Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (April 2026)

The Hacker News community once again opens its digital workshop doors in the perennial "Ask HN: What Are You Working On?" thread, a vibrant tradition showcasing the ingenuity and diverse interests of its members. This installment is particularly notable for the pervasive integration of AI and large language models (LLMs) across a wide spectrum of projects, transforming how developers build and what they build. Beyond the AI boom, recurring themes include a strong emphasis on privacy, self-hosting, and the classic "scratch your own itch" mentality.

Key projects and themes emerging from the deluge of contributions include:

• AI-Native Development Tools: Many users are building or leveraging AI agents and LLMs for coding, debugging, code quality assurance (e.g., Caliper by jtbetz22, crit.md by tomasz-tomczyk), testing (voicetest by pldpld, neverbreak.ai by giis), and even orchestrating complex dev environments (Amika by dbmikus, Helm by sudoapps, Prompter Hawk by nlowell). There's a strong current of developers creating tools to manage and improve their AI co-pilots, often sharing their workflows (boutell on Claude Code productivity).
• Hardware & IoT Innovations: Projects span from practical home solutions like cmos's "Still Kicking" motion sensor for elderly care and 3D30497420's open-source smart home interface (weavepanel.com), to specialized electronics like electrodyssey's SYZYGY carrier board and bitmerse's open-source wireless hardware debugger (bUniProbe). Robotics control using LLMs is also a frontier (colinator).
• Productivity & Self-Improvement: A significant number of apps focus on personal habits, learning, and efficiency. Examples include DevDesmond's PhreePet for phone addiction, dandaka's Kardo for language learning flashcards, tracyhenry's Eima todo list/calendar, and frail_figure's Limberly for sedentary worker health. Others seek to simplify complex tasks, such as codencoffee's MealDone for meal planning and marcusdev's offline UK train journey planner.
• Niche SaaS & Industry Solutions: Developers are targeting specific market gaps, such as SpaceL10n's dashboard for collectibles dealers, dhruvchaudhari's Rover search engine for raw logs, KiwiCoder's UK company accounts analysis for worker welfare, milind-soni's AI tour guide builder, and taikon's ergonomic keyboard designed for medical use.
• Privacy-First Alternatives: Reflecting HN's values, numerous projects offer privacy-conscious alternatives to popular services, including whirlingzebra's TravelTracker (no GPS/ads), or29544's offline photo library, phil_r's X.509 certificate decoder for local use, and sbysb's E2EE chat client Meza. Many also emphasize local processing for AI (jikimi's parental control, ryanmcdonough's transcription).
• Educational & Creative Pursuits: From msolomentsev's quantum computing explainer and spudlyo's Emacs-based Latin study pipeline to paulhebert's Tiled Words game and nsainsbury's Photogenesis generative art app, many projects are driven by a passion for learning and creative expression.

In conclusion, this "Ask HN" thread serves as a fascinating snapshot of current developer interests and trends. It underscores the community's drive to build practical, often open-source solutions, frequently empowered by recent advancements in AI, while consistently valuing individual privacy and challenging existing market offerings. The sheer volume and diversity of projects highlight a vibrant ecosystem of builders at various stages of their creative journeys.