Supply Chain Shock, AI‑Native Engineering, and Smarter Workflows
Shai-Hulud Returns: 300+ NPM Packages Hijacked via Fake Bun Runtime
Around the web • November 24, 2025
A rapid supply‑chain attack poisoned 300+ npm packages by adding a preinstall script (node setup_bun.js) that invokes an obfuscated 10MB bun_environment.js to run TruffleHog and steal NPM, GitHub, and cloud credentials. The malware exfiltrates data via a rogue GitHub Actions runner named “SHA1HULUD” and self‑propagates by republishing compromised packages using stolen tokens; high‑traffic packages such as @zapier/zapier-sdk, @asyncapi/specs, PostHog, and Postman components were affected, while upstream GitHub repos remained clean. If you installed impacted versions, immediately rotate tokens/credentials, audit GitHub Actions runners and secrets, and pin/verify package integrity against trusted sources.
Security and Supply‑Chain Resilience
Lock down SSH on macOS with native Secure Enclave keys
Around the web •November 23, 2025
A new guide explains how to generate and use Secure Enclave–backed SSH keys on macOS using built-in tooling, yielding non‑exportable private keys and Touch ID–gated signing. For developers, this strengthens Git/SSH authentication without external hardware, with trade-offs like no key export and potential limits with agent forwarding and CI workflows.
AI‑Powered Engineering and Operations
Fixit Week: 40 Engineers Close 189 Bugs with AI Assist
Around the web •November 23, 2025
A quarterly “fixit” paused roadmap work so 40 engineers could spend one week eliminating papercuts and DX issues, closing 189 bugs and shipping quick wins like faster CI workflows and an easier-to-integrate SDK build. Simple rules (no task over two days; focus on UX polish and developer productivity) plus a gamified leaderboard sustained momentum. Notably, AI tools reduced context-switching overhead by surfacing relevant code and scaffolding changes, making this a repeatable practice even for smaller teams via mini‑fixits.
AI-Native Engineering: Workflow Playbook, Tools, and SDLC Best Practices
Smashing Magazine •November 18, 2025
Addy Osmani offers a step-by-step playbook for becoming an AI‑native engineer, emphasizing an AI-first mindset, strong prompt/context engineering, and strict verification of outputs. He surveys the current toolchain—IDE agents like Copilot, Cursor, Windsurf, and Cline; prototyping platforms like Bolt, v0, Firebase Studio, and Replit; plus asynchronous repo agents—and shows how to apply AI across the SDLC from requirements to DevOps. Guidance for leaders covers privacy, governance, and building an AI-first culture to turn AI into a durable productivity multiplier.
Proactive Server Management: AI Diagnostics and One‑Click Remediation
Smashing Magazine •November 18, 2025
Smashing Magazine outlines a shift from reactive alerts to automated remediation in server management, spotlighting Cloudways Copilot (GA earlier this year) as a case study. Copilot provides contextual root‑cause insights (e.g., MySQL CPU from a recent plugin query), reducing diagnosis from ~30–40 minutes to ~5, and adds one‑click SmartFixes to resolve common incidents across multiple servers. For freelancers and small teams, predictive monitoring and automation can improve performance and uptime while freeing time for higher‑value work, aligning with a broader “3E” focus on audience, creator, and developer experience.
Design Systems and Dev Workflow
Amplifi Handoff Helper adds Git-like changelogs to Figma handoffs
Amplifi Labs •November 24, 2025
Amplifi Labs introduced Handoff Helper, a Figma plugin that brings Git‑style versioning to design handoffs: designers mark frames “ready,” auto-generate versioned entries on a dedicated Changelog page, and pin checkpoint comments that persist through renames. Developers get deep links to the exact frames to build and can mark items “Implemented,” creating an auditable, bi-directional workflow that cuts rework and status meetings. It gives teams a single source of truth that scales from small squads to complex design systems.
Standardize CSS Animations With Keyframe Tokens and Custom Properties
Smashing Magazine •November 21, 2025
Treat @keyframes as reusable tokens: a shared, prefixed library (e.g., kf-fade-in, kf-slide-in, kf-zoom, kf-spin, kf-pulse) parameterized with CSS custom properties to eliminate duplication and avoid global-scope collisions. The article shows how to compose effects safely (animation-composition: add, transform-order nuances), bake in prefers-reduced-motion variants, and roll out incrementally with clear naming and docs—making UI motion consistent, accessible, and easier to maintain across large codebases.
Programming Languages and Code‑Driven Modeling
Animate lambda calculus: Tromp diagrams and combinators in your browser
Around the web •November 24, 2025
An interactive web applet visualizes lambda calculus with Tromp-style diagrams, color‑coded bindings, and step‑by‑step beta reduction. It supports free‑form input (type 'L' to insert λ) and shorthands for Church booleans/numerals, arithmetic operators, pairs, and classic combinators (I, K, S, Y), enabling quick prototyping and inspection of reductions in the browser. Useful for educators and FP‑curious engineers to build intuition about evaluation, encodings, and recursion.
µcad ships alpha 0.2.14, a code-first 2D/3D modeling language
Around the web •November 23, 2025
µcad is an open-source programming language for generating 2D sketches and 3D objects, now in alpha 0.2.14. The project is evolving quickly with frequent updates and live coding demos (gears, Lego bricks, spirograph) that showcase code-driven, parametric modeling. Developers exploring programmatic CAD and reproducible design pipelines may want to evaluate or track its progress.
