
### Overview
This week we're excited to introduce a couple of major performance improvements via caching and swapping out N+1 queries for a database-driven design.
Overall, these updates were relatively simple to build however they took time and detail to implement properly.
The end result is a 50% improvement on common network calls (ie fetching a repository) that sideload a bunch of metadata such as total bookmarks, downloads, reviews, and more.

### What's New
- The Caching Layer
- N+1 Query Updates

### The Caching Layer
For starters, the new caching layer uses a private, self-hosted instance of [Redis](https://redis.io/) to store frequently accessed data for faster response times.
For example, as an SSR-driven application, Playbooks has to fetch the repo anytime the user navigates to a nested page since we're rendering that HTML on the server and several pages share data.
Considering then that the user probably wants to navigate around the repository quickly, the caching layer handles this with ease.

![A diagram of the new caching layer](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-12-2025-14-30.png)
As shown in the diagram above, the caching layer essentially checks Redis first and then, if it exists, immediately returns the data.
If it does not, we perform the necessary database queries, store that data in the cache with a reasonable expiration date, and then return that data to the client.
Behind the scenes, we then break the cache when data associated with the initial fetch, such as a bookmark or review, get's posted or the repository itself is updated.
All in all, a pretty straight forward implementation that provides significant performance gains on specific endpoints.


### N+1 Query Updates
The second thing we did was replace several of our N+1 queries with a single database query to an associated "meta" table that stores incremental data.

![An diagram showing the network calls before the N+1 query changes](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-12-2025-14-53.png)
For instance, when fetching a repository we often sideload a bunch of metadata such as total bookmarks, downloads, reviews, and more.
Previously, as shown in the diagram above, we had to fetch that data one-by-one or bundle it into one giant SQL query which wasn't ideal for several reasons.
So, instead, we've introduced a related "meta" database table where we increment and decrement associated data when it occurs.

![A diagram showing the network calls after the N+1 query changes](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-12-2025-15-05.png)
As shown in the new diagram, the result is a single database query for all the aforementioned data rather than 3-4 separate database queries.
All in all, this requires much more work. But the end query is much faster and simpler versus the aggregate database calls mentioned before.


### That's all for now
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to catch up on what's happening at Playbooks!
To receive these updates in your inbox, simply create a account over on [Playbooks](https://www.playbooks.xyz).
Or, feel free to follow along over on [Twitter / X](https://www.x.com/playbooksxyz) to receive updates there.

 This week we're excited to introduce several performance improvements including resource-specific caching and N+1 query optimization. 

Eric Hubbell

W19: Performance updates


### Overview
This week, we're back on the grind with the launch of "Your Library" which let's developers curate their Playbooks experience using bookmarks and collections.
For awhile now, Playbooks users have enjoyed using bookmarks to save content to their profile.
However, that experience felt limited as bookmarks were buried in our profile and didn't offer much organization.
Going forward, we've built a dedicated space for curation, which we've named "Your Library", and made it easily accessible from anywhere on the application.

### Background
![A screenshot of saving a pin on Pinterest](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-12-2025-14-00.png)
These days, bookmarks are a pretty common user experience on the web whereby user's can save content to their account for easy access later on.
Some sites take it a step further offering collections (or boards or lists) as a means of organizing your bookmarks even further.
For example, you can pin something on Pinterest, bookmark something on Instagram, or star something on Github.

### Inspiration
![A screenshot of the main user interface at Spotify](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-12-2025-14-01.png)
At Playbooks, we couldn't get over the fact that our platform felt different because we have several entities that are worthy of a bookmark including: bounties, repos, and stacks.
As such, we wanted to take things a step further and, in our own direction, and that's when we started to look at Spotify as a source of inspiration.

Unlike the previously mentioned platforms, Spotify puts "Your Library" front and center, with an intuitive drag and drop interface, and an incredibly easy workflow for managing several types of content.
Between that and the all-around concept of Spotify as a marketplace building a creator economy for musicians - we couldn't help but see the comparisons.

