Joel Drapper 🇬🇧🇺🇦
@joel.drapper.me
I’m a Ruby/TypeScript/CSS engineer at @plane.com and based in the UK. https://joel.drapper.me
I’m building a Ruby/SQLite serverlesslessness framework. I also maintain @phlex.fun.
Signal: joeldrapper.01
I’m building a Ruby/SQLite serverlesslessness framework. I also maintain @phlex.fun.
Signal: joeldrapper.01
Pinned
Joel Drapper 🇬🇧🇺🇦
@joel.drapper.me
· Oct 20
If the Rails Foundation tried to take Rails from its maintainers, I would stand up for the maintainers, despite my political differences.
Rails is not owned by the Rails Foundation in the same way RubyGems projects were not owned by Ruby Central.
And neither are legitimately owned by Ruby Core.
Rails is not owned by the Rails Foundation in the same way RubyGems projects were not owned by Ruby Central.
And neither are legitimately owned by Ruby Core.
In the terminal, if you draw a thin horizontal line and then draw a thick vertical line above it, you’ll get something that looks like this.
February 3, 2026 at 1:20 PM
In the terminal, if you draw a thin horizontal line and then draw a thick vertical line above it, you’ll get something that looks like this.
After an overwhelmingly positive response to the Phlex::TUI prototype I shared last week, I’ve started working on a production-ready implementation. Essentially Phlex::TUI will let you build terminal user interfaces the same way you build web views.
February 3, 2026 at 12:06 PM
After an overwhelmingly positive response to the Phlex::TUI prototype I shared last week, I’ve started working on a production-ready implementation. Essentially Phlex::TUI will let you build terminal user interfaces the same way you build web views.
I’m working on Phlex::TUI for the next few hours. If you want to hang out on Tuple let me know.
Fair warning, this project has an extremely dangerous nerd-snipe capacity.
Fair warning, this project has an extremely dangerous nerd-snipe capacity.
January 31, 2026 at 12:20 PM
I’m working on Phlex::TUI for the next few hours. If you want to hang out on Tuple let me know.
Fair warning, this project has an extremely dangerous nerd-snipe capacity.
Fair warning, this project has an extremely dangerous nerd-snipe capacity.
What if we had Phlex::TUI as well as Phlex::HTML, Phlex::SVG and Phlex::CSV?
January 27, 2026 at 2:42 AM
What if we had Phlex::TUI as well as Phlex::HTML, Phlex::SVG and Phlex::CSV?
If GitHub’s leadership had any sense at all, they would consider this an existential emergency for the company.
They would set up a new small team to build a GitHub competitor using modern tech and good engineering. You can’t keep polishing this turd.
They would set up a new small team to build a GitHub competitor using modern tech and good engineering. You can’t keep polishing this turd.
It’s not just large code reviews that crash GitHub.
I can’t even load the comment thread on this PR because it’s got 74 comments and GitHub probably has some N+1 query in there. 🤦♂️
I can’t even load the comment thread on this PR because it’s got 74 comments and GitHub probably has some N+1 query in there. 🤦♂️
January 22, 2026 at 3:23 PM
If GitHub’s leadership had any sense at all, they would consider this an existential emergency for the company.
They would set up a new small team to build a GitHub competitor using modern tech and good engineering. You can’t keep polishing this turd.
They would set up a new small team to build a GitHub competitor using modern tech and good engineering. You can’t keep polishing this turd.
It’s not just large code reviews that crash GitHub.
I can’t even load the comment thread on this PR because it’s got 74 comments and GitHub probably has some N+1 query in there. 🤦♂️
I can’t even load the comment thread on this PR because it’s got 74 comments and GitHub probably has some N+1 query in there. 🤦♂️
January 22, 2026 at 3:01 PM
It’s not just large code reviews that crash GitHub.
