Ben Vinegar
@benv.ca
Worked on @sentry.io for nearly a decade. Co-wrote Third-party JavaScript. Hacking on counterscale.dev in Toronto. 🇨🇦
More: benv.ca
More: benv.ca
Pinned
Ben Vinegar
@benv.ca
· Nov 4
📕 When Third-party JavaScript came out in 2013, I was so burnt out I never followed up with an explainer or postmortem.
So, I decided to write one now, 10 years later.
benv.ca/blog/posts/t...
So, I decided to write one now, 10 years later.
benv.ca/blog/posts/t...
The Story of Third-party JavaScript
benv.ca
👋 Hey, my quick bg:
Early 2010s, I worked on Disqus + put comments on everyone's websites.
Later, I wrote a book about it called Third-party JS.
2015, I joined @sentry.io to collect JS errors from everyone's web apps. Had stints as Sentry's VPE and GM of @syntax.fm.
Now: figuring out what's next
Early 2010s, I worked on Disqus + put comments on everyone's websites.
Later, I wrote a book about it called Third-party JS.
2015, I joined @sentry.io to collect JS errors from everyone's web apps. Had stints as Sentry's VPE and GM of @syntax.fm.
Now: figuring out what's next
Got some new stickers made for Devtools Tronto tomorrow
November 3, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Got some new stickers made for Devtools Tronto tomorrow
Reposted by Ben Vinegar
Counterscale 3.3.0 it out! 🚀 Here's what's included
- UTM Tracking Support (!!!)
- @/counterscale/tracker now includes a server-side module for those that want to track analytics on the server
- @/counterscale/cli now verifies API tokens when settings them via the install command
- UTM Tracking Support (!!!)
- @/counterscale/tracker now includes a server-side module for those that want to track analytics on the server
- @/counterscale/cli now verifies API tokens when settings them via the install command
Release v3.3.0 · benvinegar/counterscale
What's Changed
fix: link pkgs via pnpm-workspaces.yaml instead of npmrc by @stordahl in #220
chore: upgrade zx by @stordahl in #219
Fix: Wrap Long URLs in TableCard Component by @congdv in #221
Tw...
github.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Counterscale 3.3.0 it out! 🚀 Here's what's included
- UTM Tracking Support (!!!)
- @/counterscale/tracker now includes a server-side module for those that want to track analytics on the server
- @/counterscale/cli now verifies API tokens when settings them via the install command
- UTM Tracking Support (!!!)
- @/counterscale/tracker now includes a server-side module for those that want to track analytics on the server
- @/counterscale/cli now verifies API tokens when settings them via the install command
🇨🇦 Devtools Toronto is returning Tues, Nov 4th at BDC Community Square.
Featuring hands-on demos from 1Password, Tempo, Keyflow, Wispbit, and Varlock (DMNO)
👇 RSVP link below
Featuring hands-on demos from 1Password, Tempo, Keyflow, Wispbit, and Varlock (DMNO)
👇 RSVP link below
October 9, 2025 at 12:02 AM
🇨🇦 Devtools Toronto is returning Tues, Nov 4th at BDC Community Square.
Featuring hands-on demos from 1Password, Tempo, Keyflow, Wispbit, and Varlock (DMNO)
👇 RSVP link below
Featuring hands-on demos from 1Password, Tempo, Keyflow, Wispbit, and Varlock (DMNO)
👇 RSVP link below
See you at the combination skate shop + punk show
October 4, 2025 at 3:29 PM
See you at the combination skate shop + punk show
I've come to accept AI will write the majority of code.
So earlier this year I started exploring other ways AI could help developers.
That turned into this company, Modem. We're building an agent that does PM triage work for you and delivers product context to your IDE.
More here: modem.dev 🙏
So earlier this year I started exploring other ways AI could help developers.
That turned into this company, Modem. We're building an agent that does PM triage work for you and delivers product context to your IDE.
More here: modem.dev 🙏
Modem - Your dev-team's auto-triage Product Manager
Turn support, chat, and analytics into developer-ready context so engineers can decide, fix, and ship faster.
modem.dev
September 30, 2025 at 5:50 PM
I've come to accept AI will write the majority of code.
So earlier this year I started exploring other ways AI could help developers.
That turned into this company, Modem. We're building an agent that does PM triage work for you and delivers product context to your IDE.
More here: modem.dev 🙏
So earlier this year I started exploring other ways AI could help developers.
That turned into this company, Modem. We're building an agent that does PM triage work for you and delivers product context to your IDE.
More here: modem.dev 🙏
Counterscale's still humming along – almost 2k GitHub stars now.
This summer we (mostly @stordahl.dev) added:
- user auth
- referrer favicons
- works w/ multiple CF accounts
- UTM tracking (PR lands soon)
This summer we (mostly @stordahl.dev) added:
- user auth
- referrer favicons
- works w/ multiple CF accounts
- UTM tracking (PR lands soon)
September 15, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Counterscale's still humming along – almost 2k GitHub stars now.
