When possible, I prefer to upgrade dependencies incrementally rather than making several version jumps. So, we try not to go from React 16 to 19. We go from 16 to 17, then to 18, and finally to 19. The Risks of Jumping Multiple Versions It’s very tempting to jump to the latest release. It feels like time travel; putting your application on the latest in the fewest number of steps. What’s not to like? ...

A policy I favor with dependency management: go forward. Going backward is an exception that we must plan to remedy. Example Consider a CVE in a dependency at version 5.0 (v5.0). We’re advised that v6.0 and v4.0 are safe. Which way should we go, forward or backward? We want to default to forward. Even if we’ve been on v4.0 before and know it is compatible. Even if we aren’t sure that v6.0 is “solid” or if it takes some code changes to implement. ...

If people can make catastrophic mistakes on your team, the process is broken. ...

Why do software teams push continuous deployment so strongly? One of the most important and least discussed reasons is engineer morale. ...

Is a Docker container available on a registry? Here’s how I’d check, right from the CLI: docker image ls <container-name> ...

Permanently forking a library is something I’ve observed on several teams. But, there are tradeoffs that aren’t always obvious. ...

A missing README is rarely just missing documentation. It usually signals other things, too. ...

When adding CI checks, you can gradually increase rigor while easing your codebase into a better place. ...

I use the append >> and overwrite > redirection operators all the time. Today I’d like to share a simple mental model I’ve developed for remembering which is which. ...

A developer experience practice I’ve recently picked up is routine Friday reboots of my workstation. I think this can make your workflow (and even perhaps your life as an engineer?) a little better. ...