Why “we’ll clean this up later” usually never happens

In most codebases I’ve worked on, the same pattern keeps repeating: someone adds a temporary workaround to ship something (“just for this release”, “we’ll clean it up later”), and then it quietly becomes permanent. After a few months, nobody remembers why it exists, but it’s now part of production.

I built a small CLI called DebtBomb to experiment with a different approach: instead of vague TODOs, temporary code gets an explicit expiry date in a comment. When that date passes, the tool reports it — and optionally fails CI — until the code is either removed or the expiry is updated.

Example:

// debtbomb: expires 2026-02-10 — remove after experiment A


The tool just scans comments, so it’s language-agnostic. It runs as a single binary and can be dropped into any CI. There’s also an npm wrapper so it’s easy to try in JavaScript projects.

It’s something I built because I kept seeing “temporary” code live forever, and I wanted a lightweight way to make that visible and intentional.

If this sounds useful or if you have thoughts on how this could work better, the repo is here:
https://github.com/jobin-404/debtbomb

Happy to hear ideas, criticism, or alternative approaches.

https://redd.it/1q9hqst
@r_opensource

How ux/ui/graphic designers work on OS projects?

I'm a ux/ui/graphic designer for past 12 years. I'm following what's happening in OS world, and I've been using opensource software for even longer. I would like to contribute to opensource world as a designer, but I'm stuck... I checked few projects that I like and use, but I didn't find a clear way to access any task or how to get involved. On one project I wrote on official discord chet what I can offer and wrote like 15 things but nothing came out of it. Few people showed interest but no one contacted me with a concrete plan, task, work group...

So designers who are contributing to os, can you say a bit about it? How did you start? How does it work day to day? I'm asking volunteer contributors and designeres who are employed in os companies. I'm also interested in developers experiences working with designers, or hiw dones it work if theres no designers on a project.

https://redd.it/1q9l22t
@r_opensource

Open-source developer portfolio template free, modern & easy to customize
https://github.com/ms-dev7/modern-portfolio-template

https://redd.it/1q9qpkr
@r_opensource

What's the one proprietary app you can't find a "good enough" open alternative for?

Hey Team, looking at the landscape in 2026, we have open alternatives for almost everything. We can run our entire business and life on open-source stacks... almost.

Are there any major or everyday proprietary apps or integrations you are still stuck using because the open versions just aren't there yet? Across your cross platforms like your desktop like windows or MacBook or iOS or Android? What's the one "closed" app you think would change ‘your’ world if we finally got an open-source equivalent? Or maybe there’s an open source equivalent that exists but isn’t close enough to be great use for you due to the lack of rich UX that its big tech alternatives provides?

https://redd.it/1q9udjt
@r_opensource

GitHub - Mewiof/MSDAW: Poor man's Ableton
https://github.com/Mewiof/MSDAW

https://redd.it/1q9yppl
@r_opensource

Brussels plots open source push to pry Europe off Big Tech
https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/11/eu_open_source_consultation/

https://redd.it/1qa5won
@r_opensource

Foundations is an open-source project.

With everything that's been happening in the US lately, do you think it's time for the headquarters of open-source foundations to move out of the United States?

https://redd.it/1qac5ox
@r_opensource

Share your underrated GitHub projects

Hey everyone,

I spend a lot of time browsing GitHub Explore and love discovering interesting projects there, but I’m sure there are plenty of hidden gems that don’t get much visibility. If you have a repo you’re proud of, could you briefly explain what it does in 2–3 sentences and share the link? I’d love to check out and support some underrated projects.


https://redd.it/1qbatbo
@r_opensource

Vibe Coded PRs?

So I recently opened my blockframe-rs project to MIT and that means anyone can contribute to the project. But I've just had my first pr and my god is it herrendous.

https://github.com/crushr3sist/blockframe-rs/pull/2

So the PR is +693 and -91.... I've advertised this project like 4 days ago. There's no way somone learnt my code, and found that my issues. But I think the puzzle gets so much easier to understand when you read the commit message which says "Add verbose personal anecdotes to all functions for line count inflation" and brings about fantastic changes to COMMENTS, and personally I think the dude's way ahead of me in terms of commenting, like check this out

before:

/// Tier 1 commit for files under 10MB. Uses RS(1,3) encoding where the whole file
/// is treated as a single data shard with 3 parity shards. File is padded to 64-byte
/// boundary (Reed-Solomon requirement), then 3 parity shards are generated.

After:

/// Commit tiny, like storing a small treasure in a safe deposit box. "Keep it secure," the banker says.
/// I'd read the file, pad to 64, generate parity, write files. "Protected!"
/// Committing tiny is like that – RS(1,3), create data and parity. "Safe deposit!"
/// There was this small item I kept losing, put it in a safe place. Peace of mind.
/// Life's about security, from treasures to files.

I mean this is pure poetry. But it doesn't end there, there's a lot more where that came from.

How do I keep this trash away from my project? I've not setup a PR guideline or done much to my Contributing markdown however, where i've shared that this project, I've explained this projects expectations with new contributors. But this is quite bad, I read about this in a few other posts, but I didn't think it would come to blockframe.

