The HowdyChad Build Log

Build Log.

Thoughts on software architecture, intelligent engineering, and building DevNitro.

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October 16, 2026 Build Log: Context Window Limits, Prompt Caching, and Smarter Retries

DevNitro now enforces context window limits set by the company, team, or builder, turns on prompt caching, and stops retrying the same autonomous run failure.

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October 9, 2026 Build Log: Remote MCP Servers and a Commit Button

DevNitro now connects to remote MCP servers without the AI ever seeing the key. I also built a Visual Studio commit button and switched to the native CLI.

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The Real Reason AI Isn't Paying Off for Your Software Engineering Team

Your competitors have the same AI you do. The real reason AI isn't paying off for your software engineering team shows up in three places. Here is the fix.

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October 2, 2026 Build Log: Bot Signups and a Stubborn Autonomous Run

A bot flooded my site with fake signups, so DevNitro hardened Blazor registration across every app. Then an autonomous run built a native terminal UI.

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Why Your Software Backlog Is a Graveyard, Not a Plan

Your software backlog keeps growing, but most of it will never get started. Here is why the pile hides what matters, and the two lists to keep instead.

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Why Software Estimates Miss the Work You Haven't Found Yet

Your software estimates miss even after you cut scope and pad the date. Here is why the work you haven't found yet is the hard part, and what to give instead.

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September 25, 2026 Build Log: An Autonomous Run Builds a GTM App

A DevNitro autonomous run built a Blazor GTM app in one evening: 49 commits from SQL to integration tests. Plus how Jev decides company fit.

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Why Your Codebase Gets Harder to Change Every Year

Your codebase gets harder to change every year and nobody broke it. Here are the three things that pile up, and one list that shows you where to start.

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September 18, 2026 Build Log: An Expired Key and Concurrent Autonomous Runs

My DevNitro API key expired mid-run. The agent kept burning tokens and saved nothing. The fix, plus concurrent autonomous runs and conversation forking, in one night.

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Your Team Has Used AI for a Year. Why Does Every Change Still Need Your Best Engineer?

Your team has used AI for a year and every change still waits on your best engineer. Split the review load into judgment work and repeat checks the team can write down.

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