Hey HN! We're so excited to show you ValTown (https://val.town)! A "val" is a JavaScript/TypeScript function or value that runs on our servers. We aim to get you from idea to running code in seconds: type code, run it, get its API endpoint, schedule it - all from the browser, in a couple keystrokes.
We're a startup of 4 people, mostly in NYC. We've been working on this for 6 months and are eager for feedback from the HN community.
Why do we need yet another online coding IDE? While researching devtools[1], I found myself wanting something halfway between Replit and Zapier: a tool that makes hosting, deploying, scheduling, and authenticating easy, but is first-and-foremost a programming tool.
We added `console.email` to the runtime to make it incredibly easy to email yourself. We don't have npm imports yet, but we do have a low-friction system that treats every user as a namespace, so you can refer to `@me.foo + 1` or `@yourFriend.bar()` right in your code. There are a lot of thorny implications this newfangled import scheme creates, but also many joyous and carefree coding experiences! One of my favorite features is that we store every evaluation, up and down the callstack, including inputs, outputs, logs, etc, which has been an amazing aid to debugging.
So far, ValTown is mostly used for what we're calling "programmatic notifications": query a data source for new items on an interval and email them to yourself.
A good place to get started would be forking one of those vals and modifying it to suit your needs. Some folks are using the tool in other ways, such as in webhook contexts, and we encourage those uses as well. We'd LOVE to pair-program with anyone looking to try out the tool and give feedback. Email steve@val.town :-)
Hello! We at ValTown have spent the last couple months redesigning our product around a new core primitive: ValTown Projects.
Why: Our prior core primitive, a "val", was too small. A val is just a single hosted JavaScript file. Users kept bumping up against rough edges managing lots of disparate vals.
What: A ValTown Project is a group of vals, files, and folders, versioned collectively. They support branches, forks, and merges.
How: We made the sacrilegious decision to not build on git. We instead built a simplified system that works directly in our postgres database.
Our dream is that ValTown Projects will unlock a new kind of collaboration, and we hope you all make amazing things with it!
Since a few hours, all my vals are failing. I connected to the website, tried to create a new dummy val and run it, and I got an "Error" popup message. Their Twitter account doesn't mention anything.
Am I the only one having this issue? Does anyone know what is going on?
We're a startup of 4 people, mostly in NYC. We've been working on this for 6 months and are eager for feedback from the HN community.
Why do we need yet another online coding IDE? While researching devtools[1], I found myself wanting something halfway between Replit and Zapier: a tool that makes hosting, deploying, scheduling, and authenticating easy, but is first-and-foremost a programming tool.
We added `console.email` to the runtime to make it incredibly easy to email yourself. We don't have npm imports yet, but we do have a low-friction system that treats every user as a namespace, so you can refer to `@me.foo + 1` or `@yourFriend.bar()` right in your code. There are a lot of thorny implications this newfangled import scheme creates, but also many joyous and carefree coding experiences! One of my favorite features is that we store every evaluation, up and down the callstack, including inputs, outputs, logs, etc, which has been an amazing aid to debugging.
So far, Val Town is mostly used for what we're calling "programmatic notifications": query a data source for new items on an interval and email them to yourself.
Get notified when users you "follow" post on Hacker News: https://www.val.town/stevekrouse.hnFollowPollJob
Get notified when to close your window during fire season in SF: https://www.val.town/stevekrouse.aqi
Get notified when there are new citations on a paper: https://www.val.town/ernest.newCitationNotification
Subscribe to RSS feeds: https://www.val.town/stevekrouse.pollRSSFeeds
A good place to get started would be forking one of those vals and modifying it to suit your needs. Some folks are using the tool in other ways, such as in webhook contexts, and we encourage those uses as well. We'd LOVE to pair-program with anyone looking to try out the tool and give feedback. Email steve@val.town :-)
Main site: https://val.town
Docs: https://val-town.notion.site/Val-Town-Docs-01c8eb9c534b48998...
Discord: https://discord.gg/dHv45uN5RY
Blog & Newsletter: https://val-town.notion.site/Blog-6d3ef714d0c849e9be71b3986a...
[1] - Whole Code Catalog: https://futureofcoding.org/catalog/