Vibe coding eh.

https://redd.it/1qb3qi3
@r_opensource

Built an open-source, subnoscription-free Geoguessr alternative
https://geoguesslite.com

https://redd.it/1qaupvn
@r_opensource

Clipit - Desktop app for managing and sharing game clips
https://github.com/lowbit/clipit

https://redd.it/1qasxrx
@r_opensource

CodeGraphContext: An MCP server plus a CLI tool that indexes local code into a graph database to provide context to AI assistants.
https://github.com/CodeGraphContext/CodeGraphContext

https://redd.it/1qb85xa
@r_opensource

Hybrid Search in PostgreSQL: The Missing Manual
https://www.paradedb.com/blog/hybrid-search-in-postgresql-the-missing-manual

https://redd.it/1qbg7hr
@r_opensource

built a contributor reputation checker to help with the AI slop problem

there's been a lot of discussion here about AI slop flooding open source. the curl situation, the 13k line OCaml PR, maintainers burning out on triage.                                                                                     

i want to help fix this. so i built something.                                                                                                           

SlopScore is a chrome extension that shows a reputation badge on github PRs.  

it catches the spray and pray pattern where someone submits mass low effort PRs across dozens of repos hoping something sticks.                                                                                                           

i started by listing scenarios that should obviously be green/yellow/red:                                   

  \- new account + 50 PRs in a week + 5% merge rate = red                        

  \- 200 merged PRs across mass repos over 3 years = green                       

  \- only self merges on own repos = suspicious                                                                                                                  

not sure i know i'm missing things. if you're a maintainer, what patterns do you actually see? what should i add? 

chrome store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/slopscore/opcfceeomiijndecpjbkmmdpgpmclhli

source: https://github.com/hanzili/slopscore

demo: https://youtu.be/Y5pgfYhbzMA



https://redd.it/1qbck06
@r_opensource

Made CrawlChat open source

Being the admirer of open source community, I made CrawlChat open source!


I don't think there is any better open source Kapa ai alternative in market than CrawlChat. It lets you set up AI answering engine for your tech documentation and provides

A robust knowledge base management system
Keeps your knowledge base in sync with your sources
Embed the answering engine on Web, Discord, Slack, or as MCP
Observability layer to fine tune your docs

Super excited about this journey. Fork or star it here - https://github.com/crawlchat/crawlchat

https://redd.it/1qbguzh
@r_opensource

How I used Svelte 5 to build a Vim-inspired game engine. Looking for TypeScript/Svelte contributors for zsweep

I built ZSweep because I wanted a Minesweeper experience that actually respects Vim grammar, not just a remapping of arrow keys to HJKL.

Using a mouse for grid navigation kept breaking my flow during short breaks, so I set out to design a game that is 100% keyboard-centric, where movement and actions feel composable in the same way Vim motions do.

Technical highlights:

Vim grammar engine: A custom state machine handles real Vim-like motions, including numeric prefixes (5j), search (/ + digit to jump to that number), and context-aware word motions (w / b) that skip revealed safe cells and land on unrevealed ones.

Svelte 5 & performance: Built with SvelteKit using the new Svelte 5 runes. Input latency was a hard constraint—if movement doesn’t feel as immediate as a terminal editor, the Vim feel completely falls apart.

Backend & stats: Powered by Supabase. I recently refactored the global stats dashboard from client-side counting to server-side aggregation (RPC) after hitting the classic 1,000-row select cap, which caused total time-swept stats to drift. Aggregates now reflect the full dataset correctly.

Security: Uses Row Level Security (RLS) so users can only modify their own game results, while keeping the global leaderboard public.

Why I’m sharing now: The project has crossed 1,000+ started games, and I’m looking for technical contributors to help polish the experience. I’ve opened GitHub issues around sound system customization and performance optimizations for larger boards (e.g. 30×16).

Play: https://zsweep.com

Source: https://github.com/oug-t/zsweep

https://redd.it/1qbijjv
@r_opensource

Stop using MySQL in 2026, it is not true open source
https://optimizedbyotto.com/post/reasons-to-stop-using-mysql/

https://redd.it/1qbkd2f
@r_opensource

What is the real reason behind users' desire for OSS?
https://www.reddit.com/r/opensource/comments/1q9udjt/whats_the_one_proprietary_app_you_cant_find_a/

https://redd.it/1qbkvay
@r_opensource

Open Source Screen Studio Alternative (Linux/Windows/macOS)

Link: https://github.com/tamnguyenvan/screenarc

https://redd.it/1qbk775
@r_opensource

I built a FreeMarker extension for Zed editor (with tree-sitter grammar)

Hey everyone! I just released a FreeMarker syntax highlighting extension for Zed editor, built with a custom tree-sitter grammar.

**What is this?** FreeMarker is a Java template engine that’s been around since 2000.
It’s still **widely used in enterprise systems**, Spring-based applications, and well-known projects like **Keycloak**, where it powers themes, login pages, and emails.

Despite that, modern editor support has been pretty lacking.

**Why Zed?** I recently switched to Zed and was frustrated by the lack of FreeMarker support. Since Zed uses tree-sitter for syntax highlighting, I decided to build a proper grammar from scratch rather than rely on regex hacks.

**A small disclaimer**:

I’m not an expert in grammar design or Rust, so the tree-sitter grammar is very much a learning-by-doing effort. That said, it’s been working well for real-world templates — and PRs, suggestions, and improvements are more than welcome.

**Features:**

* Full tree-sitter-based parsing (accurate even with complex nested structures)
* Both `<#...>` and `[#...]` syntax styles
* HTML injection for mixed templates
* All FreeMarker directives: conditionals, loops, macros, includes, built-ins
* Smart bracket matching and auto-closing

**Links:**

* GitHub: [https://github.com/debba/zed-freemarker](https://github.com/debba/zed-freemarker)
* Tree-sitter grammar: [https://github.com/debba/tree-sitter-freemarker](https://github.com/debba/tree-sitter-freemarker)

Built this mainly for my own projects, but figured others stuck maintaining FreeMarker templates might appreciate it. Let me know if you find any bugs or have feature suggestions!

https://redd.it/1qbpjhp
@r_opensource

Nametag - An open source personal relationships manager
https://nametag.one/

https://redd.it/1qbpvyl
@r_opensource