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Show HN: Breadboard – A modern HyperCard for building web apps on the canvas
by simquat
Hey HN! I’m Simone. We re-built Breadboard, a visual app builder that mixes Figma-style UI design with Shortcuts-style logic so you can build, preview, and publish interactive web apps directly from the canvas.
What it does
Design UIs visually with a flexible canvas –like Figma–.
Define app logic with a visual, instruction-stacked editor inspired by Shortcuts.
Live preview apps directly on the canvas –no separate preview window–.
Publish working web apps with one click.
Modernize the HyperCard idea: combine layout, behavior, and instant sharing in one place.
Reduce friction between design and a working app.
Make simple web apps approachable for non-developers while keeping power features for developers.
Build a foundation for LLM integration so users can design and develop with AI while still understanding what’s happening, even without coding experience –in progress!–.
Weather forecast app: https://app.breadboards.io/playgrounds/weather
Swiss Public Transit: https://app.breadboards.io/playgrounds/public_transit
info: https://breadboards.io
I would appreciate any feedback :)
Nice - I like the interface, and its easy to navigate. I don't see a way to test the demo apps, but maybe I missed that?
One thing that stands out is where does the app reside? It seems like it perpetually lives within your ecosystem/servers.
For customers that have contracts with me, I'd then need to disclose Breadboard as a subprocessor given the level of integration in the supply chain, IF the apps aren't downloadable and independently auditable.
You've also probably seen SaaS stocks taking a hit lately...
Thanks, really appreciate the feedback!
In the playground the apps can only be previewed in the canvas. Exported/live apps are available here:
Weather App: https://late-cat-2043.breadboards.app
Swiss Public Transit: https://long-wind-1522.breadboards.app
Live apps are hosted on Cloudflare, when an app is published it’s stored and served from R2. Exports are not yet downloadable, but we’ll add downloadable exports soon.
Many years ago, back when I was in high school and they started getting into things like 3D printing and electronics and stuff, the person in charge of all that was discussing the plans with me. I think because I was one of the only students who had electronics experience, at least that people knew about. Anyway, he said they were "going to use breadboard to prototype". The singular of the term was as if it was a product like this. He was so used to every product being a singular of an existing word that would otherwise be plural that when it wasn't a brand/company, he did it anyway. So while I wish you guys much success, feel free to find a name that isn't already a thing.
Breadboard is an excellent name for this project: it tells me that I can snap preexisting components (analogous to ICs) onto a grid and make connections (analogous to wires) between them.
Context, as always, is everything. I don't think that anyone is mistaking Peter Thiel for one of the elves of Valinor.
Looks like a less feature-full version of livecode [0], which I'd argue is more of a HyperCard successor", since they were formerly revolution & MetaCard, and can import HyperCard stacks.
There is also Decker (https://github.com/JohnEarnest/Decker) that is open source and feels much more "Hypercardy", although the retro dithering asthetic may put some people off.
I bought breadboard.ai like 11ish years ago and ended up giving up on in the venture (AI voice assistant hardware built into a house via standard US 120V outlets and light switches, basically Jarvis). Anyway, the logo is begging to be a lowercase b, like this:
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But the dots are small rectangles, like on a breadboard.
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Crafted by Rajat
Source Code