Slack Insights

A GitHub repository containing leaked system prompts from major LLMs and tools like CursorAI was shared, with an additional resource for ChatGPT/Claude prompts contributed by another member.

Tech leaders share their experiences implementing AI-powered development tools like Cursor and Devin.ai, discussing adoption rates, productivity impacts of 25-30%, and methods for measuring engineering efficiency gains.

Announcement of an upcoming masterclass on May 28, 2025, focused on using AI to build features within existing enterprise codebases, with strong community interest shown through 65 reactions.

Announcement of a masterclass on using AI to build features within existing enterprise codebases, with strong community interest shown through 79 reactions and follow-up questions about access and recordings.

A discussion about DKB (German bank) implementing OpenAI's Agentic AI raises concerns about European organizations using US-based AI services for privacy-sensitive data, with participants debating sovereignty issues and suggesting EU-based alternatives.

A discussion among tech leaders sharing their experiences implementing Model Context Protocol (MCP) in different contexts, with offers to exchange notes on implementation challenges, security considerations, and SDK choices.

Discussion about implementing Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) using Microsoft's AI stack to create a chat interface for querying company-specific quality management documents, with users sharing experiences and challenges with Azure AI Foundry.

A discussion about n8n enterprise self-hosting experiences reveals surprisingly high pricing (€10,000/year for just 10 workflows), with members sharing alternative approaches and news about a recent pricing model change to execution-based billing.

The thread explores user experiences with Gemini in Google Workspace, highlighting specific valuable features like AI() in Sheets and 'Help me write' in Gmail, while noting limitations such as non-shareable Gems and overall integration quality.

Tech leaders compare experiences with AI coding tools like Windsurf, Cursor, and Lovable, discussing their strengths, limitations, and appropriate use cases for different development scenarios.

Tech leaders compare AI coding assistants Windsurf, Cursor, and Lovable, discussing their strengths for different development scenarios from prototyping to production code.

A community member shared a solution that emulates Slack channels in MS Teams, making communication lighter for those required to use Microsoft's platform within larger organizations.

Community members share their hands-on experiences with Lovable.dev, highlighting its strengths for quick prototyping and UI generation while noting limitations like error loops and debugging challenges.

A tech leader seeks experiences with authentication and authorization for Agentic AI implementations (both first-party and third-party tool calling), prompting community members to share emerging standards and protocols worth exploring.

Tech leaders discuss their experiences implementing Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers and clients, sharing resources and addressing authentication challenges in federated environments.

A discussion about recommended software translation tools that integrate well with development workflows, featuring experiences with Localazy, Phrase, Transifex, and Lokalise with focus on CI/CD integration capabilities.

Tech leaders compare AI coding assistants like Windsurf, Cursor, and Lovable, discussing their experiences, strengths, and categorizing them based on use cases from prototyping to production-level development.

Alert about a vulnerability in the GitHub MCP Server with a brief discussion on its severity and exploitation conditions.

A discussion about the practical usage, costs, and effectiveness of Devin AI in mature software projects, with mixed feedback about its performance and value compared to alternatives like Codex, Jules, and Cursor AI.

Discussion about the release of Claude 4 and Claude Code 1.0.2, focusing on model capabilities, increasing costs, and comparative performance against other AI models like Gemini and OpenAI.

Tech leaders discuss their experiences implementing Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers and clients, sharing insights on security, authentication, and technical approaches while offering to collaborate on solutions.

A tech leader at a Microsoft-centric company (~500 employees) seeks advice on implementing Microsoft Project company-wide for cross-functional teams, receiving a detailed response about implementation challenges, cultural considerations, and the gap between executive expectations and practical realities.

Discussion about replacing expensive ATS software with more affordable alternatives like Notion or Asana for a company of ~45 people hiring 1-3 roles per month, with participants sharing experiences from Personio, Asana, and custom Notion setups.

A community member shared EthanGPT, a custom GPT created by former Amazon VP Ethan Evans that serves as a CTO/VP mentor by leveraging his newsletters, LinkedIn posts, and YouTube video transcripts.

A member seeks recommendations for security auditing firms to check for potential backdoors left by a contractor in a food business's critical IT systems, receiving several specific company suggestions from the community.

