Regex Blaster (opens in new tab)

(mdp.github.io)

155 pointsmdp9d ago56 comments

56 comments

ks20486d ago

Every vibe coded site is too dark and the text is too small.

They all have this rounded box design as well. I wonder where that came from, I don't think it was a predominant style before.

xg156d ago

Recently asked Codex (GPT-5.2) to write a small single-page HTML frontend to debug some REST endpoints. As it was just a one-off tool, I put in no instructions about looks or styling at all. Lo and behold, the tool it wrote came with exactly that round-box style.

It seems to be the "default" style of some models for some reason.

Which makes me wonder if people already experimented with different style suggestions to get different results: "Make it look like an 1998 GeoCities page" / 2005 Facebook / Newgrounds / DeviantArt / HN / one of those Windows XP simulators with built-in window manager / etc

mrkramer6d ago

I vibe code web apps with Google's Gemini and I think it actually mimics Google's UI and UX because I see similarities between my vibe coded web apps and Google's web apps.

1 more reply

flykespice6d ago

Every vibecoded site have this same dark look with shining hue-gradient borders, can't wait for the future the entire web be filled with this generic look

lofaszvanitt6d ago

And not playtested at all :D

mdpOP6d ago

This is fair, although I ask for it to be dark themed to match what I think was the style of typing game I remember growing up with (it's been a while). Bumped up the font though.

xnorswap6d ago

Next time please ask it to respect system dark/light mode preference, it's trivial to do, especially for an LLM which can spin up light/dark alternatives easily.

1 more reply

btilly6d ago

My top complaint is that if I've successfully used a pattern, I want my text removed. I keep forgetting to backspace a bunch, then get frustrated that my pattern isn't working.

Other than that, great game!

christoph-heiss6d ago

And all the text is grey-on-grey and basically unreadable. Not to even mention accessibility.

bmm6o5d ago

Automated accessibility testing needs to be in your loop, whether you are using an llm or not. Aria labels are easy to get right but they are also easy to forget.

mchaver6d ago

I could envision the style even before clicking on the site.

PurpleRamen6d ago

Maybe because it 1337 hackerman-style, or something.

darkstar9996d ago

What evidence do you have that this is vibe coded?

flexagoon6d ago

Because it looks exactly the same and feels as janky as 99% of vibecoded web apps

efilife5d ago

He just can tell. Like you can tell when you are looking at a flower and can instantly name what it is. You can just tell

ks20486d ago

Just based on vibes.

HanClinto6d ago

Nice game!

We made a similar game several years ago for the Pyweek game competition, but there wasn't the fun "letter invaders" style that this one has.

https://pyweek.org/e/RegExExpress/

I really like your implementation!

Might be good to limit some of the special operators to give more focus -- otherwise the early levels are a bit too solvable with ".*"

1-more6d ago

I don't understand the first "combat" level. There's no real defining pattern separating the good from bad hex strings, so it's just a typing speed contest to type all the enemy patterns, right? What am I missing?

Andoryuuta6d ago

As far as I can tell, the first combat level enemies all start with "ALERT-" and have exactly 3 digits.

1-more6d ago

sorry, second combat level. It's all 6 digit hex color strings, some good some bad.

1 more reply

joshribakoff6d ago

I cant even read this because most of the text is outside my phones viewport. Please test your stuff before posting it here.

freedomben6d ago

Wow really cool! Genuinely fun, and educational at the same time.

One usability request: after firing a regex, could the text box be cleared? It's not hard to hit Ctrl+A and start typing again, but it does add a bit of friction. (I can send a PR)

ebergen5d ago

I played through the training level and it took me a minute to realize it's sub string/grep match. So in the first training level the pattern . matches everything when it feels like it should be .* to match all the characters of the enemies.

The UI looks great!

baud96006d ago

Does not render correctly on iOS (mobile Safari)? It’s a fixed Desktop view and you can’t pinch to zoom as needed. It takes effort to prevent mobile users like this! Do others get this experience?

tyleo6d ago

I have this exact problem. Looks vibe coded with little testing :/

love2read6d ago

Really fun. I just wish that stats were saved in localhost (like combat mode progress) and that esc instantly ended the round if you know you will lose.

freedomben6d ago

Source code!: https://github.com/mdp/regex-blaster

m0d0nne115d ago

Cute. I had a crack at it but for me the fatal flaw is having to specifically delete the last regex before entering the next one, especially as the action gets tight. Each regex should go away once it's submitted, duh...

lasgawe6d ago

Haha, this is nice. I'm bad at regex most of the time. Playing this felt like when I first switched from Visual Studio to Vim. it’s a bit of a learning curve. It’s an interactive game btw

JanisErdmanis6d ago

This is really funny ;D Gives Tetris vibes and is executed beautifully.

pimlottc6d ago

The colors are difficult for colorblind people. Orange/green is difficult already, and then green turns into red depending on the state? Ugh. Looks fun but unplayable for me.

sublinear6d ago

The page width is not responsive and unusable on mobile

NooneAtAll36d ago

I wish it wasn't time-limited...

mrkramer6d ago

This looks like something I would vibe code with Google's Gemini. Interesting concept.

UltraSane6d ago

cool idea but it needs to get slower as the levels get harder

trenchgun4d ago

Claude default frontend skills suck :D

SilentM686d ago

Cool idea! I shall give it a try :)

brew-hacker6d ago

Fun interactive game!

mdpOP9d ago

TL;DR: I think you should still learn regex, even though AI has made it a "useless" skill

https://mdp.github.io/2026/03/17/the-kids-are-alright-and-th...

m3galinux6d ago

Not so useless. In my experience LLMs are about 50/50 on making a regex that actually works and covers the cases you asked it for. Even less when you get into cases needing advanced features like backreferences and lookahead.

littlekey6d ago

Anecdotal data point, writing and maintaining regex is still a core part of my job. Not useless at all for me :)

croes6d ago

A little bit early to tell.

