PhillyCocoa Local-first Podcast
I recorded a podcast with my friends from PhillyCocoa. We talked about my transition from iOS to Elixir and more so my recent interest in local-first software.
Posts tagged “elixir”
81 posts.
ElixirConf US 2026 Recap
Notes from watching ElixirConf US 2026 on a virtual ticket, and some talks I'd point you to first.
Finding Your Broken Glass: A Flaky Test Prompt for GitHub Actions
Your CI history already knows which tests flake. This prompt pulls the evidence, names the tests, and works out what the re-runs cost.
One Pipe, One User Story: The Case for phoenix_test
Why phoenix_test makes Phoenix feature tests read better and fail more usefully.
Building LocalCents: A Local-first Expense Tracker with Automerge CRDTs
An educational side project: a local-first expense tracker built with Automerge CRDTs in Elixir, Phoenix, and Tauri, plus how I surface sync conflicts.
An Agent Skill for Updating Elixir Dependencies
What agent skills are, and a walkthrough of the one I lean on to update Elixir dependencies and open a documented pull request.
Shimming Your Way Off a Dead Elixir Dependency
An abandoned dependency was blocking a major upgrade I needed. Here are the two ways I retire one, and when a shim beats a big-bang rewrite.
Guarding Against AI Drift: My Automated Elixir Quality Checks
I have hardened LocalCents with more automated Elixir quality checks than I have ever run. The whole guardrail setup, wired in a real repo.
A Visual Tour of Phoenix's Updated 'magic link' Authentication Code Generator
A visual tour of how `phx.gen.auth` looks to the user, what the core schemas/contexts look like, and I'll sprinkle in some personal commentary as we go.
Ranked Vote Flick Demo
A short demo video of RankedVote.app (Flick), the Elixir and Phoenix LiveView app I built to help the Elixir Book Club pick books.
Conference Notes: Code BEAM America (San Francisco) 2025
I had a great time at the Code BEAM conference. The content was high quality and well presented. Here are some of my notes and links.
Phoenix LiveView: Presenting DateTime in User's Time Zone
Notes on rendering `DateTime` values in the user's time zone on a Phoenix LiveView page, including the limitations I ran into.
Personal Elixir Code Aesthetics
Documenting the code aesthetic choices I made in Flick, my side project, as it reached its MVP milestone.
LiveView Modules Must End in `Live`
A review of the technical situation where the `Live` suffix is more than an optional naming pattern.
Announcing my New Full-Time Job
Starting December 4th I am a Senior Elixir Developer at Allovue, building web-based accounting software for school districts.
Shutting Down ElixirClub
After six months, today I announced ElixirClub's closure.
Elixir Rap Song
Had too much fun asking ChatGPT to generate haiku poems and rap songs about programming tools and languages. Here is one about Elixir.
Elixir Context Accessor Function: Which Return Type Do You Prefer?
Should a context accessor return `{:ok, noun}` or a bare `noun` or `nil`? Why I am moving toward fetch functions and tuples.
A New Project: ElixirClub
ElixirClub is an outcome-oriented community that helps Elixir developers finish their side projects.
Elixir Book Club: Testing Elixir, Starts November 13th
Elixir Book Club is reading Testing Elixir starting November 13th, a solid tour of testing tools across OTP, Ecto, and Phoenix.
Closing Thoughts on my Exercism Video Project
Not overlooking an opportunity to recap the project, I figure I'll capture a few thoughts to celebrate.
Exercism Elixir Track: Take-A-Number Deluxe (GenServer)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about GenServer while completing the Take-A-Number Deluxe exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: RPN Calculator Inspection (Links and Tasks)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Links and Tasks while completing the RPN Calculator Inspection exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Dancing Dots (Behaviours and Use)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Behaviours and Use while completing the Dancing Dots exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Lucas Numbers (Streams)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Streams while completing the Lucas Numbers exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Stack Underflow (Exceptions)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Exceptions while completing the Stack Underflow exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: New Passport (With)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about With while completing the New Passport exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: RPN Calculator (Errors and Try/Rescue)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Errors and Try/Rescue while completing the RPN Calculator exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Need For Speed (Alias and Import)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Alias and Import while completing the Need For Speed exercise.
Some Early Thoughts on LiveView Native
After working through the intro tutorial and demoing the project to my Apple friends, I figured I'd capture my notes and concerns.
Exercism Elixir Track: Captain's Log (Erlang Libraries, Randomness)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Erlang Libraries and Randomness while completing the Captain's Log exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Bread And Potions (Protocols)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Protocols while completing the Bread And Potions exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Community Garden (Agent)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Agent while completing the Community Garden exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Boutique Suggestions (List Comprehensions)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
Comprehensions while completing the Boutique Suggestions exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Remote Control Car (Structs)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Structs while completing the Remote Control Car exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Chessboard (Ranges)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Ranges while completing the Chessboard exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Newsletter (File)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about the File module while completing the Newsletter exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Top Secret (AST: Abstract Syntax Tree)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
This exercise was a tougher one for me. I cut out a bunch of head scratching but is still ended up being almost an hour. Ugh.
Exercism Elixir Track: File Sniffer (Binaries)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Binaries while completing the File Sniffer exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Boutique Inventory (Enum)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Enum while completing the Boutique Inventory exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Basketball Website (Access Behaviour)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Access Behaviour while completing the Basketball Website exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Take-A-Number (PIDs and Processes)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about PIDs and Processes while completing the Take-A-Number exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Library Fees (Dates and Time)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Dates and Time while completing the Library Fees exercise.
