Gergely Orosz
@gergely.pragmaticengineer.com
Writing The Pragmatic Engineer (@pragmaticengineer.com), the #1 technology newsletter on Substack. Author of The Software Engineer's Guidebook (engguidebook.com). Formerly at Uber, Skype, Skyscanner. More at pragmaticengineer.com
Four years ago, The Pragmatic Engineer started as a small newsletter. On 11 Feb, we'll host the first-ever Pragmatic Summit in SF. Pinch me!
If you want to know how AI is reshaping software engineering + connect with folks who are smack in the middle of it: see you there!
pragmaticsummit.com
If you want to know how AI is reshaping software engineering + connect with folks who are smack in the middle of it: see you there!
pragmaticsummit.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Four years ago, The Pragmatic Engineer started as a small newsletter. On 11 Feb, we'll host the first-ever Pragmatic Summit in SF. Pinch me!
If you want to know how AI is reshaping software engineering + connect with folks who are smack in the middle of it: see you there!
pragmaticsummit.com
If you want to know how AI is reshaping software engineering + connect with folks who are smack in the middle of it: see you there!
pragmaticsummit.com
SO. RAD.
Shopify built a flipper game for Black Friday / Cyber Monday. Reminds me of the Space Cadet pinball on Windows
Except this one is not as punishing (unlimited lives!) and you get bonuses like "first sale multi-ball"
So much fun!!
Here: bfcm.shopify.com
Shopify built a flipper game for Black Friday / Cyber Monday. Reminds me of the Space Cadet pinball on Windows
Except this one is not as punishing (unlimited lives!) and you get bonuses like "first sale multi-ball"
So much fun!!
Here: bfcm.shopify.com
November 28, 2025 at 2:25 PM
SO. RAD.
Shopify built a flipper game for Black Friday / Cyber Monday. Reminds me of the Space Cadet pinball on Windows
Except this one is not as punishing (unlimited lives!) and you get bonuses like "first sale multi-ball"
So much fun!!
Here: bfcm.shopify.com
Shopify built a flipper game for Black Friday / Cyber Monday. Reminds me of the Space Cadet pinball on Windows
Except this one is not as punishing (unlimited lives!) and you get bonuses like "first sale multi-ball"
So much fun!!
Here: bfcm.shopify.com
Finally, someone wrote it down in a book:
To understand what is going well/poorly inside your engineering org: ask the devs what this is! Talk to a bunch of them to get a good picture
From the excellent new book by Nicole Forsgren and Abi Noda called "Frictionless"
Arrived yesterday
To understand what is going well/poorly inside your engineering org: ask the devs what this is! Talk to a bunch of them to get a good picture
From the excellent new book by Nicole Forsgren and Abi Noda called "Frictionless"
Arrived yesterday
November 28, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Finally, someone wrote it down in a book:
To understand what is going well/poorly inside your engineering org: ask the devs what this is! Talk to a bunch of them to get a good picture
From the excellent new book by Nicole Forsgren and Abi Noda called "Frictionless"
Arrived yesterday
To understand what is going well/poorly inside your engineering org: ask the devs what this is! Talk to a bunch of them to get a good picture
From the excellent new book by Nicole Forsgren and Abi Noda called "Frictionless"
Arrived yesterday
The one time in the year when @pragmaticengineer.com offers a deal for subscriptions!
The Pragmatic Engineer Black Friday deal is live!
Get a year-long subscription for $120 (instead of $150). A sub gives you access to all deepdives, The Pulse, and resources for software engineers and eng managers. Available till Monday.
Get it here: newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/0ea36188
Get a year-long subscription for $120 (instead of $150). A sub gives you access to all deepdives, The Pulse, and resources for software engineers and eng managers. Available till Monday.
Get it here: newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/0ea36188
November 27, 2025 at 8:07 PM
The one time in the year when @pragmaticengineer.com offers a deal for subscriptions!
What are code security basics us devs should know about? I turned to Johannes Dahse, a security expert for 20+ years, for his thoughts and tactics
Watch or listen:
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=urVf...
• Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/5cOk...
• Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
Watch or listen:
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=urVf...
• Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/5cOk...
• Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
November 26, 2025 at 5:32 PM
What are code security basics us devs should know about? I turned to Johannes Dahse, a security expert for 20+ years, for his thoughts and tactics
Watch or listen:
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=urVf...
• Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/5cOk...
• Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
Watch or listen:
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=urVf...
• Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/5cOk...
• Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
Techies are never easy to get gifts for. Our attempt to help with @hejelin.com:
45+ gift ideas and inspiration for the tech workers in your life (and maybe yourself) this holiday season:
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/copy-holid...
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/copy-holid...
Holiday gift ideas for techies
Gift ideas and inspiration for the tech workers in your life (and maybe yourself) this holiday season
newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Techies are never easy to get gifts for. Our attempt to help with @hejelin.com:
A recruiter at a PE firm messaged me asking for help because they have been unable to hire a Lead Go developer (in-office) for months now.
They only consider senior devs with N years of Go exp.
Told the recruiter that is exactly what their problem is… cannot believe ppl hire like this in 2025
They only consider senior devs with N years of Go exp.
Told the recruiter that is exactly what their problem is… cannot believe ppl hire like this in 2025
November 25, 2025 at 12:20 PM
A recruiter at a PE firm messaged me asking for help because they have been unable to hire a Lead Go developer (in-office) for months now.
They only consider senior devs with N years of Go exp.
Told the recruiter that is exactly what their problem is… cannot believe ppl hire like this in 2025
They only consider senior devs with N years of Go exp.
Told the recruiter that is exactly what their problem is… cannot believe ppl hire like this in 2025
Excited to share two new speakers at The Pragmatic Summit:
Tuomas Artman - cofounder and CTO at Linear
Rajeev Rajan - CTO at Atlassian
11 Feb, SF. The first-ever in-person @pragmaticengineer.com event, powered by Statsig. Sign up here: www.pragmaticsummit.com
Tuomas Artman - cofounder and CTO at Linear
Rajeev Rajan - CTO at Atlassian
11 Feb, SF. The first-ever in-person @pragmaticengineer.com event, powered by Statsig. Sign up here: www.pragmaticsummit.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Excited to share two new speakers at The Pragmatic Summit:
Tuomas Artman - cofounder and CTO at Linear
Rajeev Rajan - CTO at Atlassian
11 Feb, SF. The first-ever in-person @pragmaticengineer.com event, powered by Statsig. Sign up here: www.pragmaticsummit.com
Tuomas Artman - cofounder and CTO at Linear
Rajeev Rajan - CTO at Atlassian
11 Feb, SF. The first-ever in-person @pragmaticengineer.com event, powered by Statsig. Sign up here: www.pragmaticsummit.com
It’s that time of the year… Black Friday / Cyber Monday code freezes / code chills are starting at most e-commerce tech companies.
New records expected to be set on infra load - capacity planning and testing completed already for this. Oncall rotations ready for the weekend
New records expected to be set on infra load - capacity planning and testing completed already for this. Oncall rotations ready for the weekend
November 24, 2025 at 3:45 PM
It’s that time of the year… Black Friday / Cyber Monday code freezes / code chills are starting at most e-commerce tech companies.
New records expected to be set on infra load - capacity planning and testing completed already for this. Oncall rotations ready for the weekend
New records expected to be set on infra load - capacity planning and testing completed already for this. Oncall rotations ready for the weekend
A grad student studying Computer Science in a Danish university reached out asking for a suggestion on what to do their master's thesis on. They are passionate about mobile development and Android.
This is what I told them. Sharing it in case it's helpful for others.
This is what I told them. Sharing it in case it's helpful for others.
November 23, 2025 at 7:31 PM
A grad student studying Computer Science in a Danish university reached out asking for a suggestion on what to do their master's thesis on. They are passionate about mobile development and Android.
This is what I told them. Sharing it in case it's helpful for others.
This is what I told them. Sharing it in case it's helpful for others.
Reposted by Gergely Orosz
Another awesome episode and as usual great takes on #AI by Martin Fowler!
On vibe coding: "good for explorations, throwaways and disposable stuff, but you don't want to be using it for anything
with long term capability" 😉
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQmI...
On vibe coding: "good for explorations, throwaways and disposable stuff, but you don't want to be using it for anything
with long term capability" 😉
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQmI...
November 22, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Another awesome episode and as usual great takes on #AI by Martin Fowler!
On vibe coding: "good for explorations, throwaways and disposable stuff, but you don't want to be using it for anything
with long term capability" 😉
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQmI...
On vibe coding: "good for explorations, throwaways and disposable stuff, but you don't want to be using it for anything
with long term capability" 😉
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQmI...
A fun trip I did in the summer: I went to Mongolia, to meet a small startup that translated The Software Engineer's Guidebook (@EngGuidebook) for the benefit of the Mongolian tech ecosystem.
