Article · 2026-08-03 · 6 moments

Devtools must be open source (exe.dev)

My comment on Devtools must be open source (exe.dev) — Hacker News. One of the arguments for open source software for end-users has always been the freedom to examine and modify how that software works. The reality for most people - even expert programmers - has been that the freedom is more about being able to lean on other people to do that. Most people can't justify the time commitment needed to read and then modify the code for tools they use very often. I think LLMs have changed th ✦ AI generated

Read original ↗

GUEST Author (Hacker News comment)HOST Simon Willison

Mechanism

Getting software to compile in order to hack on it used to be enough friction that I often wouldn't bother, but now I treat building and checkout as a zero-time-investment challenge delegated to Codex or Claude Code.

The author contrasts the old compile-first friction with the new practice of telling Codex or Claude Code to checkout and build, returning later to see progress.

transcript

Author (Hacker News comment): Getting software to compile in order to start hacking on it used to be enough friction that I often wouldn't bother. Now I treat that as a zero time investment challenge: tell Codex or Claude Code to checkout and build X and then come back ten minutes later and see how it got on.

gives example · 2provides context · 2

Prediction◆

I'm not habitually modifying the software I use yet, but I can see a path to that which didn't exist a year or so ago.

The author closes by noting he is not yet routinely modifying his software, but LLMs have opened a path to doing so that did not exist a year ago.

transcript

Author (Hacker News comment): I'm not habitually modifying the software I use yet, but I can see a path to that which didn't exist a year or so ago.

extends · 2provides context · 1

Claim

In practice, the freedom of open source mostly means leaning on other people to do the examining and modifying, because most people can't justify the time commitment to read and modify code themselves.

The author argues that even for expert programmers, the real value of open source has been delegating inspection and modification to others, since few can justify the time cost.

transcript

Author (Hacker News comment): The reality for most people - even expert programmers - has been that the freedom is more about being able to lean on other people to do that. Most people can't justify the time commitment needed to read and then modify the code for tools they use very often.

supports · 1

Example

I routinely prompt Claude to clone a GitHub repo and explain how part of it works.

As concrete evidence, the author describes prompting Claude several times a day to clone a repo from GitHub and explain how a given component works.

transcript

Author (Hacker News comment): Several times a day I'll prompt regular Claude chat to "Clone x/y from GitHub and tell me how Z works".

gives example · 2provides context · 1

Claim◆

LLMs have changed the equation in a way that makes the original open-source dream of examining and modifying code much more feasible.

The author's central thesis: large language models have shifted the cost/benefit of actually reading and modifying code, reviving the original open-source dream.

transcript

Author (Hacker News comment): I think LLMs have changed that equation in a way that makes the original dream much more feasible.

extends · 1provides context · 1supports · 1

Claim

One of the arguments for open source software for end-users has always been the freedom to examine and modify how that software works.

The author opens by stating the classic rationale for open-source software aimed at end-users: the freedom to inspect and change how the software behaves.

transcript

Author (Hacker News comment): One of the arguments for open source software for end-users has always been the freedom to examine and modify how that software works.

Highlight slides

未养成修改软件习惯，但已现可能路径✦ from: I'm not habitually modifying the software I use yet, but I can see a path to that which didn't exist a year or so ago.LLMs Revive the Open-Source Dream✦ from: LLMs have changed the equation in a way that makes the original open-source dream of examining and modifying code much more feasible.

Related episodes

Article · Interconnects

Teaching Everyone to Fish for Tokens

→

Video · All-In Podcast

OpenAI vs Anthropic IPOs, Anthropic $3T, Zuck's Price War, China Ends Open Source?, Trump Accounts

→

Video · BG2 Pod

The SpaceX IPO, Fable 5, AI Capex Update & Market Check w/ Gavin Baker, Andrew Fox & Clark Tang

→