ElixirConf Recap
Some notes and takeaways from my time at ElixirConf.
ElixirConf Talks of Interest
I went through the ElixirConf schedule to pick out the talks I want to catch. Sharing my notes in case they are useful.
Exercism Elixir Track: DNA Encoding (Bitstrings and Tail Call Recursion)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Bitstrings and Tail Call Recursion while completing the DNA Encoding exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Wine Cellar (Keyword Lists)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Keyword Lists while completing the Wine Cellar exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Log Parser (Regular Expressions)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we ATTEMPT to learn about Regular Expressions while completing the Log Parser exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Name Badge (If and Nil)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about If and Nil while completing the Name Badge exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: RPG Character Sheet (IO)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about IO while completing the RPG Character Sheet exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: German Sysadmin (Case and Charlist)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Case and Charlist while completing the German Sysadmin exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: City Office (Docs and Typespecs)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Docs and Typespecs while completing the City Office exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Bird Count (Recursion)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Recursion while completing the Bird Count exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: High Score (Maps and Module Attributes as Constants)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Maps and Module Attributes as Constants while completing the High Score exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: High School Sweetheart (Pipe Operator and Strings)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Pipe Operator and Strings while completing the High School Sweetheart exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Kitchen Calculator (Pattern Matching and Tuples)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Pattern Matching and Tuples while completing the Kitchen Calculator exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Guessing Game (Default Arguments, Guards, and Multiple Clause Functions)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Default Arguments, Guards, and Multiple Clause Functions while completing the Guessing Game exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Log Level (Atoms and Cond)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video, we learn about Atoms and Cond while completing the Log Level exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Language List (Lists)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video we learn about Lists while completing the Language List exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Freelancer Rates (Floating Point Numbers and Integers)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video we learn about Floating Point Numbers and Integers while completing the Freelancer Rates exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Pacman Rules (Booleans)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video we learn about Booleans while completing the Pacman Rules exercise.
Exercism Elixir Track: Secrets (Anonymous Functions and Bit Manipulation)
· Series: Exercism Elixir Track
In today's Exercism Elixir Track video we learn about Anonymous Functions and Bit Manipulation while completing the Secrets exercise.
Exercism Elixir Cohort, New Video Series
Exercism is running a free August cohort for its Elixir track, and I am making a video series to follow along with it.
Elixir Style: Prefer Unnested Aliases
I recommend avoiding nested aliases since it negatively impacts your ability to text search a project for module usage.
Personal Phoenix 1.6 Upgrade Notes
Migrating a Phoenix project to a new version can be scary and error prone. Personal notes and tips from upgrading mine to 1.6.
Elixir Terminology: Parameters vs Attributes
Parameters are data arriving from outside the system. Attributes are the internal Elixir structures. Why I keep them straight.
Using Schemaless Changesets to Separate Concerns Between the Web Context and the Business Context
Schemaless changesets let you hand craft validations for a web form and keep a firm boundary between web and business contexts.
Retro Taxi: September 2021 Update
A progress update on RetroTaxi, my Phoenix LiveView retrospective board, with a video walkthrough of what works so far.
Resources and Suggestions to Find Elixir-based Employment
Job boards, Slack rooms, newsletters, and other places to look when you want full time or contract work writing Elixir.
Improve the Clarity of Your Elixir Code Through Expressive and Consistent Language
A list of terms I try to use consistently in my Elixir code, and a nudge to build a shared vocabulary with your team.
Understanding when to use String-based Maps vs Atom-based Maps
Elixir maps take string keys or atom keys, and the mix trips up beginners. Here is how I decide which to use, and where the boundary belongs.
RetroTaxi Project Kickoff
Kicking off RetroTaxi, an open source Phoenix LiveView retrospective board I am building as a teaching example, starting from its pitch document.
Securing Webhook Payload Delivery in Phoenix
A webhook endpoint is just a POST route, and anyone who finds it can send you a payload. How I secure delivery in Phoenix.
Understanding the Tradeoffs with Elixir Typespecs and Dialyzer
Dialyzer's first error is often not the one to fix. The tradeoffs of Elixir typespecs, and how to read that error list.
Introducing Phoenix by Example
With my increasing enjoyment of Elixir and Phoenix I've been anxious to find a teaching outlet using these technologies.
Using Postmark's new Broadcast Email Stream via Elixir and Swoosh
I added support for Postmark's new broadcast message stream to the Swoosh Elixir email library. Here is how to use it.
Video: An Introduction to Elixir
Talk video and slides introducing Elixir, covering the language basics, what it is good for, and why it fits certain problems well.
Video: Working With Time Zones in an Elixir Phoenix App
Talk video and slides on what time zones are, how Elixir models them, and strategies for handling them in a Phoenix app backed by Ecto.
First ElixirConf, and Then Azeroth
Heading to my first ElixirConf for four days of workshops and talks, including LiveView. Then some well-earned time in Azeroth.
Philly Elixir Meetup is Rebooting
The Philly Elixir Meetup is coming back after too long a hiatus. First meeting is May 6th at PromptWorks. Come say hello.
ElixirConf 2018 Notes
Notes from ElixirConf 2018, and why Elixir is the ecosystem I settled on after years of sampling everything outside Apple's.