Alright, so you’ve been screwed over by whatever trendy new tech stack the JS devs have been pushing one-too-many-times, and you’re looking for a truly reliable, tried-and-tested, production-grade stack that will carry your application from first lines of code to IPO. Well, in that case HIPSTER is probably not the right stack for you (unless you happen to be Discord, which happens to be one of the most hipster companies around) - HIPSTER is for the true hipsters of the programming world. If that’s you, read on to find out how HIPSTER can benefit your application.

So I’ll keep this simple (just give a short paragraph to each letter of the acronym and what it does and how it helps):

(And because why not, let’s go backwards? Because that’s HIPSTER.)

1. R - Rust

   Well it sort of goes without saying that if you’re writing, well, anything in 2024, it has to have some Rust in it. You know, Rewrite-It-In-Rust and all the memory safety and sorta functional programming and hipster-ness you get from writing your code in it. Plus, especially if you’re based in the US, this is essential for legal reasons, given that the White House recently started mandating Rust. (See https://bsky.app/profile/ovna.dev/post/3kmel3b5cig2s). By including Rust in your HIPSTER-based project, you can ensure the US Department of Memory Safety will find no flaws in your code, as long as you satisfy the Borrow Checker and all that.

2. E - Elixir

   Safety is good. Memory safety is good. Rust gave you memory safety. What does Elixir give you? The time when programs ran sequentially from top-to-bottom is long-gone. If you’re not running things concurrently in 2024, you’re missing out on… well… I don’t know, being hipster. Also, more importantly than any of that, Elixir has a really cute aesthetic! You get to feel like you’re mixing little code potions. Very hipster.

3. T - Terrible ideas

   Okay, this one might sound counterproductive, but hear me out. Good ideas have been failing in practice for years. You have a great idea, but then you start implementing it and find that it fails in real life. At least, that’s the conventional way of doing it. Maybe you need to try some terrible ideas since the good ones never seem to work! And it’s hipster to be different.

4. S - SQLite

   Why would you use literally any other database when SQLite exists?? It’s easy, fast enough, and you can track its version history by putting it in Git.

5. P - PDS

   You know, an AT Protocol Personal Data Server? Almost an essential component of the stack. Certainly THE essential component for its flagship application… and also just kind of a cool thing to have…

6. I - Irony

   This one is a lie. There is nothing ironic about this stack or this article. It is a purely serious look at the HIPSTER stack and its benefits. The HIPSTER stack is not ironic.

7. H - HIPSTER

   There are two ways to read this, and they’re both correct. The most important component of the HIPSTER stack is, of course, you!!! And of course, especially the Hipster spirit within you. The other most important component of the HIPSTER stack is the HIPSTER stack itself, for obvious reasons.

Well, that’s it! I hope you enjoyed the article and can see all the glorious benefits the HIPSTER stack can bring you. Thanks for your time!