I can’t even load the comment thread on this PR because it’s got 74 comments and GitHub probably has some N+1 query in there. 🤦♂️
I can’t even load the comment thread on this PR because it’s got 74 comments and GitHub probably has some N+1 query in there. 🤦♂️
11th Airborne Division are America’s arctic warfare specialists. BBC reports they are on standby for deployment to Minneapolis, but this doesn’t make sense. Seems more like cover for putting a Greenland invasion force on standby. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Around 1,500 soldiers on standby for deployment to Minneapolis, reports say
The troops are an option should Donald Trump decide to use them to quell anti-ICE protests in the city, an official tells CBS News.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 21, 2026 at 1:45 PM
11th Airborne Division are America’s arctic warfare specialists. BBC reports they are on standby for deployment to Minneapolis, but this doesn’t make sense. Seems more like cover for putting a Greenland invasion force on standby. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Joel Drapper 🇬🇧🇺🇦
2024: can Europe defend itself ALONGSIDE America?
2025: can Europe defend itself WITHOUT America?
2026: can Europe defend itself AGAINST America?
2025: can Europe defend itself WITHOUT America?
2026: can Europe defend itself AGAINST America?
January 18, 2026 at 10:12 AM
2024: can Europe defend itself ALONGSIDE America?
2025: can Europe defend itself WITHOUT America?
2026: can Europe defend itself AGAINST America?
2025: can Europe defend itself WITHOUT America?
2026: can Europe defend itself AGAINST America?
Trump is lying. I analysed the shooting of Renee Good frame-by-frame.
The shooter had been in front of her car and appeared to be using his phone to video her while she reversed slowly with her wheels steering hard left.
The shooter had been in front of her car and appeared to be using his phone to video her while she reversed slowly with her wheels steering hard left.
January 8, 2026 at 3:59 AM
Trump is lying. I analysed the shooting of Renee Good frame-by-frame.
The shooter had been in front of her car and appeared to be using his phone to video her while she reversed slowly with her wheels steering hard left.
The shooter had been in front of her car and appeared to be using his phone to video her while she reversed slowly with her wheels steering hard left.
Happy new year.
If any Americans are wondering whether regular peaceful Europeans like me are ready to fight and die defending Greenland from a US invasion, we are.
I will join the UK armed forces immediately if Greenland invokes Article 5 as a consequence of a US attack.
If any Americans are wondering whether regular peaceful Europeans like me are ready to fight and die defending Greenland from a US invasion, we are.
I will join the UK armed forces immediately if Greenland invokes Article 5 as a consequence of a US attack.
US discussing options to acquire Greenland, including use of military - White House
It came as European allies rallied behind Denmark after renewed US insistence it must have Greenland.
www.bbc.com
January 6, 2026 at 11:04 PM
Happy new year.
If any Americans are wondering whether regular peaceful Europeans like me are ready to fight and die defending Greenland from a US invasion, we are.
I will join the UK armed forces immediately if Greenland invokes Article 5 as a consequence of a US attack.
If any Americans are wondering whether regular peaceful Europeans like me are ready to fight and die defending Greenland from a US invasion, we are.
I will join the UK armed forces immediately if Greenland invokes Article 5 as a consequence of a US attack.
Reposted by Joel Drapper 🇬🇧🇺🇦
Plain HTML and CSS can be beautiful.
Stay tuned 👀
Stay tuned 👀
December 30, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Plain HTML and CSS can be beautiful.
Stay tuned 👀
Stay tuned 👀
Reposted by Joel Drapper 🇬🇧🇺🇦
Alongside the Ruby 4.0 release last week, I published charm-ruby over Christmas, bringing @charm.land's excellent terminal UI libraries to Ruby.
A full TUI framework, reusable components, styled output, forms, markdown rendering, spinners, charts, and a lot more!
Demos below ⬇️
A full TUI framework, reusable components, styled output, forms, markdown rendering, spinners, charts, and a lot more!
Demos below ⬇️
December 30, 2025 at 5:40 AM
Alongside the Ruby 4.0 release last week, I published charm-ruby over Christmas, bringing @charm.land's excellent terminal UI libraries to Ruby.
A full TUI framework, reusable components, styled output, forms, markdown rendering, spinners, charts, and a lot more!
Demos below ⬇️
A full TUI framework, reusable components, styled output, forms, markdown rendering, spinners, charts, and a lot more!
Demos below ⬇️
Reposted by Joel Drapper 🇬🇧🇺🇦
Hey! I'm very excited to announce!
We've got a brand new Programming Ruby 4.0 out just in time for the upcoming release:
pragprog.com/titles/ruby6...