### Your New Library
![A screenshot of Your Library on Playbooks](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-12-2025-14-09.png)

Introducing the all-new Library where developers can quickly access their bookmarks, filter them by type, and organize them by collection.
All with a localized search experience built-in so you can quickly find a specific bookmark associated with your account.
While we didn't take this feature all the way to a drag and drop sidebar, like Spotify, we suddenly feel like bookmarks have taken on a new meaning.
And, we're really enjoying their place in the current user experience and what's to come.


### Adding Content
![A screenshot of adding a bookmark on Playbooks](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-12-2025-14-10.png)

To add a bookmark, simply click the bookmark button on any card or via the hero section on any resource page.
Per the image above, this will open a "Save Bookmark" modal where you can add that content to a specific collection or create a new one.

As you would expect, you can edit your bookmarks and collections via the Library page or by clicking the bookmark button again on any resource.


### That's all for now
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to catch up on what's happening at Playbooks!
To receive these updates in your inbox, simply create a account over on [Playbooks](https://www.playbooks.xyz).
Or, feel free to follow along over on [Twitter / X](https://www.x.com/playbooksxyz) to receive updates there.

 We're excited to launch the all-new Library which lets developers curate and organize their Playbooks experience using bookmarks and collections. 

W18: Your All-New Library


Our team took a well-needed break from the computer this week getting some rest and relaxation.
We hope you had a great week and look forward to getting after it next week Monday.

Cheers ✌️

 Our team took a well-needed break from the computer this week getting some rest and relaxation. We hope you had a great week and look forward to getting after it next week Monday. 

W17: Vacation Time


### Overview
With the introduction of stacks last week, we implemented a pretty basic download experience that grouped the repositories into a single download
and didn't allow customization (such as selecting a specific version) on a per repository level.
This week, we upgraded that experience by granting developers the ability to customize each download (or clone) within a stack.
The outcome offers a more precise download and cloning experience that reflects the real-world application of a stack.

### What's New
- Improved downloads
- Improved clones
- Updated CLI / Docs
- Updated Docs

### Improved Downloads
![A screenshot of downloading a stack on Playbooks](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-12-2025-11-56.png)

As shown in the image above, when developers go to download a stack, they can now modify the version for each specific repository.
This functionality was already available when downloading a individual repository.
Now, it is supported when downloading a stack as well.

### Improved Cloning
![A screenshot of cloning a stack on Playbooks](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-12-2025-11-58.png)

As shown in the image above, when developers go to clone a stack, they can now modify the repository name, version and privacy.
This functionality was already available when cloning a individual repository.
Now, it is supported when downloading a stack as well.

### Updated CLI / Docs
![A screenshot of cloning a stack on Playbooks](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-12-2025-11-57.png)

As part of this update, we updated the Playbooks CLI so developers can download (or clone) a stack directly from their terminal or any machine using the `@playbooks/cli` SDk along with their credentials.
To learn more about using the API or CLI, please visit the [Playbooks Docs](https://docs.playbooks.xyz) website.

### That's all for now
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to catch up on what's happening at Playbooks!
To receive these updates in your inbox, simply create a account over on [Playbooks](https://www.playbooks.xyz).
Or, feel free to follow along over on [Twitter / X](https://www.x.com/playbooksxyz) to receive updates there.

 This week we upgraded our download infrastructure to better support stacks. Rather than downloading (or cloning) stacks as a single entity, we now keep them separate while giving developer's tools to customize their experience. 

W16: Improved Downloads


### Overview
This week we're excited to announce the introduction of Stacks which represent the third-pillar of our platform.
As developers, we're all familiar with the concept of using multiple applications to build a project - commonly referred to as a stack.
With the introduction of stacks on Playbooks, developers can maintain this practice and showcase their expertise when it comes to tackling specific projects.

