Elixir Mentor

Filipe Cabaço, team lead on Realtime at Supabase, returns after two years to talk about his side projects: Vitro, a browser for every AI agent with a replayable timeline of what each one did, and Ampoule, which packs an Elixir release into one file by compiling the BEAM to WebAssembly. We also get into MCP, persona testing with agents, token costs, why launching is the scary part, AI and security, and what learning and hiring look like now that agents write the code.
00:00 - Introduction
02:35 - Welcome back and ElixirConf in Chicago
05:31 - Vitro: observability for browser agents
11:01 - Persona testing with agents
13:56 - Why MCP is the right interface
16:59 - Compute off your laptop, subsidies ending
22:30 - Three AM agents and attention
24:06 - Token costs and picking models
27:47 - Side projects: doodle discs and a patio defender
33:31 - Reverse engineering bad apps with agents
37:14 - AI, hiring, and skipping university
47:07 - iHub and entrepreneur networks
49:32 - Afraid to launch your side projects
51:28 - Open source and self hosting
54:14 - Security and vibe coded leaks
57:49 - MCP auth should be SSO
59:34 - How Vitro is built: Elixir and Firecracker
1:02:48 - Market the result, not the features
1:05:51 - Tool sprawl and agent subscriptions
1:10:53 - A local AI gateway
1:14:40 - Home servers and bare metal
1:17:42 - Ampoule: Elixir anywhere via WebAssembly
1:22:48 - An Elixir mesh network on phones
1:27:32 - Cold email and deliverability
1:34:11 - Naming agents after Star Trek
1:36:39 - Why every agent needs its own browser
1:42:10 - Cloudflare's MCP and too many tools
1:44:21 - Peter Ullrich and funding the Erlang Foundation
Resources Mentioned:
- Vitro: https://vitro.run/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Ampoule: https://filipecabaco.github.io/ampoule/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- ex_tauri: https://github.com/filipecabaco/ex_tauri?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Burrito: https://github.com/burrito-elixir/burrito?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- KinSwitch: https://kinswitch.app/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
Connect with Filipe:
- X: https://x.com/filipecabaco?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- GitHub: https://github.com/filipecabaco?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- LinkedIn: (fill in)
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- Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
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Peter Ullrich returns to talk about Pushin.eu, the European GitHub alternative he's building in Elixir. Five months in, it has about 700 confirmed registrations after going viral on Hacker News, and Peter walks through what's next: webhooks, managed CI on microVMs, subscriptions in January, and a plan to win universities with free self-hosting. We also get into how he builds with Codex writing and Claude reviewing, importing from GitHub with the pun CLI, bootstrapping vs VC, why Indie Courses is shutting down, and his new news podcast, Macro Mayhem.
00:00 - Introduction
01:15 - Peter returns with Pushin
03:14 - Luck, sharing ideas, and your network
06:16 - What pushed him to build a GitHub competitor
06:43 - From bad Sonnet code to Opus 4.5
11:36 - Thinking big and building something European
12:32 - Bootstrapping vs VC
16:21 - Letter to Yourself and Indie Courses
26:11 - KinSwitch rebrand and check-in safety nets
32:48 - Securing uploads with BunnyCDN
34:55 - Going viral on Hacker News
37:51 - Roadmap: webhooks and managed CI
39:35 - Pricing tiers and self-hosting
46:49 - Five months in: users and growth
49:46 - Selling to universities and governments
55:31 - Macro Mayhem and the PHP-pocalypse
59:34 - Crypto hype and The Careless People
1:11:18 - Goatmire, the most creative conference
1:17:08 - Switching from GitHub with the pun CLI
1:19:34 - Forgejo, Codeberg, and GitLab
1:21:03 - Making sites ready for AI agents
1:26:35 - Tangled and the AT Protocol
1:30:34 - Simplifying UX: mobile first and shortcuts
1:35:07 - Codex writes, Claude reviews
1:40:52 - Reviewing code from your phone
1:43:30 - Deploying with Kamal
1:46:42 - Keeping users updated with changelogs
1:55:27 - Wrap-up
Resources Mentioned:
- Pushin: https://pushin.eu/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Macro Mayhem: https://macromayhem.fm/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
Connect with Peter:
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/peterullrich.com?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/pjullrich?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Website: https://peterullrich.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
Sponsors:
- BEAMOps: https://beamops.co.uk/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
SUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR
- Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
#ElixirLang #MyElixirStatus #ElixirMentor

Nathan Hessler, organizer of ExMex and RBQ Conf, is back four weeks out from ExMex 2026 in Austin. We cover MCing Rails World, how he picks speakers and keynotes for a single track, what running a Ruby conference taught him, and the free CFP he built on Google Sheets that's turning into an agent friendly event harness. Then we get into TUIOS and agents that talk to each other, why PR review still matters, bootstrapping vs VC, and why conferences beat job boards for landing your next role.
Use code MentoredFriends for $50 off your ExMex ticket (enter it in the promo code field on the site, not the checkout pop-up).
00:00 - Introduction
01:38 - MCing Rails World and introducing DHH
05:45 - Picking speakers for a single track
08:26 - What makes a great keynote
10:41 - Why he doesn't curate topics
14:01 - Four weeks out: hurry up and wait
16:14 - How RBQ Conf went
18:42 - Scheduling a single track
19:50 - Using AI for conference marketing
21:58 - Privacy and what agents can see
25:36 - A free CFP built on Google Sheets
32:30 - An agent friendly event harness
38:52 - TUIOS and agents that talk to each other
43:23 - Why PR review still matters with agents
45:03 - MCP, skills, and usage rules
51:23 - Building is the easy part
56:30 - Bootstrapping vs VC
59:01 - ExMex promo code and swag
1:06:47 - Why go to conferences
1:09:00 - Hiring, AI slop, and referrals
1:14:02 - Do conferences make money?
1:18:27 - MicroConf comes to Austin
1:23:33 - Remote work still needs in person
1:27:07 - Free community tickets
Resources Mentioned:
- ExMex: https://exmexconf.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- ExMex community tickets: https://exmexconf.com/community-tickets?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- RBQ Conf: https://rbqconf.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- KinSwitch: https://kinswitch.app/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
Connect with Nathan:
- X: https://x.com/spune?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhessler/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Hessler Consulting: https://hesslerconsulting.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
Sponsors:
- BEAMOps: https://beamops.co.uk/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Paraxial.io: https://paraxial.io/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Jido: https://agentjido.xyz/discord?utm_source=elixir-mentor
SUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR
- Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
#ElixirLang #MyElixirStatus #ElixirMentor

