Learn Alpine, Chai and Tmux

Alpine.js offers you the reactive and declarative nature of big frameworks like Vue or React at a much lower cost.

You get to keep your DOM, and sprinkle in behavior as you see fit.

alpine

Welcome to this beginner level series on Alpine JS! 👋🏞

Alpine JS is a rugged, minimal framework for composing JavaScript behaviour in your markup. It brings declarative, reactive, data-driven nature of libraries like React or Vue to your HTML templates.

This is the series intro video. Let's get started!

Series Intro - Beginner Level Alpine JS

In this lesson, we build a little app that fetches dog photos from the dog.ceo API, based on a "breed" search field. We want the API call to happen again when the search value changes, and to do so we use the `$watch` property from Alpine JS, which lets us define what state property we want to watch, and what callback function to run when a change happens.

We also use the `debounce` modifier on the `x-model` property to avoid firing an API call on each keystroke.

Refetch API data when a state value changes with the `$watch` property in Alpine JS

Welcome to this beginner level series on Alpine JS! 👋🏞

Alpine JS is a rugged, minimal framework for composing JavaScript behaviour in your markup. It brings declarative, reactive, data-driven nature of libraries like React or Vue to your HTML templates.

In this series, you will learn about Alpine's handy **directives**. You'll discover how to define a component scope with `x-data`, run code on mount with `x-init`, attach event listeners with `x-on`, display data with `x-text`, decide wether or not to show an element with `x-show`, iterate through data with `x-for`, retrieve a DOM element with `x-ref`, learn how to achieve _two-way data binding_ with `x-model`, and much more.

You'll also learn how **"modifiers"** can be applied and chained to directives to provide additional functionality: control the animation transition of entering and leaving DOM elements, debounce an event listener, etc.

We'll also touch on what Alpine calls **"magic properties"**, which give you access to native browser events (`$event`), reference to DOM elements (`$refs`), and more.

You'll gradually discover Alpine's API and syntax, from building simple tabs to a mini app that fetches a dog picture based on a "breed" search field. 🐶

**Get ready to breathe some fresh air** - it's time to walk into cool, green Alpine pastures! 🏞

Sprinkle declarative, reactive behaviour on your HTML with Alpine JS

In this lesson, we see how the `x-model` directive makes achieving "two-way data binding" effortless in Alpine JS.

We see what it would take to recreate the same functionality with an `x-bind` directive for the input value, as well as an `@input` event listener which, thanks to an access to the browser's native events via the `$event` magic property, sets the state value to `$event.target.value`.

Keep a DOM input and state value in sync with the `x-model` directive in Alpine JS

In this lesson, we learn how to retrieve a DOM element via the `x-ref` directive in Alpine JS, which gives us a reference to the element it is applied on. In our case, an input field.

We can then use the `$refs` object, and reach for the ref we need to target.

This allows us to trigger the focus state of the input field, with the `.focus()` method.

Focus an input field on button click with `x-ref` and the `$refs` property in Alpine JS

In this lesson, we learn how the `x-init` directive in Alpine JS lets us run a JavaScript expression once the component has initiated.

We see the nuances that allow us to trigger that code before Alpine performs initial DOM updates, or after these updates have been made.

Focus in input field on page load with `x-init` in Alpine JS

In this lesson, we smoothen the transitions between tabs by applying a `transition` modifier to our `x-show` directive.

We see how we can ignore the leaving elements, and focus the animation on the entering elements. We tweak the transition duration and origin by chaining additional modifiers to our `x-show` directive.

Control enter and leave transitions with the `x-show.transition` modifier in Alpine JS

In this lesson, we create a set of tabs with Alpine JS, where only the content of the currently active tab is visible. To do this, we define an `activeTab` state value with `x-data. We then wire up our buttons to change the value of `activeTab` on click, and use `x-show` to determine if the tab content should be visible or not, based on the value of `activeTab`.

We also take control of the `class` attribute with `x-bind`, and we conditionally output an "active" class based on, you guessed it, the value of `activeTab`.

Toggle visibility and styles based on state with `x-show` and `x-bind` in Alpine JS

In this lesson, we define a "count" state value with the `x-data` directive provided by Alpine JS. This defines a new scoped component, which can have access to this state.

We then display the "count" value in our HTML with the `x-text` directive, which updates an element's `innerText` value.

We also hook up buttons with click event listeners with `x-on:click`, which allows us to modify the count value as desired.

Update a count state value with the x-on event listener directive in Alpine JS

In this lesson, we move the component definition to a function, defined in a script tag in the HTML document.