### What are stacks
![A screenshot of a stack card on Playbooks](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-12-2025-10-44.png)

On Playbooks, a stack allows developers to group repositories together and then distribute them as a single entity.
From a marketing perspective, stacks allow developers to share more advanced project strategies while recognizing the unique value and purpose of each repository.
In turn, this should help keep the learning curve relatively simple.

For example, instead of purchasing a frontend repository and then not knowing which backend to pair it with, you might find a stack that includes both repositories as chosen by the author.
Then, instead of having to purchase or download those repositories separately, you can do so with one-click.

Naturally, this leads to faster start times and better outcomes since the repositories work well together.

### Submitting a stack
![A screenshot adding a stack to Playbooks](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-12-2025-10-33.png)

To get started, developers simply need to click the "+" button located at the top right on the page and then click "stack" from the available options.
From here, you can either edit an existing stack or create a new one.

![A screenshot of the stack submission workflow](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-12-2025-11-26.png)

Both options will take you into the submission workflow, where you'll fill out the necessary details and select the repositories to include in your stack.
After that, you simply need to click "publish" and your stack will go live on the marketplace.
(Don't worry you can edit any detail at any time.)

### What are stacks used for
![A screenshot of a stack on Playbooks](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-12-2025-10-45.png)

In general, developers use multi-application stacks for more complex projects though that isn't always the case.
For instance, at Playbooks, we have ~10 applications that power our business today and we expect that number to grow over time.
We like this approach because it keeps repositories small and more focused which is often referred to as a micro-service architecture.

But, it's important to note that not every developer or team takes this route.
For instance, some developers prefer a monorepo strategy where multiple projects are "stacked" into one repository.
This comes with several benefits such as shared configurations.
As such, there isn't a right or wrong approach as it all comes down to developer preference.
But, it's nice to have options and that's why we added stacks to Playbooks.


### That's all for now
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to catch up on what's happening at Playbooks!
To receive these updates in your inbox, simply create a account over on [Playbooks](https://www.playbooks.xyz).
Or, feel free to follow along over on [Twitter / X](https://www.x.com/playbooksxyz) to receive updates there.

 This week we're introducing stacks as the third-pillar of our platform allowing developers to group repositories and distribute them as a single purchase or download. 

W15: Introducing Stacks


### Overview
This week we revisited the core marketplace application and made several updates to the homepage, search, and taxonomy pages that we've been planning for awhile.
In general, the updates provide more focus and usability to each page while providing our team some editorial control.
Overall, we're excited for this round of updates because while they're subtle in nature they're backed by weeks of technical work that enable so much more.
Let's dive in.

### What's New
- Homepage
- Search
- Browse

##### The New Homepage
![A screenshot of content on the homepage](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-11-2025-15-49.png)

At the top-level, we updated the homepage by removing a couple elements that diluted the experience while maintaining focus on what's new, popular and trending on the platform.
Overall, we've kept the homepage relatively simple allowing developers to dive right in without an account.
We did this since it's quite common in the open-source community where users are early-adopters and often want to try before they buy.

##### The Search Experience
![A screenshot of the search page with the sidebar open](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-11-2025-15-50.png)

As part of this refresh, we made several updates to the global search bar up top, adding usability features like hot keys, while focusing the search page experience for more advanced query work.
Starting with the search bar, we cleaned up the code surrounding [CMD+K] and [ESC] while adding keyboard navigation [] for search results.
Finally, we removed the ability to filter your results via the search bar, reducing complexity, while letting the user to press [Enter] to access the more advanced search experience while maintaining context to the original search query.
Overall, we think this UX provides the optimal productivity balance between the search bar and the search page.

##### The Browsing Experience
![A screenshot of the Typescript landing page](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-11-2025-15-53.png)

Finally, we're excited to share major updates to the browsing experience bringing advanced search and filtering tools to each and every technology on the platform.

From the outset, we've always wanted Playbooks to be a platform where developers can select any technology and instantly explore a world of relevant software templates.
And, to accomplish this, we envisioned each technology having a dedicated landing page for company and community-built templates.
That said, the initial path we took to building out our API and backend logic meant we could only offer a powerful search experience at the global level.
Meaning we couldn't offer it at a more granular-level, focused on a specific technology.