Obviously this is a beta release (written off of RC2), but there will be a second beta right on the heels of the release next week.
We've got a brand new Programming Ruby 4.0 out just in time for the upcoming release:
pragprog.com/titles/ruby6...
Obviously this is a beta release (written off of RC2), but there will be a second beta right on the heels of the release next week.
Programming Ruby 4 (6th edition)
Code Ruby, Be Happy!
pragprog.com
December 18, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Hey! I'm very excited to announce!
We've got a brand new Programming Ruby 4.0 out just in time for the upcoming release:
pragprog.com/titles/ruby6...
Obviously this is a beta release (written off of RC2), but there will be a second beta right on the heels of the release next week.
We've got a brand new Programming Ruby 4.0 out just in time for the upcoming release:
pragprog.com/titles/ruby6...
Obviously this is a beta release (written off of RC2), but there will be a second beta right on the heels of the release next week.
Reposted by Joel Drapper 🇬🇧🇺🇦
SVG icons have been "solved" myriad ways, but I find them all lacking.
Inline SVGs? Bloated DOM.
<img> tags? Can't change colors.
Icon fonts? Blurry at certain sizes, a11y issues.
CSS background-image? Still can't change colors.
But, today there's actually a perfect solution...
Inline SVGs? Bloated DOM.
<img> tags? Can't change colors.
Icon fonts? Blurry at certain sizes, a11y issues.
CSS background-image? Still can't change colors.
But, today there's actually a perfect solution...
December 17, 2025 at 7:21 PM
SVG icons have been "solved" myriad ways, but I find them all lacking.
Inline SVGs? Bloated DOM.
<img> tags? Can't change colors.
Icon fonts? Blurry at certain sizes, a11y issues.
CSS background-image? Still can't change colors.
But, today there's actually a perfect solution...
Inline SVGs? Bloated DOM.
<img> tags? Can't change colors.
Icon fonts? Blurry at certain sizes, a11y issues.
CSS background-image? Still can't change colors.
But, today there's actually a perfect solution...
Reposted by Joel Drapper 🇬🇧🇺🇦
Senator Chris Murphy speaks the truth! Trump's Ukraine "peace deal" is just a mafia corruption scheme to enrich Trump's family and friends by selling out Ukraine.
December 10, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Senator Chris Murphy speaks the truth! Trump's Ukraine "peace deal" is just a mafia corruption scheme to enrich Trump's family and friends by selling out Ukraine.
I released a beta version of a new library that provides open source icon sets as Tailwind v4 utility classes. You get predictions from Tailwind’s language server and Tailwind includes only the icons you actually use. Currently shipping with Bootstrap and Tabler icon sets. github.com/joeldrapper/...
GitHub - joeldrapper/maskicons
Contribute to joeldrapper/maskicons development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:47 PM
I released a beta version of a new library that provides open source icon sets as Tailwind v4 utility classes. You get predictions from Tailwind’s language server and Tailwind includes only the icons you actually use. Currently shipping with Bootstrap and Tabler icon sets. github.com/joeldrapper/...
I’m not the only one experiencing this @github.com. github.com/orgs/communi...
The Github website is extremely slow on Safari · community · Discussion #170758
Select Topic Area Bug Body Over the past few months, Github has been getting slower and slower on Safari. It has now reached a point where it is unusable. Displaying any pull request with more than...
github.com
December 9, 2025 at 11:02 AM
I’m not the only one experiencing this @github.com. github.com/orgs/communi...
Reposted by Joel Drapper 🇬🇧🇺🇦
The ruby open source software community. Very condensed version: ruby programming libraries are called gems. Gems are distributed via rubygems (like npm for node, pip for python, etc. it the trusted source that distributes packaged dependencies). Contd in what is hopefully not too long a thread.
December 4, 2025 at 7:38 PM
The ruby open source software community. Very condensed version: ruby programming libraries are called gems. Gems are distributed via rubygems (like npm for node, pip for python, etc. it the trusted source that distributes packaged dependencies). Contd in what is hopefully not too long a thread.
Reposted by Joel Drapper 🇬🇧🇺🇦
Double-dashed IDs and the enhanced `attr()` CSS function allow us to bind popovertargets with their popovers without having to create distinct anchor-names.
Learn more at MDN: developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/... and developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/...