Let’s wait how affordable, available and good AI is when the companies turn to profit maximization and enshittification begins

cachius6d ago

You can go local now with qwen 3.5 9B Q4 powering hermes agent at 35 to 50 tok/s with 99 percent tool call success rate on a used RTX 3060 for the price of two months of ChatGPT Pro and never bother. https://xcancel.com/sudoingX/status/2033020823846674546#m

This is the worst local AI will ever be. It only gets better from here. https://xcancel.com/sudoingX/status/2033959603944493192#m

1 more reply

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56 comments

ks20486d ago

Every vibe coded site is too dark and the text is too small.

progbits6d ago

They all have this rounded box design as well. I wonder where that came from, I don't think it was a predominant style before.

xg156d ago

It seems to be the "default" style of some models for some reason.

mrkramer6d ago

I vibe code web apps with Google's Gemini and I think it actually mimics Google's UI and UX because I see similarities between my vibe coded web apps and Google's web apps.

1 more reply

flykespice6d ago

Every vibecoded site have this same dark look with shining hue-gradient borders, can't wait for the future the entire web be filled with this generic look

lofaszvanitt6d ago

And not playtested at all :D

mdpOP6d ago

This is fair, although I ask for it to be dark themed to match what I think was the style of typing game I remember growing up with (it's been a while). Bumped up the font though.

xnorswap6d ago

Next time please ask it to respect system dark/light mode preference, it's trivial to do, especially for an LLM which can spin up light/dark alternatives easily.

1 more reply

btilly6d ago

My top complaint is that if I've successfully used a pattern, I want my text removed. I keep forgetting to backspace a bunch, then get frustrated that my pattern isn't working.

Other than that, great game!

christoph-heiss6d ago

And all the text is grey-on-grey and basically unreadable. Not to even mention accessibility.

bmm6o5d ago

Automated accessibility testing needs to be in your loop, whether you are using an llm or not. Aria labels are easy to get right but they are also easy to forget.

mchaver6d ago

I could envision the style even before clicking on the site.

PurpleRamen6d ago

Maybe because it 1337 hackerman-style, or something.

darkstar9996d ago

What evidence do you have that this is vibe coded?

flexagoon6d ago

Because it looks exactly the same and feels as janky as 99% of vibecoded web apps

efilife5d ago

He just can tell. Like you can tell when you are looking at a flower and can instantly name what it is. You can just tell

ks20486d ago

Just based on vibes.

HanClinto6d ago

Nice game!

We made a similar game several years ago for the Pyweek game competition, but there wasn't the fun "letter invaders" style that this one has.

https://pyweek.org/e/RegExExpress/

I really like your implementation!

Might be good to limit some of the special operators to give more focus -- otherwise the early levels are a bit too solvable with ".*"

1-more6d ago

Andoryuuta6d ago

As far as I can tell, the first combat level enemies all start with "ALERT-" and have exactly 3 digits.

1-more6d ago

sorry, second combat level. It's all 6 digit hex color strings, some good some bad.

1 more reply

joshribakoff6d ago

I cant even read this because most of the text is outside my phones viewport. Please test your stuff before posting it here.

freedomben6d ago

Wow really cool! Genuinely fun, and educational at the same time.

One usability request: after firing a regex, could the text box be cleared? It's not hard to hit Ctrl+A and start typing again, but it does add a bit of friction. (I can send a PR)

ebergen5d ago

The UI looks great!

baud96006d ago

tyleo6d ago

I have this exact problem. Looks vibe coded with little testing :/

love2read6d ago

Really fun. I just wish that stats were saved in localhost (like combat mode progress) and that esc instantly ended the round if you know you will lose.

freedomben6d ago

Source code!: https://github.com/mdp/regex-blaster

m0d0nne115d ago

lasgawe6d ago

Haha, this is nice. I'm bad at regex most of the time. Playing this felt like when I first switched from Visual Studio to Vim. it’s a bit of a learning curve. It’s an interactive game btw

JanisErdmanis6d ago

This is really funny ;D Gives Tetris vibes and is executed beautifully.

pimlottc6d ago

The colors are difficult for colorblind people. Orange/green is difficult already, and then green turns into red depending on the state? Ugh. Looks fun but unplayable for me.

sublinear6d ago

The page width is not responsive and unusable on mobile

NooneAtAll36d ago

I wish it wasn't time-limited...

mrkramer6d ago

This looks like something I would vibe code with Google's Gemini. Interesting concept.

UltraSane6d ago

cool idea but it needs to get slower as the levels get harder

trenchgun4d ago

Claude default frontend skills suck :D

SilentM686d ago

Cool idea! I shall give it a try :)

brew-hacker6d ago

Fun interactive game!

mdpOP9d ago

TL;DR: I think you should still learn regex, even though AI has made it a "useless" skill

https://mdp.github.io/2026/03/17/the-kids-are-alright-and-th...

m3galinux6d ago

littlekey6d ago

Anecdotal data point, writing and maintaining regex is still a core part of my job. Not useless at all for me :)

croes6d ago

A little bit early to tell.

Let’s wait how affordable, available and good AI is when the companies turn to profit maximization and enshittification begins

cachius6d ago

This is the worst local AI will ever be. It only gets better from here. https://xcancel.com/sudoingX/status/2033959603944493192#m

1 more reply

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