This week, that all changes as we've migrated all our service-level infrastructure through the API where we've added a more nuanced and contextual engine for all our queries.
That means, developers can now search and filter with precision on any technology in our catalog.
And, they can do so using a predictable API, per resource, as opposed to querying through a single endpoint with varying responses.


### That's all for now
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to catch up on what's happening at Playbooks!
To receive these updates in your inbox, simply create a account over on [Playbooks](https://www.playbooks.xyz).
Or, feel free to follow along over on [Twitter / X](https://www.x.com/playbooksxyz) to receive updates there.


 This week we revisited the marketplace application making key updates to the user experience. Overall, the changes provide more clarity and usability to search and browse while providing our team some editorial control. 

W14: Search / Browse Updates


### Overview
This week we spent some time building a new [OG Image Generator](https://og.playbooks.xyz) which you can play around with.
This project was originally inspired by the [OG Image Generator](https://github.com/railwayapp/og) built by Railway.
The purpose of this project was two-fold:

1. Build an OG image generator for Playbooks
2. Explore some new technology to see if we can make it better and release as a paid template

Overall, we're pretty pumped with the outcome and will probably release a paid template in the near future.

### About
![A screenshot of the Open Graph Image Generator](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-09-2025-16-53.png)

An Open-graph image generator is essentially an application where you can pass parameters via the URL and get a configured JPG, PNG, or SVG image in return.
For example, checkout the following examples / URLs to see it in action

##### Basic Example
![A screenshot of the main Playbooks SEO image](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-09-2025-17-10.png)

The following URLs will display either a PNG or SVG version of the image above:
- [PNG Image](https://og.playbooks.xyz/api/image?template=app&url=www.playbooks.xyz&format=png)
- [SVG Image](https://og.playbooks.xyz/api/image?template=app&url=www.playbooks.xyz&format=svg)

##### Blog Example
![A screenshot of the Playbooks Blog SEO image](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-09-2025-17-11.png)

The following URLs will display either a PNG or SVG version of the image above:
- [PNG Image](https://og.playbooks.xyz/api/image?template=app&platform=Blog&url=www.playbooks.xyz&format=png)
- [SVG Image](https://og.playbooks.xyz/api/image?template=app&pplatform=Blog&url=www.playbooks.xyz&format=svg)

##### Framework Example
![A screenshot of a Playbooks > Repo SEO image](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-09-2025-17-19.png)

The following URLs will display either a PNG or SVG version of the image above:
- [PNG Image](https://og.playbooks.xyz/api/image?template=taxonomy&title=Official+Fastify+Starter&uuid=fastify-official-starter&subtitle=playbooks.xyz%2Frepos%2Ffastify-official-starter&variant=repo&format=png)
- [SVG Image](https://og.playbooks.xyz/api/image?template=taxonomy&title=Official+Fastify+Starter&uuid=fastify-official-starter&subtitle=playbooks.xyz%2Frepos%2Ffastify-official-starter&variant=repo&format=svg)

### Why this matters
OG Image Generators are pretty cool and helpful because they generate dynamic images, as coded by the developer, that are open-graph compatible for sharing and work at scale.
That means, no more image creation per article or per product which can take precious time and creativity.
Instead, you simply pass some parameters to the image generator when writing your article or posting your product and, boom, out pops an seo-optimized image that's unique to you.

### That's all for now
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to catch up on what's happening at Playbooks!
To receive these updates in your inbox, simply create a account over on [Playbooks](https://www.playbooks.xyz).
Or, feel free to follow along over on [Twitter / X](https://www.x.com/playbooksxyz) to receive updates there.


 This week we built a brand-new open graph image generator for our various platforms ensuring we never go without an shareable image. 

W13: Open Graph Images


### Overview

This week we began adding loads of content from Github related to developer blogs, profiles, and landing pages.
In total, we pulled in roughly 160 open-source repositories from which 130 deployed successfully on our end with little to no input from our team.

