February 18, 2026
Block party or block panic?
Show HN: Breadboard – a modern HyperCard for building web apps on the canvas
Click‑to‑build apps spark HyperCard nostalgia—and a comment brawl
TLDR: Breadboard pitches itself as a modern HyperCard, letting people build web apps by stacking blocks and publishing with one click. The crowd split fast: nostalgic cheers and non‑coders thrilled to prototype, versus developers warning about “spaghetti” logic, lock‑in, and whether an AI helper can save complex projects—big stakes for who gets to build software next.
Show HN lit up over Breadboard, a “modern HyperCard” promising apps you can build by stacking simple blocks, getting AI coaching when you’re stuck, and hitting Publish to go live—no servers, no setup. Old‑school fans swooned, dropping screenshots of Apple’s 1987 legend HyperCard and writing love letters like “this is what my teenage self dreamed of.” Nostalgia meter: maxed.
But the honeymoon ended fast. A loud camp warned that drag‑and‑drop logic turns into spaghetti city the moment your app grows. Skeptics fretted about lock‑in and asked if there’s real code export or version control; one joked it’s “YAML with a GUI.” The AI “pair programmer” split the room too: some called it a friendly coach; others called it “a rubber duck with a credit card,” worrying that prompts won’t fix messy logic.
Designers and teachers, though, were ecstatic. Several said they could prototype lessons and client demos in an afternoon and finally stop begging engineers for small changes. Devs fired back with the classic: “Great for demos, terrible for products.” Memes flew: “Hello World in 47 blocks,” “Excel with vibes,” and a running gag that every decade we try to reboot HyperCard and remember why code exists. Over on Hacker News, it’s equal parts love letter and roast session—and impossible to look away.
Key Points
- •Breadboard enables building web apps by stacking readable logic blocks instead of writing code.
- •Users can assemble screen UIs using ready-made native components or imported designs via a style editor.
- •The platform provides AI-assisted guidance, generating prompts to help decide which logic blocks to stack.
- •Publishing is one-click, making apps live and responsive without servers or command-line usage.
- •A demo showcase and plan selection are available to explore capabilities and choose service tiers.