We then iterate through an Array of Objects with the `x-for` directive in Alpine JS. We use a `<template>` tag to wrap the HTML element we want to repeat for each item, and put the `x-for` directive on that template tag.

We also define a "computed" property by adding a method on our function, which checks if a given ID matched the currently active tab id. This computed property allows us to determine wether or not to apply the "active" classname to our tab buttons.

Iterate through data with the `x-for` attribute in Alpine JS

Chai is a BDD / TDD assertion library for node and the browser that can be delightfully paired with any javascript testing framework.

chai

In this lesson, you will learn how to verify your API server is returning HTTP 400 responses when clients submit incorrect data. Returning HTTP 400 ensures that your clients are notified of the incorrect usage. Testing for them ensures your API returns errors instead of incorrect responses when supplied with incorrect data.

Test for HTTP 400 responses with Mocha and Chai

In this lesson, we will use Chai's request method to test our Node application's API responses.
By the end of this lesson, you will know how to:
- install the prerequisites to use mocha and chai in your application
- test for HTTP status response codes
- test for a string of text on a page
- test for a json response and validate the properties of the object
- write tests that not only verify the response of your application, but the behavior as well


Test Node RESTful API with Mocha and Chai

It lets you switch easily between several programs in one terminal, detach them (they keep running in the background) and reattach them to a different terminal.

tmux

In this lesson, we'll look at how to manage your history between tmux sessions, and ensure that your setup preserves your bash history between multiple windows. By adding a special PROMPT_COMMAND to your .bashrc, you can update and reload your history after every command, regardless of if you're in a different session, window, or tab.


Handle history in tmux sessions

In this lesson, we'll learn how to detach from a running tmux session and leave it running in the background. Then, we can re-attach to it later.

We'll cover:
- How to exit a session by killing all active panes
- Detaching explicitly with C-b d
- Detaching a specific session with C-b D
- Viewing all running tmux sessions using tmux ls
- Reattaching with tmux attach -t

Reuse terminal workspaces using tmux sessions

One non-obvious, but extremely useful, feature in tmux is copy-pasting text between panes. This also allows you to scroll back in a tmux sessoin. We'll cover how to use copy and paste in tmux using C-b [ and C-b ], for both emacs- and vim-style keybindings.

Copy and paste text from a tmux session

You can modify tmux's behavior with your tmux configuration file, .tmux.conf. You can use your tmux config to change color schemes, set custom keybindings, set defaults, modify the status bar, and more. In this lesson, we'll change some of the default color options as well as modify the prefix key.


Customize tmux with tmux.conf

By using ssh, you can share a tmux session, making pair programming much easier. We'll learn how to share a tmux session with another user. 


Share a tmux session for pair programming with ssh

Do you have a standard workflow that involves setting up a specific tmux layout, or running certain commands? By writing tmux scripts, you can automate your tedious daily setup, while simultaneously documenting it for yourself. We'll cover the tmux command equivalents of common key bindings and write some simple, useful scripts.


Automate your workflow using tmux scripts

In tmux, a window is a collection of panes. Creating multiple windows is a great way to organize your workspace. In this lesson, we'll cover:

- How to create a new window within a tmux session, using `C-b c`
- Navigating between windows with `C-b n` and `C-b p`

Create collections of panes using tmux windows

Sometimes you'll want to zoom in on a specific pane within a tmux window. We'll learn to use C-b z to temporarily zoom in on one pane, as well as how to resize your panes with C-b -L, -R, -U, and -D.


Zoom and resize to view a particular pane within tmux

Learn to organize your workspace using tmux. We'll create a new tmux session and learn how to create and navigate panes within a tmux window.

We'll cover:

- How to create new panes via vertical splits with C-b %
- How to create new panes via horizontal splits with C-b "
- Navigating between panes with C-b and arrow keys
- Closing panes with exit or Ctrl-d
- Viewing available commands with C-b ?

Organize your terminal using tmux panes

Gemini 2.0 has a context window of a million tokens, and this means that you can upload hundreds of files and allow it to inspect and analyze massive refactors across entire code bases. 

This lesson demonstrates concatenating an entire code base into a single file and then uploading it to AI Studio. Once within AI Studio, we ask it to find the types of tasks that it can evaluate for us. Then we select one of the tasks and ask it to generate instructions for that task. Once those instructions are complete, we then turn them over to Windsurf's Cascade agent, and we allow Windsurf's Cascade to do all of the work for us as we sit back, relax, and let the AI do our jobs.

Use Gemini 2.0 to Create Agent Instructions to Refactor an Entire Codebase

Learn how to display custom components in a [Tanstack Table cell](https://tanstack.com/table/latest/docs/guide/cells), including how to render capitalized text, apply conditional styling with class helper functions, and format dates using the `Intl` API for readable display. 