In going through this process, we got a pretty good feel for what to expect from open-source repos built by a variety of users and businesses for differing use-cases.
And, I thought this might be a good opportunity to discuss our process, review our findings, and then share a few of our favorite finds below.

### Our process

To start, we decided to focus our search on a couple of major Javascript frameworks and then explore a couple of strategies for finding the best content on Github.
The frameworks we chose were Astro and NextJS and then, rather than searching from Google, we did the following:

- Pulled from the [Astro marketplace](https://astro.build/themes)
- Pulled from the [NextJS marketplace](https://vercel.com/templates/next.js)
- Pulled examples from the [Astro Github Repo](https://github.com/withastro/astro/tree/main/examples)
- Pulled examples from the [Nextjs Github Repo](https://github.com/vercel/next.js/tree/canary/examples)
- Queried Github via [Github Search](https://github.com/search)
- And then, pulled templates from specific authors we encountered along the way

Before diving in, we explicitly decided we were looking for software templates (mainly front-end or fullstack) that were designed for blogging, profiles, or landing pages.

### Our findings

As developers, we've spent plenty of time navigating Github.
However, most of that time was either project or task-based where we needed answers for a specific feature or product.
This was different.

##### Marketplaces
In general, we found the marketplace templates (pulled from Astro and Nextjs) were the highest quality and most likely to deploy to production.
And this makes sense because someone (either the framework authors or a third-party) had spent the time to write the code, deploy it, and then publish it to the marketplace with some marketing speak fairly recently.
This didn't surprise us but it felt like we were regurgitating what is already out there.

##### Examples
Next, we explored the examples available from the framework authors and, as you might expect, we enjoyed pretty good success here.
(It's worth noting that we went well beyond Astro and Nextjs in this department.)
The trouble that we ran into in this space were two-fold:

1. Many examples were built to showcase specific features not finished products.
2. Many examples utilized custom configurations specific to that project (ie [Expressjs](https://github.com/expressjs/express/tree/master/examples))

##### Github Search
Next, we used the Github search engine for a more open-ended exploration process which we found to be both fun and tiresome with mixed results.

On the one hand, it was great to see so many open-source repositories where developers had spent time building templates.
And you could see the changing market trends from even two years ago to today.

On the other hand, I quickly realized that while there some good nuggets in there and rabbit holes to explore, it truly was the wild west.
Meaning, you could spend hours dialing in the topic, search query, recency, programming language, and number of stars -- only to retrieve a mixed bag of results.
There is no quality control in open source.
And, many authors get away with custom setups and / or a small bug (like a type error during the build) that prevent the application from deploying to production despite plenty of validation.

##### Author Specific
The final step we took was earmarking the notable authors we found along this journey, that had more repositories to offer, and then conducting a deep dive into their profile(s).
In general, this step felt like the most fun because we were truly going down the rabbit hole and then hanging out for awhile.
But, as you might expect, this too yielded mixed results where a couple of repositories were polished and then the rest were either outdated or unsupported.

### A Few of our favorites
Overall, we had a ton of fun with this journey and plenty of great discoveries to show for it.
We also refined and improved our methodology as we went along which yielded better results.
As promised, here are a few of our favorites deployed to Playbooks:

1. NextJS CV - [Demo](https://nextjs-cv.demo.playbooks.xyz/)
2. NextJS SAAS Starter Kit - [Demo](https://nextjs-saas-starter-kit.demo.playbooks.xyz/)
3. React Gatsby Portfolio - [Demo](https://react-gatsby-portfolio-template.demo.playbooks.xyz/)
4. Leerob Portfolio Template - [Demo](https://leerob-portfolio-template.demo.playbooks.xyz/)
5. OnceUI Starter - [Demo](https://onceui-next-starter.demo.playbooks.xyz/)
6. Astro Backroom - [Demo](https://astro-backroom-portfolio-template.demo.playbooks.xyz/)
7. Astro Dante - [Demo](https://astro-dante-template.demo.playbooks.xyz/)
8. Astro Developer Portfolio - [Demo](http://astro-developer-portfolio-template.demo.playbooks.xyz/)
9. Astro Epic Studio Theme - [Demo](https://astro-epic-studio-theme.demo.playbooks.xyz/)
10. Astro Nano Theme - [Demo](https://astro-nano-portfolio-theme.demo.playbooks.xyz/)


