ShopTalk 720: TypeScript Complaints, Slowing Down, and AT Proto Protocols
Jun 22, 2026
They complain about TypeScript tooling and error messages and debate human-friendly troubleshooting ideas. They dive into decorators, third-party types, and CodePen’s TypeScript tradeoffs. They ponder slowing down development to avoid bugs and CI/worktree headaches. They explore AT Proto / Blue Sky protocols and syndication for blogs. They introduce interestFor/interest invokers in HTML and worry about UI clutter. They mention Clues by Sam as a cognitive check-in.
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Slowing Down Eased A Bug Surge
- Slow down development to reduce accumulating bugs and context-switching costs.
- Chris credited Alex and his team for enforcing fewer changes, more review, and taking walks to reset when bugs piled up on CodePen.
Prefer Composable Build Blocks Over Hidden Monoliths
- Build toolchains as composable blocks to avoid hidden monoliths that force secret versions.
- Chris described CodePen's block model (TypeScript, Babel, Sass) and tensions around bundled type versions for React.
Augment Or Fork Broken Third Party Types
- When third-party types are wrong or slow to update, fork or augment types internally to keep builds moving.
- Chris described using DefinitelyTyped, upstreaming fixes, and internal type augmentations for Babel config issues.