ByteSmith

Notes from the workshop

Hard-won lessons on AI agents, backends, and shipping software that survives production.

July 3, 2026 · New

Your AI Doesn't Draw Transparency Reliably. So We Built It a Green Screen.

A user asked for a transparent background and the model painted a fake checkerboard. How a 60-line chroma keyer ships real alpha PNGs with zero extra models.

Earlier writing
July 1, 2026

This Is Fine: 9 Lessons From Running a Self-Building AI Agent Fleet

What a fleet of autonomous coding agents actually taught me. Almost none of it is about prompts or models - it lives in the edges of the loop.

September 22, 2024

How I Finally Solved Bitbucket's CICD After 2 Years Of Trying

A success story of implementing a company-wide CICD process using Bitbucket Dynamic Pipelines, after struggling with limitations for years.

August 15, 2024

NestJS Transactions: A Comprehensive Guide

Learn how to implement database transactions properly in NestJS applications with TypeORM, including best practices and common pitfalls.

July 10, 2024

TestContainers for Integration Testing

Learn how to use TestContainers for reliable integration testing in Java and Node.js applications.

June 5, 2024

AWS Lambda Cost Optimization Guide

Learn practical strategies to optimize AWS Lambda costs and avoid unexpected bills in serverless applications.

May 20, 2024

Optional vs NPE: A Practical Guide

Learn how to use Optional effectively to avoid NullPointerExceptions and write more robust Java code.

April 12, 2024

Technical Writing for Developers

Learn how to write clear, effective technical documentation and blog posts that engage your audience and drive results.