More on what I learned about startups in Mongolia: blog.pragmaticengineer.com/traveling-to...
More on what I learned about startups in Mongolia: blog.pragmaticengineer.com/traveling-to...
November 21, 2025 at 1:53 PM
A fun trip I did in the summer: I went to Mongolia, to meet a small startup that translated The Software Engineer's Guidebook (@EngGuidebook) for the benefit of the Mongolian tech ecosystem.
More on what I learned about startups in Mongolia: blog.pragmaticengineer.com/traveling-to...
More on what I learned about startups in Mongolia: blog.pragmaticengineer.com/traveling-to...
This is educational to read: a dev's company moved over to Amazon Q.
This dev is utterly confused because they have never heard of it before.
Every dev inside Amazon uses it (they use Amazon Q Developer Pro), it's a public tool and yet it's Amazon's seemingly best kept secret!
This dev is utterly confused because they have never heard of it before.
Every dev inside Amazon uses it (they use Amazon Q Developer Pro), it's a public tool and yet it's Amazon's seemingly best kept secret!
November 21, 2025 at 1:05 PM
This is educational to read: a dev's company moved over to Amazon Q.
This dev is utterly confused because they have never heard of it before.
Every dev inside Amazon uses it (they use Amazon Q Developer Pro), it's a public tool and yet it's Amazon's seemingly best kept secret!
This dev is utterly confused because they have never heard of it before.
Every dev inside Amazon uses it (they use Amazon Q Developer Pro), it's a public tool and yet it's Amazon's seemingly best kept secret!
Amazon used to be the pinnacle for customer support - but now I have to go thru a useless AI bot to connect to a human to fix my problem.
Never thought I'd be this grateful to be talking to a human - these AI support bots are just truly terrible, even for Amazon
Never thought I'd be this grateful to be talking to a human - these AI support bots are just truly terrible, even for Amazon
November 21, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Amazon used to be the pinnacle for customer support - but now I have to go thru a useless AI bot to connect to a human to fix my problem.
Never thought I'd be this grateful to be talking to a human - these AI support bots are just truly terrible, even for Amazon
Never thought I'd be this grateful to be talking to a human - these AI support bots are just truly terrible, even for Amazon
As a user: well this is extremely lame. Why does Netlify give me 4 days to re-enter my payment methods because THEY are moving some providers?!!
As someone who worked in payments: yep, exactly what happens when using a PSP for CC payments, and you need to migrate! Sucks big time
As someone who worked in payments: yep, exactly what happens when using a PSP for CC payments, and you need to migrate! Sucks big time
November 20, 2025 at 9:15 PM
As a user: well this is extremely lame. Why does Netlify give me 4 days to re-enter my payment methods because THEY are moving some providers?!!
As someone who worked in payments: yep, exactly what happens when using a PSP for CC payments, and you need to migrate! Sucks big time
As someone who worked in payments: yep, exactly what happens when using a PSP for CC payments, and you need to migrate! Sucks big time
I am so excited to announce The Pragmatic Summit, in partnership with Statsig.
11 Feb, SF. One day. ~400 people.
Answering the question: How is AI reshaping software engineering, dev workflows, and the modern engineering stack?
Details & apply here: pragmaticsummit.com
11 Feb, SF. One day. ~400 people.
Answering the question: How is AI reshaping software engineering, dev workflows, and the modern engineering stack?
Details & apply here: pragmaticsummit.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:13 PM
I am so excited to announce The Pragmatic Summit, in partnership with Statsig.
11 Feb, SF. One day. ~400 people.
Answering the question: How is AI reshaping software engineering, dev workflows, and the modern engineering stack?
Details & apply here: pragmaticsummit.com
11 Feb, SF. One day. ~400 people.
Answering the question: How is AI reshaping software engineering, dev workflows, and the modern engineering stack?
Details & apply here: pragmaticsummit.com
Amusing: Google does not allow its devs to use its newly launched IDE, Antigravity, for development.
Classic example of “externalisation” at Google: they have an *internal* (increasingly different!) version of it, but they won’t use what they launched to everyone else
Classic example of “externalisation” at Google: they have an *internal* (increasingly different!) version of it, but they won’t use what they launched to everyone else
November 20, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Amusing: Google does not allow its devs to use its newly launched IDE, Antigravity, for development.