### That's all for now
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to catch up on what's happening at Playbooks!
To receive these updates in your inbox, simply create a account over on [Playbooks](https://www.playbooks.xyz).
Or, feel free to follow along over on [Twitter / X](https://www.x.com/playbooksxyz) to receive updates there.


 This week we focused on adding content to the platform in order to test the system, add a base layer of content, and explore data-ingestion strategies. 

W12: Content, Content, Content


### Overview
This week we took another brief detour to revisit our pricing strategy and make sure it matched the ICP's ("Ideal Customer Profile") in our pipeline.
As such, we introduced a slight change to the "Free Tier" that limits you to 10 monthly downloads.
After that, you'll need to upgrade to one of the paid plans or simply wait until the next month's usage period.

If you fall under the "Free Tier" plan, you can view your usage via the account dropdown at the top right of the page per the image below:

![A screenshot of the Admin Dashboard](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-09-2025-14-10.png)

In general, we felt that this change reflects our continuing commitment to provide some free services while encouraging folks to participate financially in the new developer economy.
After all, our general theses is that more developers will contribute and better work will be done - if there are financial incentives involved.
And, generally speaking, we don't believe developers should be expected to work for free.

As part of this effort, we did explore the idea of a hybrid pricing model that would combine both an upfront subscription (like we have today) combined with a usage-based model after a certain number of downloads.
However, after running the numbers, we felt that that would only lead to higher prices which would likely price out a huge portion of the developer community.
After all, the economies of scale in software are tremendous. And, we generally want to grow the pie rather than simply taking a larger slice.

### That's all for now
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to catch up on what's happening at Playbooks!
To receive these updates in your inbox, simply create a account over on [Playbooks](https://www.playbooks.xyz).
Or, feel free to follow along over on [Twitter / X](https://www.x.com/playbooksxyz) to receive updates there.


 This week we revisited our pricing strategy to ensure it matched our ICP in each category while offering the best user experience possible.


W11: Usage Based Pricing


### Overview

This week we took our foot off the gas pedal with regards to the customer-facing user experience and, instead, focused on our team's administrative experience.
Over the past few weeks, we've added several significant upgrades to the platform. And, as part of that, we added many new repositories to the system.
However, we quickly realized our administrative tools weren't sufficient to manage large amounts of data.
So, we took the week to focus on upgrading that experience I think we're quite pleased with the outcome.

![A screenshot of the Admin Dashboard](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-09-2025-13-51.png)

Previously, when our team wanted to add a repository to the platform, we had to plugin a URL for each repository one by one and then go through and deploy them one at a time.
Today, we can provide a list of URLs, click a checkbox and watch the system do it's magic for dozens of repositories at a time.
And, we've extended this type of functionality across the system.
So we can batch upload, edit, deactivate, and remove any piece of content on our platform.

Moving forward, this means our team can keep track and manage hundreds (if not thousands) of repositories on a regular basis which is helpful for editorial and other purposes.

### That's all for now
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to catch up on what's happening at Playbooks!
To receive these updates in your inbox, simply create a account over on [Playbooks](https://www.playbooks.xyz).
Or, feel free to follow along over on [Twitter / X](https://www.x.com/playbooksxyz) to receive updates there.


 This week we focused on giving our team better administrative tools to create, manage, and editorialize content at scale.


W10: Admin Updates


### Overview

This week we're excited to share the all-new Home Feed which was designed to help users get started with the application
while feeding them personalized content based on their interests and recently viewed content.

