June 19, 2026
Code tool, cursor chaos
Show HN: Modeloop – From visual algorithms to microcontroller C code
A promising code-making tool got roasted over its wild cursor and weird sign-up vibes
TLDR: Modeloop wants to turn visual diagrams into code and test files for tiny-device software, aiming to make building these systems easier. The community liked the idea, but the loudest reactions were about a bizarre cursor change, odd sign-up wording, and whether this can really challenge older tools people already know.
A new Show HN project called Modeloop is pitching a big idea: draw out your system visually, then turn those diagrams into actual source code, tests, and documents people can review. In plain English, it wants to help people build software for tiny devices by sketching it first instead of hand-writing everything from scratch. But the comments instantly swerved from the grand vision to the real emergency: the mouse cursor.
One user delivered the kind of polite-but-devastating feedback only the internet can produce, begging the creators not to change the cursor because it felt "unexpected" and "disorienting." Another commenter joked that Hacker News found the bug faster than any quality team ever could. That set the tone: half product review, half public intervention. Then came a second mini-scandal when someone asked what was up with the strange sign-in language about specifically approving part of the terms and conditions. For some readers, the real prototype drama was not the code tool at all, but the mystery legal vibes.
Still, it was not all doomposting. One embedded software developer said they actually want to test it with their team, though they suspect it may be more useful for customer-facing solution engineers than hardcore device coders. Others compared it to older giants like Simulink, LabView, and Matlab, with one cheeky question cutting through the buzz: does it support Imperial units? In other words, the launch got curiosity, cautious optimism, and a lovingly chaotic community roast all at once.
Key Points
- •Modeloop is presented as a model-based engineering workflow.
- •The article says Modeloop is more than a canvas and more than a simulator.
- •Its diagrams are intended to become source code.
- •The workflow also produces tests from the modeled diagrams.
- •Modeloop generates reviewable artifacts as part of the engineering process.