Classic example of “externalisation” at Google: they have an *internal* (increasingly different!) version of it, but they won’t use what they launched to everyone else
Classic example of “externalisation” at Google: they have an *internal* (increasingly different!) version of it, but they won’t use what they launched to everyone else
How is AI changing software development? Martin Fowler (@martinfowler.com) says AI is the biggest shift in the field since high-level languages appeared (ones like Fortran or C, offering a new abstraction level to code at, versus Assembly):
Full epsiode: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQmI... (cont'd)
Full epsiode: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQmI... (cont'd)
November 19, 2025 at 5:24 PM
How is AI changing software development? Martin Fowler (@martinfowler.com) says AI is the biggest shift in the field since high-level languages appeared (ones like Fortran or C, offering a new abstraction level to code at, versus Assembly):
Full epsiode: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQmI... (cont'd)
Full epsiode: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQmI... (cont'd)
Never before have I seen so many companies spending so much money+effort trying to win over devs and get to use their own tool, daily.
The irony: winners in the AI race will not be companies gunning to “replace” developers - but ones that devs choose to use & pay for.
The irony: winners in the AI race will not be companies gunning to “replace” developers - but ones that devs choose to use & pay for.
November 19, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Never before have I seen so many companies spending so much money+effort trying to win over devs and get to use their own tool, daily.
The irony: winners in the AI race will not be companies gunning to “replace” developers - but ones that devs choose to use & pay for.
The irony: winners in the AI race will not be companies gunning to “replace” developers - but ones that devs choose to use & pay for.
I'm starting to get absolutely tired of the "we reached $$$ in ARR faster than anyone in the world" type of posts.
They increasingly feel manufactured to the point of made up. Somehow it's always a bunch of other company logos that are below, and the company posting as #1
They increasingly feel manufactured to the point of made up. Somehow it's always a bunch of other company logos that are below, and the company posting as #1
November 18, 2025 at 5:39 PM
I'm starting to get absolutely tired of the "we reached $$$ in ARR faster than anyone in the world" type of posts.
They increasingly feel manufactured to the point of made up. Somehow it's always a bunch of other company logos that are below, and the company posting as #1
They increasingly feel manufactured to the point of made up. Somehow it's always a bunch of other company logos that are below, and the company posting as #1
Tomorrow - pod episode with @martinfowler.com coming!
November 18, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Tomorrow - pod episode with @martinfowler.com coming!
From a CTO at a startup:
"We interview devs by giving them a task to build an app on the spot, from scratch (2x BE endpoints, some frontend.) They can use AI, ofc - and we dig into why they did this or that.
What is surprising: 14/15 devs from Meta failed this screening."
"We interview devs by giving them a task to build an app on the spot, from scratch (2x BE endpoints, some frontend.) They can use AI, ofc - and we dig into why they did this or that.
What is surprising: 14/15 devs from Meta failed this screening."
November 14, 2025 at 10:53 PM
From a CTO at a startup:
"We interview devs by giving them a task to build an app on the spot, from scratch (2x BE endpoints, some frontend.) They can use AI, ofc - and we dig into why they did this or that.
What is surprising: 14/15 devs from Meta failed this screening."
"We interview devs by giving them a task to build an app on the spot, from scratch (2x BE endpoints, some frontend.) They can use AI, ofc - and we dig into why they did this or that.
What is surprising: 14/15 devs from Meta failed this screening."
From a CTO at a startup:
"We interview devs by giving them a task to build an app on the spot, from scratch (2x BE endpoints, some frontend.) They can use AI, ofc - and we dig into why they did this or that.
What is surprising: 14/15 devs from Meta failed this screening."
"We interview devs by giving them a task to build an app on the spot, from scratch (2x BE endpoints, some frontend.) They can use AI, ofc - and we dig into why they did this or that.
What is surprising: 14/15 devs from Meta failed this screening."
November 14, 2025 at 10:51 PM
From a CTO at a startup:
"We interview devs by giving them a task to build an app on the spot, from scratch (2x BE endpoints, some frontend.) They can use AI, ofc - and we dig into why they did this or that.
What is surprising: 14/15 devs from Meta failed this screening."
"We interview devs by giving them a task to build an app on the spot, from scratch (2x BE endpoints, some frontend.) They can use AI, ofc - and we dig into why they did this or that.
What is surprising: 14/15 devs from Meta failed this screening."
What are some great gift ideas for someone working in tech? Something that you either got someone and it was a success, you got and loved it, or want to get it this year?
Suggestions welcome!
Suggestions welcome!
November 14, 2025 at 3:15 PM
What are some great gift ideas for someone working in tech? Something that you either got someone and it was a success, you got and loved it, or want to get it this year?
Suggestions welcome!
Suggestions welcome!