![A screenshot of the Home Feed](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-09-2025-12-08.png)

Previously, the Home Feed was designed with a bit more complexity and given the early nature of our platform and the first-user experience, it felt empty at times.
So, we redesigned the Home Feed with a simpler / more streamlined interface that focuses on just the following areas:

##### 1. Getting Started

For new users, we use the top of this page to highlight the setup flows for both your profile and your merchant.
We encourage all users go through these steps so we can provide better recommendations and get you setup as a seller on our platform.

##### 2. Your Interests

For existing users, we chose to highlight your interests up top since they represent the frameworks, languages tools, and topics that you're following.
We felt this was the best way to get you back to the content that matters to you.

##### 2. Your Bookmarks

Beneath that, we added a feed of content that reflects actions you've taken recently on the platform starting with your bookmarks.
While bookmarks aren't the default view, they're easy to access using the dropdown at top left.
From there, we'll display your most recent bookmarks along with some metadata, such as when you added the bookmark, on the card.

##### 3. Your Recommendations

Recommendations are another option accessible using the dropdown at the top left.
From there, we'll display a list of repositories using an proprietary algorithm based on your interests.
To provide the user some context, we include the interest that sparked the recommendation on the card.

##### 4. Your Recent Views

The default display for the bottom area is Recently Viewed which we felt was the best way to get you back in the flow.
As described, this feed simply aggregrates your recently viewed content spanning repos, bounties, stacks, and more.

### That's all for now
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to catch up on what's happening at Playbooks!
To receive these updates in your inbox, simply create a account over on [Playbooks](https://www.playbooks.xyz).
Or, feel free to follow along over on [Twitter / X](https://www.x.com/playbooksxyz) to receive updates there.


 The all-new Home Feed helps you quickly jump back with recently viewed repos while aggregating recommendations based off your interests. 

W9: Your New Home Feed


### Overview

This week we're excited to finally turn our attention to what happens during and after deployments.
To date, we haven't talked about it much but container deployments on our servers a big part of our infrastructure.

From the outset, we knew selling repositories would require a work demonstration of what the actual code did.
While other platforms require you to bring a working URL, we thought it'd be cool to offer that as part of our service.
So, we built a pretty sophisticated demo / deployment workflow that's based on docker containers but hosted on our servers.

![A screenshot showing your deployment configuration](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-09-2025-11-21.png)

Long story short, when submitting a repository to Playbooks you have the option to deploy your project onto our servers using the following strategies:

1. Using a pre-configured template from the marketplace
2. Manually entering your configuration
3. Supplying your own `dockerfile` file
4. Or, supplying your own `docker-compose.yml` file (this is stil in beta)

After editing your configuration, you can then deploy the project and trace the logs all in one place.

![A screenshot showing your deployment logs.](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-09-2025-11-28.png)

For now, we've split your logs into the following tabs ['build', 'deploy', 'container'] and here's what they do:

#### Build

![A screenshot showing your build logs.](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-09-2025-11-36.png)

Your build logs stream the various steps our demo servers go through when deploying a repository.

#### Deploy

![A screenshot showing your deploy logs.](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-09-2025-11-40.png)

Your deploy logs stream the output that come from the commands you configured as part of your deployment.

#### Container

![A screenshot showing your container logs.](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-09-2025-11-41.png)

Your container logs stream the output that come from the container after your application is running.

#### Shell

![A screenshot showing your shell logs.](/screenshots/cleanshot-05-09-2025-11-45.png)

Your shell logs stream the output that result from various commands you run from inside your container.


### That's all for now
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to catch up on what's happening at Playbooks!
To receive these updates in your inbox, simply create a account over on [Playbooks](https://www.playbooks.xyz).
Or, feel free to follow along over on [Twitter / X](https://www.x.com/playbooksxyz) to receive updates there.

 With the import process done, we turned our attention to adding better observability over your demo deployments. Moving forward, developers should expect a much better logging experience with build and application streams. 

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