Show HN Daily Selection (2025-10-20)
- Duck-UI – Browser-Based SQL IDE for DuckDB
- Pyversity – Fast Result Diversification for Retrieval and RAG
- Browser-based PDF form fields detection (YOLO-based)
- Web-directive.js – A directive pattern for native HTML
- Syna – Minimal ML and RL Framework Built from Scratch with NumPy
- MarkdownConverters – Convert any file format to clean Markdown
- HN Terminal Theme Browser Extension
- CheckHN – A checklist for the most popular Hacker News posts
- Nova: Open-source solution for CAD file conflicts
- Photerra – One app to discover hidden gems, plan with friends, and book
- Proxmox-GitOps: Container Automation Metaframework (Recursive Monorepo)
- EloqDoc: MongoDB-Compatible Doc DB with Object Storage as First Citizen
- 17 Y/O built my second app: Omegle for Indie Hackers and Builders
- C and C++ preprocessor for modern memory safety
- Notepad.exe – macOS editor for Swift and Python (now Linux runtime)
Duck-UI – Browser-Based SQL IDE for DuckDB [Developer Tools]
173 points, 54 comments
A browser-based SQL IDE for DuckDB that runs entirely in the browser via WebAssembly, enabling local data analysis without a backend.
- Runs DuckDB in-browser using WebAssembly
- Supports importing CSV, JSON, Parquet, and Arrow files (local or remote)
- Features SQL autocomplete, syntax highlighting, and query history
- Data persists via OPFS (survives browser refresh)
- Optional connection to external DuckDB servers
- One-liner Docker deployment or Node 20+ dev server
- Privacy-focused (no data leaves the browser)
- Works on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari
- Open-source (Apache 2.0 licensed)
Discussion Link, Original Link
Pyversity – Fast Result Diversification for Retrieval and RAG [Developer Tools]
65 points, 7 comments
Pyversity is a lightweight Python library for diversifying retrieval results to balance relevance and diversity efficiently.
- Unified API supporting multiple strategies (MMR, MSD, DPP, COVER)
- Minimal dependency (only NumPy) for easy installation
- Fast processing with millisecond-level diversification
- Improves retrieval, recommendation, and RAG pipelines without added latency
Discussion Link, Original Link
Browser-based PDF form fields detection (YOLO-based) [Developer Tools]
16 points, 1 comments
A browser-based tool for detecting and adding PDF form fields using YOLO-based models.
- Uses open models (FFDNet-S and FFDNet-L) trained on 55k documents
- Fully browser-based implementation with ONNX runtime
- Supports both detection and field addition
- Plans to release a browser library for easier deployment
- Built on Joe Barrow's CommonForms project
Discussion Link, Original Link
Web-directive.js – A directive pattern for native HTML [Developer Tools]
10 points, 2 comments
A lightweight library enabling directive patterns in native HTML without frameworks, inspired by Vue.js.
- Implements directive patterns in native HTML
- No dependency on frameworks
- Inspired by Vue.js functionality
Discussion Link, Original Link
Syna – Minimal ML and RL Framework Built from Scratch with NumPy [Developer Tools]
6 points, 0 comments
Syna is a minimal ML and RL framework built from scratch with NumPy for educational purposes, featuring a built-in reinforcement learning module and real-time neural network visualization.
- Built entirely with NumPy for simplicity and clarity
- Includes a basic reinforcement learning module within the framework
- Designed for educational use to understand ML internals
- Features a web app for real-time visualization of neural network training
- Inspired by DeZero and uses a define-by-run (dynamic graph) approach
Discussion Link, Original Link
MarkdownConverters – Convert any file format to clean Markdown [Text]
4 points, 0 comments
A tool that converts various file formats (PDF, DOCX, PPTX, HTML, URLs) into clean, structured Markdown for AI pipelines, documentation, or version control.
- Accurate structure preservation (headings, lists, tables, code, links)
- Consistent Markdown output optimized for LLMs or docs
- Fast, browser-based conversion with privacy-friendly processing
- Supports multi-format and URL inputs
- Useful for RAG, embeddings, or text preprocessing workflows
Discussion Link, Original Link
HN Terminal Theme Browser Extension [Design]
4 points, 1 comments
A terminal-style browser extension to improve Hacker News' visual appearance.
