Syntax – Tasty Web Development Treats

Wes talks with Peter Pistorius about RedwoodSDK, a new React framework built natively for Cloudflare. They dive into real-time React, server components, zero-cost infrastructure, and why RedwoodSDK empowers developers to ship faster with fewer tradeoffs and more control. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:52 What is RedwoodSDK? 04:49 Choosing openness over abstraction 08:46 More setup, more control 12:20 Why RedwoodSDK only runs on Cloudflare 14:25 What the database setup looks like 16:15 Durable Objects explained – Ep 879: Fullstack Cloudflare 18:14 Middleware and request flow 23:14 No built-in client-side router? 24:07 Integrating routers with defineApp 26:04 React Server Components and real-time updates 29:53 What happened to RedwoodJS? 31:14 Why do opinionated frameworks struggle to catch on? 34:35 The problem with Lambdas 36:16 Cloudflare’s JavaScript runtime compatibility 40:04 Brought to you by Sentry.io 41:44 The vision behind RedwoodSDK Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

Scott and Wes break down the latest in JavaScript news, including new async patterns in Svelte, React Server Component tooling with Parcel, and Redwood’s push into Cloudflare with its new SDK. They also cover what’s new in Storybook 9 Beta, from visual testing to a sleeker, lighter build. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 02:50 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 03:37 Syntax Meetup! 04:09 React View Transitions. 08:58 addTransitionType. 11:18 Activity API. Offscreen Renamed to Activity. 14:22 Maintaining state in search queries. 16:29 Asynchronous Svelte. Playground. 19:04 Svelte Boundary. 25:13 Parcel RSC. 27:15 Redwood SDK. 30:55 Storybook 9 Beta. Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

Scott and Wes sit down with Cassie Evans of GSAP to talk all things animation—from SVGs and scroll timelines to GSAP’s new rebrand and exciting features. They also dig into performance, plugins, and what makes GSAP such a powerful tool for web developers. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:59 What is GSAP? Cassie Codes. 01:53 GSAP Rebranding. 04:44 GSAP under the hood. 05:29 The big announcement! 07:19 GSAP Showcase. 11:01 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 11:26 Why is GSAP easier for animations? GSAP Docs. 12:38 Animating with SVGs. 13:33 The love of SVG. 14:55 GSAP is performant. 16:06 Gotchas to watch out for. 18:12 Does GSAP work with canvas? 19:02 What GSAP projects are you most proud of? 20:30 Does it play nice with web frameworks? GSAP with React. 22:32 What are you excited about in CSS right now? Scroll Timeline. 24:27 Will any of these make their way into GSAP? 26:31 Timelines. 29:24 Building animations with timelines. 34:55 What are the best GSAP plugins? Split Text spanran-wrap. Physics 2D Plugin. 38:44 GSAP docs and philosophy. 39:50 Scrubbing animations by frame. 41:09 GSAP Video Exporter. 41:45 Animating with JavaScript. 45:19 JavaScript in unconventional applications. 47:56 Is there anything missing in web tech? 50:53 What about AI in GSAP? 52:40 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs. Sick Picks Cassie: Eyesy Video Synthesis. Shameless Plugs Cassie: Smashing Conf. Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

Wes and Scott talk all things 3D printing—from fixing every day items to organizing tools, printing gadgets, and even teaching their kids entrepreneurship. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 03:34 Brought to you by Sentry.io 05:03 Practical uses of 3D printing 07:34 Creating tools for organization Gridfinity 10:33 Improving and adapting everyday items Underware 14:34 The benefits of printing something vs buying it 15:32 Choosing the right 3D printer Bamboo Lab Elegoo Prusa Flashorge 25:26 Projects and ideas Multiboard 31:33 Filament types and their uses 40:05 Finding affordable filament Deal Forager 46:07 Where to find 3D models Maker World yeggi Printables Thangs Thingverse 48:08 Creating your own 3D models Fusion Shapr3D Onshape 53:00 Modifying existing 3D models 54:30 Coding in 3D printing Bento shards ManifoldCAD Hunyuan3D-2mv-Turbo Mecagent 01:01:25 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs Sick Picks Scott: Alaska Bear Organic Silk Sleep Mask Wes: BLV - AMS Riser Shameless Plugs Syntax YouTube Channel Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

