Show HN Daily Selection (2025-09-19)
- I created a small 2D game about an ant
- The text disappears when you screenshot it
- Nanobot – Turn MCP servers into full AI agents
- One prompt generates an app with its own database
- KSON, a love-letter to the humans maintaining computer configuration
- Continuum Game (68k Mac) Ported to JavaScript
- Supercharging RL with Hyper-Efficient Online Opt, +165% in 2h, $10
- SandBox – AI agents simulating possible futures
- Burnt US Dollars
- Diamants, an open-source drone swarm to fight wildfires
- Made NZ's member of parliament financial disclosure data searchable
I created a small 2D game about an ant [Entertainment]
17 points, 4 comments
A short 2D game where you play as an ant feeding on apples.
- Randomly generated landscapes with chaotic placement of clouds and trees
- Simple, fun gameplay focused on feeding the ant
- Developed in a few days as a personal project
Discussion Link, Original Link
The text disappears when you screenshot it [Other]
518 points, 182 comments
Text disappears when screenshotted.
- Anti-screenshot feature
- Privacy protection
Discussion Link, Original Link
Nanobot – Turn MCP servers into full AI agents [Developer Tools]
14 points, 0 comments
Nanobot is an open-source framework that transforms MCP servers into interactive AI agents with reasoning and rich UI components.
- Converts MCP servers into full AI agents with system prompts and orchestration
- Supports MCP-UI for embedding interactive components like forms and dashboards in chat
- Enables agents to guide users and render dynamic experiences (e.g., interactive Blackjack tables)
- Designed for applications ranging from games to e-commerce and developer tools
- Open-source with a live demo showcasing a Blackjack agent
Discussion Link, Original Link
One prompt generates an app with its own database [Developer Tools]
56 points, 43 comments
A prompt-based mini app builder that generates shareable apps with their own databases in under 2 minutes.
- No sign-up required, with real-time visibility of creations
- Each app includes a dedicated database and backend
- Built on a multi-tenant graph database using Postgres and EAV tables
- Uses custom statistics and count-min sketches for query optimization
- Tested with GPT-5, Claude Opus, and Claude Sonnet, with GPT-5 being the most compliant but least detailed
- Focuses on personal, fun software rather than production-grade apps
- Prompt iteration led to better results with example-based instructions
Discussion Link, Original Link
KSON, a love-letter to the humans maintaining computer configuration [Developer Tools]
20 points, 6 comments
KSON is a human-friendly configuration language that enhances JSON/YAML with better tooling, robustness, and usability.
- Verified superset of JSON with native JSON Schema support
- Transpiles cleanly to YAML while preserving comments
- Supports multiple platforms (JS/TS, Python, Rust, JVM, Kotlin Multiplatform)
- Integrates with developer tools (VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, LSP)
- Open-source (Apache-2.0) with a focus on approachability and developer experience
Discussion Link, Original Link
Continuum Game (68k Mac) Ported to JavaScript [Entertainment]
4 points, 0 comments
JavaScript port of the classic 68k Mac game Continuum, aided by AI and using Redux for state management.
- Original game was a smooth-scrolling arcade masterpiece from 1984
- Ported with assistance from Claude Code and Gemini CLI for 68k assembly translation
- Entire game state managed via Redux, including physics and movement
- Debuggable in Redux Toolkit debugger
- Source code released as MIT licensed
- Faithful to original with some known bugs documented on GitHub
Discussion Link, Original Link
Supercharging RL with Hyper-Efficient Online Opt, +165% in 2h, $10 [Developer Tools]
31 points, 3 comments
Supercharging reinforcement learning with hyper-efficient online optimization, achieving +165% performance in 2 hours for $10.
- Hyper-efficient online optimization
- +165% performance improvement in 2 hours
- Low cost at $10
Discussion Link, Original Link
SandBox – AI agents simulating possible futures [Research]
3 points, 0 comments
SandBox is a tool for exploring possible futures using autonomous AI agents to simulate scenarios and decision impacts.
- Generates speculative news and events based on scenario settings
- Visualizes ripple effects of small decisions over time
- Runs multiple agent-based simulations in parallel
- Built with Python, LangGraph, and Azure OpenAI
- Includes a front-end for visualization
- Open-source and in active development
Discussion Link, Original Link
Burnt US Dollars [Other]
4 points, 3 comments
Art project exploring stablecoins through burnt US dollar imagery.
- Visual representation of stablecoin concept
- Provocative artistic statement on currency value
- Interactive element with physical burned bills
Discussion Link, Original Link
Diamants, an open-source drone swarm to fight wildfires [Consumer Tech]
3 points, 0 comments
Open-source drone swarm designed to combat wildfires in high-risk areas like Southern France.
- Targets wildfire prevention and suppression in vulnerable regions
- Open-source framework for community collaboration and improvement
- Aims to assist firefighters with advanced aerial support
Discussion Link, Original Link
Made NZ's member of parliament financial disclosure data searchable [Finance]
11 points, 1 comments
A searchable interface for New Zealand MPs' financial disclosures, extracted from PDFs and made accessible online.
- Converts unwieldy PDF disclosures into structured, searchable data
- Allows filtering by MP name, company, interest type, or political party
- Uses a two-pass data extraction approach with AI (Gemini 2.5 Flash)
- Open-source and lightweight tech stack (Ruby on Rails, SQLite, Tailwind)
- Plans to expand to historical data and local council disclosures