IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Advent of Code 2025

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

The three most prevalent themes in the Hacker News discussion regarding Advent of Code (AoC) are:

1. Removal and Impact of the Global Leaderboard

A substantial portion of the discussion focused on the creator's decision to remove the global leaderboard, widely viewed as positive due to past associated stress, negative competition, and issues like DDoS attacks, despite some missing the opportunity to observe top performers.

  • Supporting Quotes:
    • "The global leaderboard was one of the largest sources of stress for me, for the infrastructure, and for many users." - retsibsi (quoting the announcement)
    • "I am so glad there is no leaderboard this year. Making it a competition really is against the spirit of advent calendars in general." - chongli
    • "Frankly I'm better off with it being this way instead of the sweaty cupstacking LLM% speedrun it became as it gained popularity." - ryandv

2. AoC as a Catalyst for Learning New Languages/Paradigms

Many users view AoC as an excellent, low-stakes environment to learn, practice, or experiment with unfamiliar programming languages, paradigms, or even custom tools, often valuing the learning exercise over competitive speed.

  • Supporting Quotes:
    • "I usually try to use it as the "real-world problem" I need for learning a new language." - tclancy
    • "For me (and most of my friends/coworkers) the point of AoC was to write in some language that you always wanted to learn but never had the chance." - crystal_revenge
    • "I use AoC as a chance to try a new language every year." - the_duke

3. Debate Over Using AI for Puzzle Solving

The potential and ethics of using Large Language Models (LLMs) to solve the puzzles were discussed, with general consensus leaning against it as undermining the personal achievement aspect, even if it's technically possible.

  • Supporting Quotes:
    • "Should I use AI to solve Advent of Code puzzles? No. If you send a friend to the gym on your behalf, would you expect to get stronger?" - zwnow
    • "But it wouldn't be a personal achievement, and if it was a competition I'd label it as cheating." - Cthulhu_
    • "Current frontier agents can one shot solve all 2024 AoC puzzles, just by pasting in the puzzle description and the input data." - randomifcpfan

🚀 Project Ideas

AoC Language Setup Scaffolding Tool

Summary

  • A VS Code extension or command-line tool that generates a standardized, language-specific starter project for Advent of Code solutions.
  • Solves the pain point of users repeatedly setting up boilerplate (file I/O, basic data structures, testing commands) in new languages they want to try for AoC.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Developers who use AoC to learn a new language (e.g., Haskell, OCaml, Go, Kotlin) but hate setting up the initial boilerplate.
Core Feature CLI command (aoc-init <language>) or VS Code command palette action that scaffolds a project directory with: language runtime installation guide, basic input parsing template, IDE extension recommendations, and a runnable test suite structure.
Tech Stack Node.js/TypeScript (for initial CLI/VS Code extension logic), Handlebars/Jinja (for template rendering).
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • "tclancy: Same. I usually try to use it as the 'real-world problem' I need for learning a new language... Is there anywhere that people have starter advice/ templates for various languages?"
  • This directly enables the widely stated goal of using AoC for learning new languages while removing the initial friction/onboarding cost associated with that language (parsing, basic file handling).

Post-Competition Solution Explorer & Visualizer

Summary

  • A web service that aggregates submitted AoC solutions (from GitHub, etc., or user submissions) for a specific day, allowing users to filter by language, viewing style (pure functional, cryptic, idiomatic), and visualizing key algorithm steps.
  • Solves the desire to learn from extremely fast or highly idiomatic solutions after the contest rush, which is currently fragmented across Reddit or individual GitHub repos.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Participants who want to learn better algorithms and coding styles after solving a puzzle, especially those who ignore the leaderboard but wish they could casually browse top solutions.
Core Feature Indexed repository of solutions where users can query for Day X solutions written in Language Y, ranked by elegance or performance metrics (if available). Includes integrated, customizable visualization panels for abstract concepts (e.g., grid states, state machines).
Tech Stack Full-Stack Framework (e.g., Next.js/Django), PostgreSQL for metadata, GitHub integration for fetching code.
Difficulty High
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • "mattbillenstein: The global leaderboard was a great way to find really crazy good people and solutions however - I picked through a couple of these guys solutions and learned a few things." and "petercooper: Agreed! It’d be nice to surface that somehow."
  • This product brings back the learning benefit of the leaderboard without the stress of the competition, catering to the aesthetic appreciation of clever code.

Unofficial, Time-Zone Agnostic Private Leaderboard Manager

Summary

  • A service that facilitates the creation and tracking of self-governed "private" leaderboards that start counting from the moment the first participant in the group attempts the puzzle, rather than midnight EST.
  • Addresses fairness concerns related to time zones while retaining the fun, low-stakes competitive aspect within trusted circles.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Small groups of friends or coworkers who want a fair competition leaderboard without adhering to the strict global schedule.
Core Feature Group dashboard tracking completion times where the "start time" for the group is dynamically set by the first person to register their attempt for that day's puzzle.
Tech Stack Backend: Go or Python (FastAPI); Frontend: React/Vue; Database: Redis for fast, ephemeral time tracking.
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • "Booleans: I believe that Everybody Codes has a leaderboard where it starts counting from when you first open the puzzle. So if you're looking for coding puzzles with a leaderboard that one would be fair for you."
  • This acknowledges that many users miss out due to time zones ("amiga386: ...it's no point getting up 4 hours early") but still desire friendly competition, creating a fair compromise for private groups.