This summer we (mostly @stordahl.dev) added:
- user auth
- referrer favicons
- works w/ multiple CF accounts
- UTM tracking (PR lands soon)
This summer we (mostly @stordahl.dev) added:
- user auth
- referrer favicons
- works w/ multiple CF accounts
- UTM tracking (PR lands soon)
Reposted by Ben Vinegar
I have some pretty exciting news to finally share here - in July, I joined @benv.ca as a maintainer on Counterscale, the open source analytics service that you deploy to your Cloudflare account! We just released v3.2.0-beta.0 which includes a long awaited feature - auth for your dashboard!
Release v3.2.0-beta.0 · benvinegar/counterscale
What's Changed
Add noindex meta tag to Layout by @stordahl in #198
Improve init and add related functions by @stordahl in #205
custom 404 page done by @heyysiri in #206
chore: update React Router ...
github.com
August 13, 2025 at 1:10 AM
I have some pretty exciting news to finally share here - in July, I joined @benv.ca as a maintainer on Counterscale, the open source analytics service that you deploy to your Cloudflare account! We just released v3.2.0-beta.0 which includes a long awaited feature - auth for your dashboard!
I like how you can be miles away and it still pops
August 12, 2025 at 1:58 PM
I like how you can be miles away and it still pops
The amount of learning I've had to do to become effective working/coding with LLMs is staggering.
Everyday employees aren't gonna figure this out in their spare time. You've got to intentionally carve out time for them to level up – or your team is gonna be left behind.
Everyday employees aren't gonna figure this out in their spare time. You've got to intentionally carve out time for them to level up – or your team is gonna be left behind.
July 23, 2025 at 2:07 PM
The amount of learning I've had to do to become effective working/coding with LLMs is staggering.
Everyday employees aren't gonna figure this out in their spare time. You've got to intentionally carve out time for them to level up – or your team is gonna be left behind.
Everyday employees aren't gonna figure this out in their spare time. You've got to intentionally carve out time for them to level up – or your team is gonna be left behind.
Playing around w/ Midjourney to animate some pixel art scenes
July 18, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Playing around w/ Midjourney to animate some pixel art scenes
📈 React package downloads/day are up almost 70% (!) since the start of 2025
July 12, 2025 at 8:23 PM
📈 React package downloads/day are up almost 70% (!) since the start of 2025
I think I found the least maintained feature on @github.com
July 8, 2025 at 5:33 PM
I think I found the least maintained feature on @github.com
🆕 new Counterscale landing page
I first mocked this up in Figma. Then exported a PNG and gave it to Claude Code.
That gave me a good start, but I spent hours tweaking afterwards in Claude + Cursor.
I first mocked this up in Figma. Then exported a PNG and gave it to Claude Code.
That gave me a good start, but I spent hours tweaking afterwards in Claude + Cursor.
July 7, 2025 at 11:40 AM
🆕 new Counterscale landing page
I first mocked this up in Figma. Then exported a PNG and gave it to Claude Code.
That gave me a good start, but I spent hours tweaking afterwards in Claude + Cursor.
I first mocked this up in Figma. Then exported a PNG and gave it to Claude Code.
That gave me a good start, but I spent hours tweaking afterwards in Claude + Cursor.
Counterscale v3.1.0 is out:
🆕 now pick which Cloudflare org to deploy to if your user belongs to multiple orgs (thanks @sergical on GitHub)
🆕 now uses Wrangler v4
🆕 now pick which Cloudflare org to deploy to if your user belongs to multiple orgs (thanks @sergical on GitHub)
🆕 now uses Wrangler v4
v3.0.0 beta of Counterscale is up. In this version:
🆕 CLI install wizard (using clack 🙏 @natemoo.re)
🆕 Deploys as a single Worker again / no more CF Pages
🆕 Uses pnpm for development
👇Video: self-deploy your own web analytics stack in 35s
github.com/benvinegar/c...
🆕 CLI install wizard (using clack 🙏 @natemoo.re)
🆕 Deploys as a single Worker again / no more CF Pages
🆕 Uses pnpm for development
👇Video: self-deploy your own web analytics stack in 35s
github.com/benvinegar/c...
July 6, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Counterscale v3.1.0 is out:
🆕 now pick which Cloudflare org to deploy to if your user belongs to multiple orgs (thanks @sergical on GitHub)
🆕 now uses Wrangler v4
🆕 now pick which Cloudflare org to deploy to if your user belongs to multiple orgs (thanks @sergical on GitHub)
🆕 now uses Wrangler v4
doesn't matter how much time I spent here
visiting still feels magical
visiting still feels magical
June 3, 2025 at 3:16 PM
doesn't matter how much time I spent here
visiting still feels magical
visiting still feels magical
I'm spending a few weeks in Vienna this summer after going hard w/ German on Duolingo + random German YouTube content for ~6+ months.
