can be integrated into tools or reverse proxies for fingerprint verification

Discussion Link, Original Link

Created a Chrome extension to practice typing on any website [Productivity]

3 points, 0 comments

A Chrome extension that lets users practice typing on any website's text.

• Free and open-source
• Practice typing on real text from any webpage
• Encourages user feedback for improvements
• Available on Chrome Web Store

Discussion Link, Original Link