A thread sharing an ArsTechnica article and research revealing how Meta has been deanonymizing Android users by monitoring all browser activity through local ports and connecting it to Instagram and Facebook user identities.

Announcement for the upcoming CodeTalks conference focusing on AI augmentation, vibe-driven coding, and future software development trends, with a call for CTOs and tech leaders to submit talks and share the opportunity with their teams.

A tech leader seeks community experience with SQLMesh as an alternative to dbt, receiving insights about SQLMesh's collaborative features and virtual data environments that improve upon dbt's limitations.

A tech leader seeks recommendations for travel management software for a company under 50 employees, with two respondents endorsing TravelPerk as suitable even for smaller teams.

A community member seeks mentorship connections for an employee transitioning to an SRE role and receives a recommendation for an Engineering Manager at Cloudflare who could potentially serve as a mentor.

A tech leader seeks established guidelines for selecting appropriate LLMs/AI tools for different use cases, validating outputs, and other considerations, receiving practical implementation examples from peers.

A developer inquires about experiences with Continue and Tabby as local LLM alternatives to GitHub Copilot for coding assistance, with a response indicating that commercial solutions currently outperform local options despite data protection advantages.

Discussion about whether ISO27001 certification requires criminal background checks (Polizeiliches Führungszeugnis) in Germany, with multiple companies sharing their varied approaches to compliance and candidate experience.

A discussion seeking recommendations for SaaS applications with effective table interfaces that handle large datasets smoothly, resulting in several specific product and library suggestions.

Tech leaders discuss experiences with Slack AI, with one participant warning against it as underwhelming while another recommends Onyx as a better alternative that integrates with multiple tools.

Discussion evaluating Slack AI as a premium feature, with participants expressing skepticism and sharing Onyx as a well-functioning alternative that integrates with multiple tools.

The thread explores various experiences with Gemini in Google Workspace, highlighting specific useful features like AI() in Sheets and 'Help me write' in Gmail, while noting limitations such as non-shareable Gems and overall integration quality.

A community member seeks recommendations for an English-speaking tax consultant after their current one closes practice, receiving three different suggestions from peers with positive endorsements.

A tech leader seeks recommendations for an English-speaking tax consultant after their current Steuerberater closes practice, receiving three specific suggestions from community members with details about each option's location and strengths.

A tech leader seeks recommendations for license management software (listing options like Tropic, Sastrify, Cake Walk, Torii, Zylo, Better Cloud, and Trelica), receiving feedback about limited cost savings with Sastrify and a response from a Sastrify representative explaining their focus on larger organizations.

A tech leader inquires about GitHub payment methods, specifically whether an Azure subscription is required for credit card payments, with multiple community members confirming direct credit card payment is possible without Azure.

A user inquires about GitHub's claim that credit card payments require an Azure subscription, while multiple community members confirm they pay directly with credit cards without Azure integration.

Announcement for the upcoming CodeTalks conference with a call for submissions on topics like AI augmentation and future coding practices, particularly encouraging CTOs and tech leaders to share their experiences and insights.

Announcement for CodeTalks 2025 conference encouraging CTOs and tech leaders to submit talks on AI augmentation, vibe-driven coding, and future software development trends, with feedback about improving the submission process.

Community members share and endorse useful tools for verifying email security configurations including SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and MTA-STS.

A community member shared a solution for improving Microsoft Teams by emulating Slack channels, which was appreciated by others who are similarly constrained to using Teams within their organizations.

Announcement for the upcoming CodeTalks conference with a call for submissions from CTOs and tech leaders on topics like AI augmentation and future software development trends, with feedback about improving the submission process.

Discussion about the release of Claude 4 and Claude Code 1.0.2, including pricing details, token cost analysis, and recommendations for using custom modes with different AI models for specific tasks.

Multiple tech leaders report disappointing experiences with Google's Jules AI tool, citing high latency, failures to complete tasks, and poor performance compared to GitHub Copilot Workspace.

Discussion about how AI tools trained on Stack Overflow content are now making the original platform increasingly irrelevant for developers seeking coding help.