Will report back ...
Will report back ...
Last week, was talking to person who used to a bug Duolingo user but realized they’re not learning a language they wanted (Vietnamese) and hired a tutor instead (talking remote over internet), quitting the app.
I wonder how long it takes for more people to realize the same.
I wonder how long it takes for more people to realize the same.
May 26, 2025 at 8:28 PM
I'm spending a few weeks in Vienna this summer after going hard w/ German on Duolingo + random German YouTube content for ~6+ months.
Will report back ...
Will report back ...
I don't even remember how my website is being served anymore, I push changes via Git and somehow it's updated 😅
Just how portable is your web site? Could you switch hosting providers in an hour? In a day? Would it take you a week?
You should think about it.
You should think about it.
May 24, 2025 at 2:42 PM
I don't even remember how my website is being served anymore, I push changes via Git and somehow it's updated 😅
IMO blogs aren't dead yet – with so many having switched to video, I think writing is due for a comeback
May 14, 2025 at 8:57 PM
IMO blogs aren't dead yet – with so many having switched to video, I think writing is due for a comeback
As a software developer, I've been thinking a lot right now about AI, change, and anxiety ... and wrote a blog post about it.
It's also about my time working at a bookstore in the mid-2000s, and has a lot of programming book nostalgia. Hope it's mildly interesting.
benv.ca/blog/posts/t...
It's also about my time working at a bookstore in the mid-2000s, and has a lot of programming book nostalgia. Hope it's mildly interesting.
benv.ca/blog/posts/t...
They expect us to keep changing
benv.ca
May 14, 2025 at 6:32 PM
As a software developer, I've been thinking a lot right now about AI, change, and anxiety ... and wrote a blog post about it.
It's also about my time working at a bookstore in the mid-2000s, and has a lot of programming book nostalgia. Hope it's mildly interesting.
benv.ca/blog/posts/t...
It's also about my time working at a bookstore in the mid-2000s, and has a lot of programming book nostalgia. Hope it's mildly interesting.
benv.ca/blog/posts/t...
Not a lot of cities where you can fit horses, streetcars, bicycles, pedestrians, and cars into one shot.
May 10, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Not a lot of cities where you can fit horses, streetcars, bicycles, pedestrians, and cars into one shot.
IMO the "killer app" of 4K monitors is being able to take screenshots that aren't blurry.
I have a nice Ultrawide that's 1440p and totally usable for everything *but* this and it's irritating.
I have a nice Ultrawide that's 1440p and totally usable for everything *but* this and it's irritating.
April 24, 2025 at 12:58 PM
IMO the "killer app" of 4K monitors is being able to take screenshots that aren't blurry.
I have a nice Ultrawide that's 1440p and totally usable for everything *but* this and it's irritating.
I have a nice Ultrawide that's 1440p and totally usable for everything *but* this and it's irritating.
Reposted by Ben Vinegar
Last year I decided to stop website analytics on @projectwallace.com mostly because of the $14/month price tag. Recently Counterscale by @benv.ca came on my radar and for a free product this is 💯
April 19, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Last year I decided to stop website analytics on @projectwallace.com mostly because of the $14/month price tag. Recently Counterscale by @benv.ca came on my radar and for a free product this is 💯
After a lot of testing + production validation, Counterscale v3.0.0 is out:
In this version:
* New CLI installer makes deploying/updating easy
* More accurate visitor + bounce statistics
* Back to being a single Cloudflare Worker again
More notes and instructions here:
github.com/benvinegar/c...
In this version:
* New CLI installer makes deploying/updating easy
* More accurate visitor + bounce statistics
* Back to being a single Cloudflare Worker again
More notes and instructions here:
github.com/benvinegar/c...
Release v3.0.0 · benvinegar/counterscale
Changes:
New CLI installer (npx @counterscale/cli install)
Deploys as a Cloudflare Worker again (no longer uses Cloudflare Pages)
Uses pnpm package manager for development
Upgrade to ESLint 9 + ad...
github.com
April 9, 2025 at 4:23 PM
After a lot of testing + production validation, Counterscale v3.0.0 is out:
In this version:
* New CLI installer makes deploying/updating easy
* More accurate visitor + bounce statistics
* Back to being a single Cloudflare Worker again
More notes and instructions here:
github.com/benvinegar/c...
In this version:
* New CLI installer makes deploying/updating easy
* More accurate visitor + bounce statistics
* Back to being a single Cloudflare Worker again
More notes and instructions here:
github.com/benvinegar/c...
A clear indicator that quality of life has decreased under this President.
April 9, 2025 at 12:33 PM
A clear indicator that quality of life has decreased under this President.