`flexRender` allows you to utilize the `cell` callback method in your column definitions. Tanstack table will call this function to render the custom component you defined.

Render Custom JSX in a Tanstack Table cell

Use tanstack table flexRender method to render custom components in a table component. Capitalize letters, apply conditional styling, and render dates with Intl

I'm extremely excited for the potential of AI watching your screen while you work. I decided to take Google's AI Studio for a spin, which just introduced a feature called "Stream Realtime", which allows AI Studio to observe your screen and listen to your microphone while you work.

This video is my initial attempt to try and coach AI Studio through the process of building a site from a reference site, essentially trying to build egghead.io from a Next.js starter template. And we'll explore the various attempts we make and what works and what doesn't.

Let AI Watch Your Screen: Build Next.js Pages with AIStudio's Stream Realtime


[Shadcn](https://ui.shadcn.com/docs) is a popular component library that allows you to install components into your codebase.

Learn how to install the [Table component](https://ui.shadcn.com/docs/components/table) and use that presentational component with [Tanstack table](https://tanstack.com/table/latest).


Display Tabular Data in React with Tanstack Table

Build a dynamic table component in React using shadcn component library and tanstack react table.

TypeScript's satisfies operator finally clicked for me when I realized it's almost always used for specific implementations of configuration objects. So this lesson walks you through the naive approaches I've taken before and how to solve them using the satisfies operator. After this, satisfies will be another tool in your belt in TypeScript. To clean up all the TypeScript code you have around configuration.

TypeScript's "satisfies" for Configuration

Windsurf and Cursor are both able to take an image and then use an agent to build out what it sees in that image. This lesson is going to compare Windsurf and Cursor by uploading the same image to both and giving them the same prompt. Comparing not only the results, but also the steps that they take to get there. We'll also try uploading additional images throughout the process to see what they do as far as revising along the way and improving the site as they go along. 

Windsurf Cascade vs. Cursor Composer Agent: Build a Site from an Image

In this lesson, you'll discover how to style View Transitions using CSS pseudo-selectors to create custom animation effects. We'll transform the default cross-fade into a smooth slide transition by targeting the ::view-transition-old and ::view-transition-new pseudo-elements. You'll learn how these powerful selectors give you precise control over your transition animations, allowing you to create more engaging and personalized user experiences with just a few lines of CSS.

Customize View Transitions with CSS Using view-transition-old and view-transition-new

In this lesson, you'll learn how to implement smooth state transitions in your web applications using the browser's built-in View Transitions API. We'll create a simple example that demonstrates how to animate between different text states with just a few lines of code - no external libraries required. This powerful native API makes it easy to add professional-looking transitions to your user interface, enhancing the user experience with minimal effort.

Create Smooth UI Transitions with the Native View Transitions API

I've been using Cursor for a very long time and their "Agent" feature in Composer is fairly new, so I'm still getting used to it. But since Windsurf recently got onto the stage with their Cascade agent, they've slowly been gaining the mind share on the UX for coding agents. I decided to put them to the test by putting Windsurf and Cursor on the exact same screen side by side trying to accomplish the same task and to see which workflow I would prefer. I've been a diehard Cursor user for over a year now, so it's going to take a lot for me to switch to a different IDE. But I just have to say, even from this simple demo, Windsurf is looking pretty nice.

This lesson is just going to walk through creating a CLI using both tools to print out inspirational quotes and to explore how they approach the step-by-step of installing packages and running commands and setting up all the files we need to get this running.

Windsurf Cascade vs. Cursor Composer Agent Side-by-Side Comparison

I've been using Cursor as my primary editor for over a year now, but recently I've heard wonderful things about Windsurf AI Agent features. I decided to record myself building out something I've always wanted to make, but never made the time for.

In this lesson, I demonstrate how to leverage Windsurf's powerful agent process to create a fun word-guessing game inspired by Heads Up. Watch as I build an interactive application featuring category selection and word navigation, complete with data hosting on GitHub Gists and deployment to GitHub Pages - all in under 30 minutes (before editing the lesson down to 12 minutes)!

What makes this project particularly exciting is how Windsurf eliminates the typical friction points of development. While this game was always on my project wishlist, the overhead of setup, configuration, and deployment made it hard to justify the time investment. Windsurf's agent process handles all these pain points seamlessly, from managing URLs to orchestrating deployment.

This lesson perfectly showcases how AI agents can help developers bring their backlog of project ideas to life, transforming what would typically be time-consuming tasks into efficient, enjoyable development experiences.

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