IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Graphite is joining Cursor

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

1. Acquisition Skepticism

Widespread distrust of promises that Graphite will continue independently, citing precedents like Supermaven's shutdown.
"Supermaven said the same thing when they were acquired by Cursor and then EOLed a year later." (firloop)
"Obviously what you need to say but the reality is that you’re not in control anymore." (tyre)

2. Value of Graphite's Stacked PRs

Strong praise for non-AI features like stacked PRs and CLI workflow, with concerns over post-acquisition maintenance.
"the stacked changes support, for me, was an absolute game changer. the auto rebasing, etc, is -really- nice." (dacox)
"Graphite isn’t really about code review IMO, it’s actually incredibly useful even if you just use the GitHub PR UI for the actual review." (mcintyre1994)

3. IDE vs. CLI AI Tools Debate

Divided opinions on integrated IDEs (e.g., Cursor) vs. CLI agents (e.g., Claude Code), with preferences for flexibility or cohesion.
"I vastly prefer the experience from Codex CLI compared to having that built into my IDE." (bangaladore)
"Cursor makes a better, more cohesive overall product through their vertical integration, and I just did the jump and can't go back." (archon810)

🚀 Project Ideas

JJ-Graphite Bridge

Summary

  • An open-source CLI tool that syncs Jujutsu (jj) stacks with GitHub stacked PRs, automating rebasing, syncing, and merge queue integration to enable local jj workflows with Graphite-like GH collaboration.
  • Core value: Lets jj fans use its superior local Git ops while retaining remote stacked PR UX, addressing disconnect fears post-acquisition.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Graphite users wanting jj locally, OSS Git enthusiasts, teams fearing Graphite sunset
Core Feature jj-spr-sync command: push jj stacks to GH as dependent PRs, auto-rebase on merge, GH UI visualization
Tech Stack Rust (jj CLI extension), GitHub API, Node.js for UI hooks
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • "As a Graphite user, I'd love to be able to switch to jj for my local development, but the disconnect between it and Graphite keeps me away." (koreth1); Graphite team: "we've thought about extending our CLI to allow it to sync jj with GH pull requests."
  • High HN appeal as free alternative if Graphite stagnates; sparks jj/GitHub workflow debates.

ContextRAG Reviewer

Summary

  • SaaS AI code reviewer that indexes full repos (RAG + architecture graphs) for Bitbucket/GitHub PRs, posting structured feedback (must-haves/nice-to-haves) via webhooks/Jenkins, beyond diff-only.
  • Core value: Meaningful business-logic-aware reviews reducing human load, fixing "diff-only context is actually insufficient" issue.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Bitbucket/Jenkins teams, enterprises needing deep-context AI reviews
Core Feature Auto-index repo on webhook, LLM review with RAG/grep/tool calls, Markdown PR comments
Tech Stack Next.js, Supabase (indexing), Anthropic/Claude API, GitHub/Bitbucket webhooks
Difficulty High
Monetization Revenue-ready: Freemium ($10/user/mo pro)

Notes

  • "What I’m unsure about is whether diff-only context is actually sufficient... without deeper repo and architectural awareness." (ravirajx7); "you definitely need the project's context... RAG." (0xedd).
  • Practical for scale (1k devs), generates HN threads on AI review S/N ratios.

CLI-IDE Agent Relay

Summary

  • Lightweight CLI proxy service relaying AI agents (Claude Code, Codex CLI) to any IDE (VSCode, Emacs, JetBrains) via LSP/WebSocket: diffs, rollbacks, tab-complete in-editor from CLI prompts.
  • Core value: Best-of-breed CLI agents + IDE ergonomics, no lock-in/VSCode fork, unifies workflows.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience CLI AI fans (vim/emacs users), anti-IDE-lock-in devs
Core Feature agent-relay --ide vscode pipes CLI outputs to IDE diffs/terminals, model switching
Tech Stack Go (CLI), LSP protocol, WebSocket for IDE plugins
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • "I vastly prefer the experience from Codex CLI... Fact it's a fork of VSCode will make me never use it." (bangaladore); "CLI coding agents... none of them beat Cursor’s UX... but tight IDE integration." (ekropotin).
  • HN loves modularity; "far better... extension to give those extra integration features to a CLI agent." (girvo).

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