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Browse the full archive of posts published on Critical Stack. From timeless principles to sharp takes on developer culture, this is the complete feed — newest first. Use tags to filter by topic or dive into what's most active right now.
Once you’re writing real code in real systems, you realize: nobody cares if you used a deque. Here’s what actually matters.
Tailwind isn’t evil. It’s just overhyped, overused, and often misapplied. Here’s why I’ve stopped buying the utility-first hype.
The indie hacker world promises freedom, but too often delivers recycled startup dogma. Here's why most of the advice is noise — and what to build instead.
You’re not learning data structures to use them. You’re learning them to think better. Here’s why that shift in mindset matters.
Clean code isn’t always about clarity — and it’s definitely not about more abstractions. Sometimes, it’s just over-engineering with better branding. Here’s why that matters more than you think.
In an era where LLMs make code easy but understanding rare, here’s how to separate your craft from the sea of vibe coders.
LLMs make vibe coding feel magical — until your project rots under tech debt and hidden bugs. Here’s how to avoid killing your codebase in slow motion.
Performance isn’t just about speed. It’s about restraint. Here’s why minimalism might be the most underrated feature in software.
LLMs are spitting out codebases that look legit but rot on contact with reality. Here’s how to dodge them before they hijack your side project.
Two ways devs actually use chat-based LLMs — and why confusing them is a recipe for disaster.
JAMstack is dead. So what’s the practical strategy for building modern sites now? Here’s what to use instead — frameworks, rendering patterns, and cost-savvy advice.
You skipped the design system. Good. Here's how to still build consistent, reusable UI without reinventing Material UI.
TypeScript should help you ship with confidence — not trap your team in a maze of compiler-pleasing complexity. Here's how to stay sane.
JAMstack promised speed, simplicity, and scale. What we got was a Frankenstack. Here’s how a revolution collapsed under its own weight.
Adding AI to an unfinished app won’t save it — and might kill it faster. Here's why you need product clarity before model calls.
Not every project needs tests, types, or structure. Sometimes the fastest path to joy is cutting every corner.
Next.js dominates the frontend — but not because it’s good. Here’s what the hype glosses over.
Next.js is dominating the React ecosystem in 2025. Not because it’s perfect — but because it’s strategic.
Framework tribalism doesn’t just waste energy — it wrecks clarity, bloats codebases, and turns developers into dogmatists. Here's how to stay sharp.
Linting was supposed to help us catch bugs. Somewhere along the way, it became a religion. It's time to stop worshipping the tooling.
Frontend dev has become a form of devops cosplay. Let’s talk about the real cost of overbuilding your toolchain.
Most apps don’t fail because they can’t scale — they fail because they never shipped. Premature scaling is a self-imposed tax on momentum.