A warning about MCP servers running on public IPs sparked a technical discussion about authentication issues and multitenancy concerns when implementing MCP servers, particularly with Snowflake integration.

Discussion about integrating GitHub MCP Server with AI coding tools like Windsurf and Cursor to automate GitHub actions such as issue creation, branch management, and PR generation.

Discussion about the upcoming Cursor v0.50 release and its continued lack of browser preview and Chrome Developer tools integration, with participants sharing alternative tools like Stagewise and Windsurf that offer these capabilities.

Article shared about Alibaba's ZeroSearch technology that enables AI to simulate search instead of using external search engines, potentially reducing training costs by 88% and democratizing AI development.

A community member shared an upcoming O'Reilly online event about coding with AI featuring notable speakers like Kent Beck and Gergely Orosz, followed by a post-event summary highlighting diverse perspectives on AI coding workflows.

A discussion on whether low-code/no-code platforms like Retool are becoming less relevant as AI-driven natural language coding emerges, with mixed perspectives on their continued utility depending on user technical expertise.

A tech leader at medavis is seeking recommendations for AI solutions to automate customer support channels (email, chatbot, phone), receiving suggestions for specific tools like flowiseai, Ultimate.ai, and lautmaler.de.

Discussion about seven.io incorrectly flagging valid mobile numbers, with Vonage suggested as an alternative before identifying the root cause as a carrier routing change.

A brief exchange about alternative tools for non-core product services where Front is recommended as a superior support inbox solution over Pylon and Plain due to its personal inbox integration capability, with Linear also mentioned for product management.

An announcement for the upcoming CodeTalks 2025 conference encourages CTOs and tech leaders to submit talks on AI augmentation, vibe-driven coding, and future software development trends, with feedback suggesting the need for clearer topic guidelines before login.

Announcement of Ayzeo, a new tool designed to optimize websites for both traditional search engines and AI systems like ChatGPT, with a special discount offered to community members.

Discussion about a court order requiring OpenAI to permanently store all ChatGPT conversations, including API calls, raising significant privacy and legal discovery concerns.

Four tech leaders share their negative experiences with Jules AI, citing issues with simple task failures, timeouts, and lack of a local client compared to alternatives like Claude Code.

Tech leaders share and demonstrate their experiences with cutting-edge AI content generation tools Mirage (for video/lipsync) and Suno (for music creation), highlighting the impressive quality and time-saving benefits.

Tech leaders share hands-on experiences with Factory.ai, comparing its capabilities to alternatives like Claude Code and Windsurf, ultimately finding it functional but not superior to existing tools.

A developer shares their detailed process of building a personal website using AI tools like v0 and Cursor, from requirements gathering to deployment, with another member sharing a similar approach using alternative tools.

A community member announces an upcoming Vibe Coding masterclass with a relatable video about programming challenges, generating interest from other members who inquire about registration.

A tech leader seeks advice on migrating from Flutter to React Native or NativeScript to simplify their tech stack and leverage their React developers, receiving feedback about the benefits of React Native with Expo ecosystem despite some limitations.

A brief exchange about using Heyflow for funnel prototyping, including its benefits for quick go-to-market strategies and limitations that eventually led to developing internal tooling.

A tech leader seeking recommendations for headhunters specializing in manager-of-managers positions in Munich received several personal referrals to specific recruiters and agencies from community members.

A tech leader seeks recommendations for email service providers after experiencing recurring deliverability issues with Mailgun for Microsoft domains (Hotmail), considering Twilio/Sendgrid as alternatives based on past positive experiences with their Microsoft relationships.

A member seeking advice on regulatory requirements for a p2p payment startup receives offers to connect with fintech experts, including a former CFO of Nuri (formerly Bitwala).

Tech leaders discuss whether low-code/no-code platforms like Retool are becoming obsolete as AI-driven natural language coding emerges, with perspectives on security, target audiences, and market viability.

The thread shares and compares various tools for testing email authentication protocols including SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and MTA-STS, with participants recommending options like dmarctester.com, uriports.com, dmarcdkim.com, and dmarcian.com.

A CTO is seeking recommendations for frontend TYPO3 developers (preferably near-shore) for a project, noting that TYPO3 is primarily used in German professional deployments.

A community member shared information about an upcoming O'Reilly online event on Coding with AI featuring prominent tech leaders like Kent Beck and Gergely Orosz, with positive reception but limited follow-up discussion.

A brief discussion about a tweet from Fiverr's CEO regarding AI disruption and the need to become exceptional at your craft to avoid career obsolescence, with varying interpretations among participants.

OpenAI has reached an agreement to acquire startup Windsurf for $3 billion, representing a significant acquisition in the AI industry.

A tech leader is seeking an Outlook Add-On that allows setting a custom OpenAI endpoint to use their own GenAI system instead of Copilot, with another member expressing interest and a potential solution being researched or developed.

A tech leader seeks recommendations for better alternatives to incumbent non-core product service tools like Intercom and Chargebee, receiving suggestions for Front (described as a 'game changer') and Linear for product management.

A member requested recommendations for a freelance PPC consultant to help with cleaning up accounts and setting up new Google/Microsoft Ads campaigns, receiving one specific LinkedIn recommendation.

Request for recommendations for a German-speaking Interim Head of Product with experience scaling product organizations of ~50 people in the healthcare domain, with details about location, product lines, and key challenges.

A request for recommendations for a German-speaking Interim Head of Product with experience scaling product organizations of ~50 people in the healthcare domain, with one respondent offering to potentially connect suitable candidates.

A brief discussion about Task-Master.dev, an AI-driven development tool using PRD-based approach, where one user reports instability issues that led them to build their own simpler alternative.

Brief exchange about AI coding tools where one member asks about Blitzy and Factory.ai, with others sharing their experience with Devin.ai and plans to try OpenAI's Codex.

Announcement of Windsurf's new AI model lineup including SWE-1 with frontier-level capabilities (free for Pro users), SWE-1-Lite replacing Cascade Base (free for all), and SWE-1-Mini for tab completion.

A tech leader seeks help accessing North Data to benchmark their company's financial performance (EBITDA, revenue) against the German market, offering payment for assistance while exploring alternative data sources.

A request to connect with others using Hubspot for both marketing and sales in larger organizations (50+ sales people), with one respondent sharing positive past experiences and current CRM evaluation process.

A brief exchange about initial experiences with the Cursor 1.0 release, focusing on improved UX, privacy mode limitations, and hesitation to use it on company repositories.

A brief discussion about Google's new Flow tool, highlighting its limited availability (not in Germany) and requirement for personal Google accounts.

A request for recommendations to find a mathematician specializing in optimization theory received suggestions to check universities or contact the CTO of DBtune who works with database optimization algorithms.

A community member seeks recommendations for physical book scanners with OCR capabilities, receiving suggestions ranging from software solutions to creative hardware approaches, though finding affordable options for glued books remains challenging.

A member requests contacts at Anker for battery storage partnerships and receives a suggestion for an alternative company (BOS AG) with similar capabilities.

Brief exchange comparing VS Code with Claude versus Cursor for AI-assisted coding, with one user sharing their hybrid approach of using Cursor for AI edits alongside RubyMine for debugging.

A tech leader seeks recommendations for license management software, receiving feedback about Sastrify's limited value for smaller organizations and a response from a Sastrify representative explaining their focus on larger clients.

A brief announcement of OpenMemory MCP, a tool that helps maintain context between AI sessions, powered by Qdrant.tech.

A request for tech leaders to complete a brief survey about AI Inference API providers with focus on European alternatives, data sovereignty, and performance considerations, with promise to share aggregated findings.

A user seeks recommendations for unsupervised tools to identify themes in 500 email bodies after finding jsLDA's implementation of topic modeling too limited, with a brief response noting that o4-mini also uses LDA.

A brief exchange seeking experiences with Google Cloud air-gapped environments, where one participant shared they have experience with other air-gapped setups but not specifically with Google Cloud.

A tech leader is seeking feedback from others who have experience with the getdx.com platform to learn about successful implementation strategies and potential pitfalls to avoid.

A tech leader is implementing the DX (Developer Experience) platform and seeks community insights on what works and what doesn't to avoid potential implementation pitfalls.

A community member shared a Twitter/X post that resonated positively with others, as evidenced by the two joy reactions it received.