Syntax
Hosted by Wes Bos and Scott Tolinski since 2017, Syntax has published over 900 podcast episodes on full-stack web development, covering everything from HTML, CSS, JavaScript, server side languages, databases, deployment environments, and more. In 2023 Syntax.fm joined forces with Level Up Tutorials adding 2000+ free video tutorials to our library. Wes Bos is co-host of Syntax and a web development educator. Constantly learning, he creates web development courses focused on JavaScript, TypeScript, React, CSS, Node.js and whatever else comes his way. Scott Tolinski is co-host of Syntax and the creator of Level Up Tutorials. In his free time Scott is a dedicated Bboy (breakdancer) & enjoys pushing himself athletically through dance, working out and snowboarding. CJ joined the team to help make YouTube videos that dive deeper into topics covered on the podcast. He is a full stack software developer and the host of Coding Garden. Syntax is brought to you by Sentry (https://sentry.io)
One Last Battle
The Mad CSS final pits Scott Tullinsky against Josh Ko in a high-stakes grid based design battle, with both racers iterating on layout, styling, and responsive details to secure the win. Josh Ko ultimately edges out Scott in a dramatic finish.
Migrating Legacy Code Just Got Easier
The video walks through migrating a large, long-lived codebase with the help of AI, emphasizing a gradual, feature-by-feature approach rather than a big-bang swap. It covers upfront tech choices (e.g., moving from Express to a Web Standards–aligned framework like Hono, and from Pug to JSX), planning and testing with AI, handling templating and data flow, and using tooling (Sentry, voice dictation tools) to manage risk and verify progress during the migration.
MadCSS Semi Final Breakdown and Solution
The video walks through the official Mad CSS semifinal solution, breaking down the grid layout, grid areas, and styling decisions to achieve a 100% score. It then analyzes competitors’ approaches (Wes, Josh, Scott), highlighting font sizes, spacing, colors, and edge cases, and concludes with thoughts on what distinguished the top performances and a preview of the upcoming final battle between Josh and Scott.
Vite’s bet on Cloudflare (VOID Framework)
The episode dives into Cloudflare’s VIT/Void announcement, framing Void as both a full-stack framework and a deployment platform and debating how it compares to Vercel, Next.js, and Rails-like patterns. The hosts dissect its architecture (ORM-like bindings, server actions, loaders, and RPC), potential lock-in vs flexibility, and the implications for local development, ecosystem tooling (Drizzle, Better Off, unjs), and cross-framework usage.
16 Pro Web Devs Compete with CSS | Round 4 | Semi Finals
The video follows the semi finals of Mad CSS, where four web developers compete in two head-to-head battles to reach the final, with detailed play-by-play on their grid and styling strategies. After tense matches and close diffs, Scott advances to the final while Josh or Wes awaits, capped by a sponsor plug and audience engagement prompts.
AI Coding Still Sucks (without validation)
The video reflects on lessons learned since a previous AI coding critique, emphasizing that AI can write code quickly but must be guarded by strong validation and tests. It argues for a design-first, test-heavy workflow and shares practical approaches and mindset changes to make AI-assisted coding more reliable and productive.
MadCSS Quarter Final Breakdown and Solution
CJ breaks down Round Two of the Mad CSS tournament, walking through the official 100% solution and evaluating competitor attempts to show what could boost scores. The video covers the grid-based layout, card internals (avatar, author info, quote), the bottom fade with a pseudo-element, and the box-shadow/gradient details, then compares several competitors (Wes, WebDev Simplified, Josh, etc.) to highlight small changes that moved percentages.
The State of Javascript 2026
Scott and Wes break down the State of JS survey, focusing on how libraries, frameworks, and tooling are trending in 2025–2026 and what the raw data reveals beyond hype. They explore patterns in popularity (often forming backward-C or S-shaped curves), discuss rising players like Vest, Playwright, Astro, Solid, and Astro, and examine testing, bundling, server components, observability, and the influence of AI and evolving tooling on frontend development.
The Internet’s Best Web Devs Compete in CSS | Quarter Finals
March Mad CSS pits eight developers in a bracket of four battles, pushing them to build responsive CSS grid based cards under time pressure. The video follows planning, execution, and iterative tweaks across multiple rounds, culminating in Wes advancing to the semifinals.
MadCSS Round 1 Breakdown and Solution
The video breaks down round one of the Mad CSS tournament, comparing competitors’ solutions to the official approach and highlighting what each did right or wrong. It focuses on layout decisions (flexbox, container sizing, padding, margins, and color choices), demonstrates how the official solution achieves 100%, and points out common pitfalls that cost points in the diff view.
Cloudflare’s Next.js Slop Fork
Steve Falner, Cloudflare’s engineering leader, discusses how Cloudflare ported Next.js to the Vite-based stack (V-Next/OpenX) to run Next.js apps on Cloudflare's platform. He shares the evolution of their approach, including forays into AI-assisted development, testing strategies, risk/guardrails, and the tension between portability and practical constraints, all while reflecting on tooling, DX, and the broader implications of AI in software engineering.
Remote Coding Agents
West Boss and Scott discuss the landscape of remote coding agents, sharing personal setups, pros and cons of running agents locally versus in the cloud, and a spectrum of options from thin clients to cloud orchestration platforms. They cover practical topics like hardware choices (Mac Minis, NAS, Raspberry Pi), networking with Tailscale and cloud tunnels, browser-based agent actions, and the realities of costs, latency, and maintenance, ending with their outlooks on future tooling and personal preferences.
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