Scott and Wes break down the tricks and techniques for making your app feel blazing fast—even when it’s not. From optimistic UI to preload-on-hover, it’s all about perception, not just performance. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:12 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 02:34 Mousedown or pointerdown events. 06:00 UI animations should be fast. 08:00 Animations should not block interaction. 08:20 Animations should be cancellable / reversible. 10:50 Optimistic UI. 12:37 Local Data. 13:36 Delay loading indicators. 14:40 Page loading indicators. 15:47 Preload on hover. 17:13 Calculate mouse trajectory. 18:51 Full page spinner on every change. 20:04 Pixelated spinners. 20:23 Skeleton loaders. 23:43 Photo frames. 25:52 Search on input instead of search on click. 26:46 Progress loaders than move in between steps. 27:31 Community submissions. Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

Scott and Wes break down the current state of React Server Components — what they are, how they work, and why they’re so controversial. From framework support to bundling complexity, it’s everything you need to know about RSC in 2025. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:01 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 01:55 What exactly are React Server Components? 02:18 Server components rendering. 03:17 Server components are async. 03:45 Server components can be suspended. 05:05 Server components send RSC payloads to the browser. 06:08 This feels like HTMX? 06:54 Client components are still server rendered. 07:58 Server Functions. 08:52 useActionState. 09:12 Frameworks and React Platforms. 09:16 NextJS. 09:42 Waku. 12:26 candycode.com Daishi Kato 14:23 React Router. Michael Jackson Tweet. 19:29 Vite. vite-plugin-react-server 20:54 Tanstack. Syntax Ep 833. 22:39 Bun. 23:01 DIY. 23:39 Why so much hate? 25:28 I want it my way. 27:46 React Server Components lock-in. Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

Wes and Scott talk with Chad Whitacre, the newest member of the Syntax team, about all things open source—licenses, controversies, economics, and ethics. Chad breaks down what most people misunderstand, and how companies can support sustainable software development the right way. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:39 Meet Chad Whitacre 03:39 Chad’s retro headphones Retrospekt 05:00 Chad’s role at Syntax https://syntax.fm/oss Open Path 09:41 What do people get wrong about open source? 11:11 Why is open source so divisive? 13:01 The evolution of open source and free software 17:55 Single vendor vs. community open source 20:22 How do people build businesses off of a GPL license? 24:40 What’s the most pure version of open source? 26:55 Fair source licensing explained 30:30 Brought to you by Sentry.io 33:09 Should you be concerned about dependencies in your app in relation to licensing? Fair Source 35:16 What’s the most interesting/unusual open source license? Beerware License 40:00 What is Open Source Pledge? Open Source Pledge 45:41 Choosing the right open source license 48:31 Wes’ most popular open source project wait 49:39 Interesting open source projects Mercedes-Benz embraces Open Source Porsche Open Source Platform 51:33 Licensing for educational content 53:46 The beauty of open source Plausible 56:12 Scott’s various open source projects 56:44 The importance of contributing to open source projects 59:16 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs Sick Picks Chad: Save The Cat! Shameless Plugs Chad: Coming soon Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

Scott and Wes break down the Model Context Protocol (MCP), a new open standard that gives AI agents secure, tool-like access to your dev environment. They cover how it works, why it’s a big deal for AI coding workflows, and real-world use cases like GitHub, Sentry, and YouTube. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:49 The lore of ICP. Wes MCP Shirt. 03:09 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 03:33 What is MCP? 05:06 The steps of AI coding. 07:11 MCP hosts. 07:28 MCP clients. 07:35 MCP servers. 08:24 Why you might want to do this. 10:39 How this works in VS Code. 14:10 Wes built an MCP server. SVGL. 14:57 Playwright. 17:24 Sentry’s implementation. Building Sentry’s MCP with David Cramer. 18:54 YouTube implementation. 21:19 DaVinci Resolve implementation. Smithery. 23:02 Postgres. 24:40 Transport protocols. 24:49 STDIO. 25:19 SSE. 25:32 Streaming. 26:24 Writing you own MCP server. 26:28 FastMCP. 27:00 Cloudflare. 28:01 Data validation. 28:47 Standard schema. Episode 873. 29:27 Other parts of MCP. 29:35 MCP resources. 30:37 MCP prompts. 30:48 MCP roots. Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads