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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · 24d

The 1.2.1 release of django-simple-deploy allows plugins to extend the core CLI.

For example, the dsd-flyio plugin now supports a `--vm-size` option.

This is what was needed to make plugins much more powerful than simply "give me the smallest possible working deployment".

#Python #Django

$ python manage.py deploy --vm-size shared-cpu-2x --automate-all

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Aug 28

I've definitely been stuck at the `uv venv .venv` and `uv pip install <package>` level of adoption. This is a great writeup of how to really simplify your workflow with uv.

Reuven M. Lerner @lernerpython.com · Aug 28

Using uv for your #Python projects? You're probably doing it wrong.

While uv *can* replace pip, pyenv, and venvs, you really should be using it differently. If you do, things get easier and more straightforward.

Read more: lerner.co.il/2025/08/28/y...

You're probably using uv wrong

[This is adopted from my "Better developers" newsletter: https://BetterDevelopersWeekly.com ] Like many others in the Python world, I've adopted "uv", the do-everything, lightning-fast package manager...

lerner.co.il

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Aug 27

I like that approach because you can add a `--url` flag to your test suite, and run those same tests against a deployed version of the project.

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Aug 27

For projects that aren't going to see a lot of active development, I've definitely taken the shortcut of just spinning up a development server and running a basic set of tests on the final rendered pages.

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Aug 27

I'm going to clarify the cost of a basic Fly.io deployment, but I have to wait until next week to do that.

I've been on the legacy free tier for years now, and I finally "downgraded" my account to the pay as you go plan. Kudos to Fly for honoring their free tier for years after it was deprecated!

Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Aug 27

I'm jumping back into django-simple-deploy work this week. The focus will be on the dsd-vps plugin, but first up is a refresh of the page that compares a core set of PAAS hosts:

#Python #Django

django-simple-deploy.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ge...

Choosing a platform - django-simple-deploy

django-simple-deploy.readthedocs.io

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Aug 14

Fun news! I just deployed a demo Wagtail site to Platform.sh using django-simple-deploy. Here's the steps, and a screenshot of a logged-in admin user.

#Django

$ git clone https://github.com/ehmatthes/wagtail_demo.git
$ cd wagtail_demo
$ uv venv .venv && act
$ uv pip install -r requirements.txt

$ pip install -e ~/projects/django-simple-deploy
$ uv pip install -e ~/projects/dsd-platformsh
$ python manage.py deploy --automate-all

$ platform ssh
> python manage.py createsuperuser

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Aug 14

My favorite section focuses on trust. I fully agree with this take, and this mindset is changing how I build software.

People hyping AI for profit are spilling a bunch of s**t that the rest of us have to deal with. I'm enjoying building things that center trust, explicitly against all this AI slop.

9. Trust Is the New Currency
Amidst an ever-growing wave of AI slop on the internet, actual humans and trust have never been more valuable. When you can’t trust search engines, especially not videos, and certainly not AI/LLMs, finding a human with real expertise who is willing to share it has never been more valuable.

I suspect we will find a few people in different domains who become the “thought leaders” as most content turns into garbage. This is good for them and good for quality content, but bad for the larger ecosystem of people sharing their expertise. If someone already has 1m followers on YouTube for a topic, it will be much easier for them to scale to 2m than for a newcomer to somehow stand out and gain enough traction to generate enough views to make the economics work.

This is not really a new challenge, but tech constantly amplifies already-existing dynamics into another stratosphere.

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Aug 14

@wsvincent.bsky.social shared a really grounded take on the state of AI this week. If you're trying to make sense of where we're at and where we're headed, I highly recommend reading his take. It's a quick read.

wsvincent.com/ai-for-the-r...

AI For the Rest of Us - Will Vincent

What LLMs and ever-improving frontier models like ChatGPT, Claude, and others portend.

wsvincent.com

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Aug 11

Is the volume of emails changing with the availability of ChatGPT? I'm wondering if it's absorbing some of that communication, or just encouraging people to keep going with their "theories".

Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Aug 8

OpenAI has absolutely fostered this kind of environment.

There's a whole lot of people taking all their hype at face value, who don't have the background to critically evaluate their claims.

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Aug 8

This makes me *way* more likely to be on the latest point release, for every version, as soon as any new point release comes out.

Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Aug 8

Big takeaways: I have a bunch of interpreters (python3.14, python3.13, python3.12...python3.9) available as fast as I can type any of those aliases.

And I can update *all* of them with one command:

$ uv python upgrade

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Aug 8

Like many others, I've been loving uv and it's changed my workflows for the better.

I cleaned up my system recently, removing pyenv in favor of an all-uv approach. I wrote up the process here:

#Python #uv

www.mostlypython.com/updating-pyt...

Updating Python

MP 147: How do you clean up when you have too many Pythons lying around? About a year and a half ago, I wrote a post about how to update the version of Python you're using locally. I was hoping that ...

www.mostlypython.com

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Jul 14

Recent releases also include a number of bug fixes. Docs are here:

py-bugger.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

Introduction - py-bugger

py-bugger.readthedocs.io

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Jul 14

py-bugger is up to 0.5.2 now.

Latest feature: you can introduce a bug into a specific block of lines, or even a single line in the target file.

It works for small teaching files, and you can target large files in library code as well.

#Python

$ py-bugger --target-file dog.py --target-lines 15-20

$ py-bugger --target-file .venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/PIL/Image.py --target-lines 3068-3117

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Jun 25

This will be even more true as the project continues to evolve, and becomes capable of introducing a wider range of bugs.

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Jun 25

The `--exception-type` argument is really helpful for teaching and learning. But in the real world, we don't know what kinds of bugs are going to appear.

Letting py-bugger randomly choose the bug that gets introduced makes your debugging practice closer to real-world debugging experiences.

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Jun 25

In the 0.4.1 release of py-bugger, the `-e` argument is optional. If you leave it off, it will randomly select what kind of bug to introduce in the target project.

It also suggests valid arguments for `-e` if you make a typo.

#Python

$ py-bugger
Added bug.
All requested bugs inserted.

$ py-bugger -e IndentationErrorr
You specified IndentationErrorr for --exception-type.
Did you mean IndentationError?

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Reposted by Eric Matthes

🦇Scythe Brand🦇 @tartanllama.xyz · Jun 21

I think if you're writing a technical book/post/documentation, you have to stick to this principle:

If the code isn't directly loaded from a tested source file, or copy-pasted from one, it doesn't go in the document.

"I just need to make a little edit to the code in the post, it'll be fine"

No

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Jun 11

The next bit of work is to make the `--exception-type` argument optional. A bare call will randomly choose the kind of error to insert. That will open up implementation of a much wider range of bugs that can be introduced.

Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Jun 11

py-bugger 0.4.0 is out! A few bugs have been addressed, and it now looks for a clean Git status before introducing bugs in a project or file. You can override that behavior with the `--ignore-git-status` flag.

py-bugger.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

#Python

Introduction - py-bugger

py-bugger.readthedocs.io

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Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · Jun 6

I would love to hear more about the serious side of this. It feels like a y2k-fixing gig that never ends.

Eric Matthes @ehmatthes.bsky.social · May 30

I wrote about the value of conference open spaces in validating new project ideas. A bit about sprints as well:

www.mostlypython.com/validating-a...

#PyConUS

Validating a new project

MP 142: Conference "open spaces" are a great place to get valuable feedback about new projects. Note: The debugging series will continue shortly. I spent a full week at PyCon, and my son graduated fr...

www.mostlypython.com

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Reposted by Eric Matthes

Thomas Wouters @yhg1s.bsky.social · May 27

Use #Python at all? I would like to do a silly thing, which I hope will bring amusement to others as well as me (if it works out).

If you wouldn't mind, please fill out this form, and boost for reach:

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Informal Pointless Python Survey

This is an informal, unscientific survey of (sort of) Python questions, with which I'd like to try to make something amusing, maybe something involving families feuding somehow. (I may have been inspi...

docs.google.com

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