Alex Koutmos, CTO of EagleMMS and author of Elixir Patterns, is back with two books in beta: Programming Nerves, which gets web developers building hardware from Livebook, and Elixir For Finance, written with his brother Dimitri on real market and Federal Reserve data. Then we ask whether anyone still buys technical books, and get into running on one server, what canceled trials teach you, and a laid off engineer with 1,000 applications.
00:00 - Introduction
02:41 - Programming Nerves: from Etch A Sketch to joystick
05:36 - The Patio Defender
07:40 - Why the book starts in Livebook
13:12 - Is anyone still buying technical books?
14:40 - DHH's Campfire rewrite and knowing your tools
18:00 - Shipping without a staging environment
20:42 - Cold outreach and email reputation
28:27 - Elixir For Finance: Yahoo Finance and FRED data
33:57 - Info products after AI
38:51 - Start on a single server
43:05 - Lessons from a failed two sided marketplace
47:04 - Splitting EagleMMS with his brother
51:55 - What canceled trials taught me
58:03 - Putting your work out there and ignoring trolls
1:04:45 - Laid off, 1,000 applications, and the death of software engineering
1:10:10 - Standing out in a tough job market
1:15:37 - Niche SaaS for the trades
1:20:21 - Grok Bots for clips and cold email
1:23:21 - AI pricing and platform risk
1:28:08 - Writing books without AI, and where books go next
1:30:18 - AI training and the authors' class action
1:35:24 - Where to find Alex
1:37:24 - What to buy for Programming Nerves
Resources Mentioned:
- Programming Nerves: https://www.programmingnerves.dev/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Elixir For Finance: https://www.financialelixir.dev/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Nerves Livebook: https://github.com/nerves-livebook/nerves_livebook?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Killswitch: https://killswitch.app/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
Connect with Alex:
- X: https://x.com/akoutmos?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/akoutmos.bsky.social?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-koutmos-b8b2bb93?utm_source=elixir-mentor
Sponsors:
- BEAMOps: https://beamops.co.uk/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Paraxial.io: https://paraxial.io/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Jido: https://agentjido.xyz/discord?utm_source=elixir-mentor
SUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR
- Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
#ElixirLang #MyElixirStatus #ElixirMentor

Mike Hostetler, creator of Jido and ReqLLM, is back for round three. Jido 2.0 hit the top of Hacker News and took his docs server down with it, and Jido v3 betas are already on Hex. We get into agentic back pressure, why models write better declarative Elixir, why most actors don't need an LLM at all, durable workflows with Jido Flow, and the multiplayer harness he's building on OTP.
Plus Grok Bots and personal agents, reverse engineering bad IoT apps, and live questions from chat.
00:00 - Introduction
02:56 - The Jido 2.0 launch and a Hacker News hug of death
06:27 - Lessons from Ralph Wiggum loops
08:51 - Why models write better Elixir
11:44 - Agentic back pressure
14:22 - Jido v3's Spark DSL
20:48 - When do you need 10,000 agents?
26:28 - Q&A: A public actor mesh?
27:59 - Actors vs agents: Jido without an LLM
30:38 - Halo 2 NPCs and classical AI
33:36 - What's new in Jido v3
35:03 - Durable workflows with Runic and Jido Flow
39:34 - Property and fuzz testing with agents
42:27 - Who's building on Jido
44:27 - Q&A: TermUI and the Jido harness
48:28 - DASP, the Durable Actor Session Protocol
50:39 - Q&A: Pods, topologies, and the signal bus
55:01 - Grok Bots, Dots, and personal agents
57:20 - Reverse engineering IoT apps with an LLM
1:06:24 - LLMDB and LLM Catalog
1:07:51 - 600 PRs a month and vibe coded PRs
1:12:12 - The Founder Playbook skills repo
1:14:37 - Teaching and community after LLMs
1:17:31 - Will AI replace engineers?
1:22:57 - A hard lesson migrating Killswitch data
1:25:01 - What's next for Jido and the harness
Resources Mentioned:
- Jido: https://jido.run/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Runic: https://github.com/zblanco/runic?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- LLM Catalog: https://llmcatalog.dev/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Founder Playbook: https://github.com/getagentseal/founder-playbook?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Killswitch: https://killswitch.app/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
Connect with Mike:
- X: https://x.com/mikehostetler?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikehostetler?utm_source=elixir-mentor
Sponsors:
- BEAMOps: https://beamops.co.uk/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Paraxial.io: https://paraxial.io/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
- Jido: https://agentjido.xyz/discord?utm_source=elixir-mentor
SUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR
- Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor
#ElixirLang #MyElixirStatus #ElixirMentor