[Dev Catch Up #63] - Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview, How JWT works, OpenAI updates, Void, Databricks acquires Neon, Redis goes Opensource, Outpost, Claude's System Prompt, VectorVFS and much more!
Bringing devs up to speed on the latest dev news from the trends including, a bunch of exciting developments and articles
Welcome to the 63rd edition of DevShorts, Dev Catch Up!
For those who joined recently or are reading Dev Catch Up for the first time, I write about developer stories and open source, partly based on my work and experience interacting with people all over the globe.
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Must Read
Google has released Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview, offering improved I/O performance and stronger coding capabilities for front-end development and agentic workflows. If you are building visual or code-first applications, this preview is worth exploring. Check the Google Developers Blog for details.
OpenAI makes two major moves. OpenAI to expand its $500B Stargate project globally while also transitioning to a Public Benefit Corporation structure. The company aims to build AI infrastructure in partner nations while maintaining non-profit control to balance shareholder interests.
In today’s microservices-driven world, stateless authentication is crucial. Neo Kim’s “How JWT Works” is a 3-minute breakdown of a JWT’s structure, security, and workflow. Read this clear, to-the-point guide on the System Design Newsletter.
AI is being used in many ways to elevate engineering leadership. “How to Use AI to Be a Great Engineering Leader” guide shares 10 real-world strategies like how to use AI as a thought partner and areas where AI can help. Read the full post to know about AI-driven leadership techniques.
OSS Highlight of the Week
Almost everyone has tried Cursor and other AI-powered IDEs, but if you are after privacy, and thinking of open-source alternative, check out Void, an open-source cursor alternative. It embeds AI agents in your codebase, lets you checkpoint and visualize changes, and even run models locally without logging your data. Explore the GitHub repo to try it out.
Good to know
If you are designing APIs, check this guide on “API Design Considerations” that explains clear resource naming, versioning, pagination, error handling, and security best practices to keep your APIs maintainable and resilient. Read the detailed post on the Substack Page.
Databricks is in talks to acquire Neon for about $1 B, pushing it toward end-to-end ownership of the data-to-AI stack and expanding its serverless database offerings. A strategic move that could pit Databricks against Oracle in the OLTP space. See the scoop on Upstarts Media.
Figma's Config 2025 unveiled a powerful AI suite including Sites for code-free web publishing, make for rapid prototyping, buzz for marketing content, and draw for vector creation. See the announcement on Figma's blog.
Redis 8 returns to open source under the AGPLv3 license. It brings core Redis Stack features, along with vector sets, the first new data type in years, for similarity search while delivering major performance gains. Read the full story on the Redis blog.
If you are building a startup, beware of premature microservices. They can duplicate infrastructure, slow iteration, and hurt productivity until you face scaling bottlenecks. Read the full cautionary take to help you avoid premature microservices pitfalls.
Notable FYIs
Being a Claude user, I have wondered how it outperforms other models. An interesting repo leak reveals claude’s 25k-token system prompt, with tools and instructions. The issue discussion debates on authenticity, and few say it’s a genuine system prompt. Explore the system prompt leak repo.
I came across the Ruby Usage Guide, which covers best practices to make your code instantly recognizable to seasoned Rubyists. If you are a Ruby developer, check this essential guide to level up your code style.
Python devs, check out Ty, an extremely fast, type checker and language server written in Rust that delivers real-time feedback without slowing your workflow. Explore Ty on this GitHub Repo.
Webhook reliability shouldn't keep you up at night. Outpost is an open-source tool that makes sure your webhook messages actually get delivered by handling retries, tracking failures, and managing delivery rates. Check how this self-hosted solution can strengthen your infrastructure.
If you need a semantic search layer over your filesystem, check VectorVFS. It turns your Linux filesystem into a vector database by storing embeddings as extended attributes, no external index required. Check VectorVFS Python package on GitHub.
Mistral AI launches Mistral Medium 3, delivering high performance at lower cost than competitors like Claude Sonnet 3.7. The model excels in coding with flexible deployment options including on-premises setups. Read more in Mistral's page.
That’s it from us with this edition. We hope you are going away with a ton of new information. Lastly, share this newsletter with your colleagues and pals if you find it valuable. A subscription to the newsletter will be awesome if you are reading it for the first time.