- Transforms Hacker News into a terminal-like interface
- Lightweight and customizable
- Open-source with no restrictions on usage
- Not available on Chrome Web Store (manual installation required)
Discussion Link, Original Link
CheckHN – A checklist for the most popular Hacker News posts [Productivity]
3 points, 0 comments
A web app for tracking and organizing all-time popular Hacker News posts.
- Displays Hacker News posts sorted by popularity
- Allows users to check off or save posts for later
- Helps users keep track of which posts they've already read
Discussion Link, Original Link
Nova: Open-source solution for CAD file conflicts [Developer Tools]
8 points, 0 comments
Nova is an open-source file locking system designed to prevent CAD file conflicts for engineering teams.
- Supports multiple CAD software with real-time file locking
- Includes a live dashboard to keep design engineers in sync
- Built with Python and Next.js
- Easy setup via Git clone and pip installation
- Targets hardware startups and teams struggling with expensive PDM solutions
Discussion Link, Original Link
Photerra – One app to discover hidden gems, plan with friends, and book [Travel]
3 points, 3 comments
Photerra is a travel planning app that transforms geolocated photos into mappable spots for organizing trips, collaborating with friends, and booking.
- Converts photos with GPS data into precise map locations for accurate trip planning
- Combines discovery, planning, coordination, and booking in a single workflow
- Features community-sourced spots from real photos for off-the-beaten-path recommendations
- Supports both major trips and local exploration with one-tap navigation
- Available on iOS and Android with initial content in select US and international locations
Discussion Link, Original Link
Proxmox-GitOps: Container Automation Metaframework (Recursive Monorepo) [Developer Tools]
7 points, 1 comments
Proxmox-GitOps is an open-source Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) platform for automating Linux container provisioning and orchestration on Proxmox VE using a recursive monorepo approach.
- Recursive self-management: Bootstraps and provisions itself via a monorepository pushed to a local instance.
- Monorepository design: Centralizes infrastructure as IaC using Git submodules for modular composition.
- Git as single source of truth: Represents the desired state of the infrastructure.
- Loose coupling: Containers operate independently of the control plane for flexibility.
- Noncommercial and extensible: Designed for home automation and collaboration.
Discussion Link, Original Link
EloqDoc: MongoDB-Compatible Doc DB with Object Storage as First Citizen [Developer Tools]
10 points, 8 comments
EloqDoc is an open-source MongoDB-compatible document database optimized for object storage, decoupled scaling, and ACID transactions.
- Uses object storage (e.g., S3) as primary durability with NVMe caching for cost efficiency and performance
- Decouples compute and storage for independent scaling without data movement
- Provides true ACID transactions with fast distributed consistency
- Natively distributed with multi-writer support, eliminating manual sharding
- Fully compatible with MongoDB clients and drivers
Discussion Link, Original Link
17 Y/O built my second app: Omegle for Indie Hackers and Builders [ChatBots]
4 points, 0 comments
Omegle for indie hackers and builders, created by a 17-year-old.
- Connects indie hackers and builders randomly
- Second app developed by a 17-year-old
- Inspired by Omegle's random chat concept
Discussion Link, Original Link
C and C++ preprocessor for modern memory safety [Developer Tools]
5 points, 2 comments
A preprocessor for C and C++ that enhances memory safety with zero-configuration builds.
- Enhances memory safety in C and C++
- Requires no configuration for builds
- Modernizes legacy codebases
Discussion Link, Original Link
Notepad.exe – macOS editor for Swift and Python (now Linux runtime) [Developer Tools]
38 points, 47 comments
Notepad.exe is a macOS editor for Swift and Python prototyping with added Linux runtime support.
- Minimal setup for quick code prototyping
- Supports Swift and Python
- Run code directly without project scaffolding
- Added Linux runtime for cross-environment execution
- Designed for macOS with potential workflow integration feedback sought