#StylishHTML
Learn more at MDN: developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/... and developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/...
#StylishHTML
December 5, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Double-dashed IDs and the enhanced `attr()` CSS function allow us to bind popovertargets with their popovers without having to create distinct anchor-names.
Learn more at MDN: developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/... and developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/...
#StylishHTML
Learn more at MDN: developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/... and developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/...
#StylishHTML
Working with Ruby Central in any capacity — on the program committee, as a speaker, sponsor or attendee is a big “fuck you” to the open source Ruby community.
Ruby Central is not worth your time. Please avoid them. Please don’t work with them. Don’t sponsor them. Don’t buy their tickets.
Ruby Central is not worth your time. Please avoid them. Please don’t work with them. Don’t sponsor them. Don’t buy their tickets.
RubyConf is a community-built experience. Our Program Committee reads, debates, and thoughtfully selects the talks that shape the heartbeat of RubyConf. Applications open now through December 22. Help shape the conversations that will guide the ecosystem into 2026 + beyond. forms.gle/ah5H3kx78iS2...
December 4, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Working with Ruby Central in any capacity — on the program committee, as a speaker, sponsor or attendee is a big “fuck you” to the open source Ruby community.
Ruby Central is not worth your time. Please avoid them. Please don’t work with them. Don’t sponsor them. Don’t buy their tickets.
Ruby Central is not worth your time. Please avoid them. Please don’t work with them. Don’t sponsor them. Don’t buy their tickets.
I have a 100% vibe-coded Slim to ERB converter that I’ve used to convert hundreds of templates. I will not be maintaining it going forward, but if folks are interested, I could publish a copy that you can use at your own risk.
It could save you a lot of time if you’re doing a Slim → ERB conversion.
It could save you a lot of time if you’re doing a Slim → ERB conversion.
December 3, 2025 at 2:23 PM
I have a 100% vibe-coded Slim to ERB converter that I’ve used to convert hundreds of templates. I will not be maintaining it going forward, but if folks are interested, I could publish a copy that you can use at your own risk.
It could save you a lot of time if you’re doing a Slim → ERB conversion.
It could save you a lot of time if you’re doing a Slim → ERB conversion.
Do not donate to these lying thieves. They are not good for the Ruby community.
Don’t go to Ruby Conf either.
Don’t go to Ruby Conf either.
It's Giving Tuesday! Don't forget to check in with your company to see if they use Benevity; a 30-second search for "Ruby Central Inc" could unlock matching funds that go directly toward strengthening Ruby’s open-source foundation and developer community.
December 2, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Do not donate to these lying thieves. They are not good for the Ruby community.
Don’t go to Ruby Conf either.
Don’t go to Ruby Conf either.
This is just what it’s like to review PRs in GitHub now. There’s only a small chance to see the code, it’s not guaranteed — assuming you can even load the page. Well done GitHub. 👏 You had one job.
December 2, 2025 at 12:07 PM
This is just what it’s like to review PRs in GitHub now. There’s only a small chance to see the code, it’s not guaranteed — assuming you can even load the page. Well done GitHub. 👏 You had one job.
Reposted by Joel Drapper 🇬🇧🇺🇦
At the risk of starting the flame war to end all flame wars...
Modern LLMs (GPT-5.1, Claude 4.5, Gemini 3) produce excellent code and can be a significant productivity boost to software engineers who take the time to learn how to effectively apply them - especially if used with coding agent tools
Modern LLMs (GPT-5.1, Claude 4.5, Gemini 3) produce excellent code and can be a significant productivity boost to software engineers who take the time to learn how to effectively apply them - especially if used with coding agent tools
November 27, 2025 at 7:55 PM
At the risk of starting the flame war to end all flame wars...
Modern LLMs (GPT-5.1, Claude 4.5, Gemini 3) produce excellent code and can be a significant productivity boost to software engineers who take the time to learn how to effectively apply them - especially if used with coding agent tools
Modern LLMs (GPT-5.1, Claude 4.5, Gemini 3) produce excellent code and can be a significant productivity boost to software engineers who take the time to learn how to effectively apply them - especially if used with coding agent tools
Reposted by Joel Drapper 🇬🇧🇺🇦
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1