Technical Blog Writing

Write developer-focused technical blog posts via inference.sh CLI.

Quick Start

curl -fsSL https://cli.inference.sh | sh && infsh login

Research topic depth

infsh app run exa/search --input '{ "query": "building REST API Node.js best practices 2024 tutorial" }'

Generate header image

infsh app run infsh/html-to-image --input '{ "html": "<div style="width:1200px;height:630px;background:linear-gradient(135deg,#0f172a,#1e293b);display:flex;align-items:center;padding:60px;font-family:ui-monospace,monospace;color:white"><div><p style="font-size:18px;color:#38bdf8;margin:0">// engineering blog</p><h1 style="font-size:48px;margin:16px 0;font-weight:800;font-family:system-ui;line-height:1.2">How We Reduced API Latency by 90% with Edge Caching</h1><p style="font-size:20px;opacity:0.6;font-family:system-ui">A deep dive into our CDN architecture</p></div></div>" }'

Post Types

1. Tutorial / How-To

Step-by-step instruction. The reader should be able to follow along and build something.

Structure:

1. What we're building (with screenshot/demo)
2. Prerequisites
3. Step 1: Setup
4. Step 2: Core implementation
5. Step 3: ...
6. Complete code (GitHub link)
7. Next steps / extensions

Rule Why

Show the end result first Reader knows if it's worth continuing

List prerequisites explicitly Don't waste time of wrong audience

Every code block should be runnable Copy-paste-run is the test

Explain the "why" not just the "how" Tutorials that explain reasoning get shared

Include error handling Real code has errors

Link to complete code repo Reference after tutorial

2. Deep Dive / Explainer

Explains a concept, technology, or architecture decision in depth.

Structure:

1. What is [concept] and why should you care?

2. How it works (simplified mental model)

3. How it works (detailed mechanics)

4. Real-world example

5. Trade-offs and when NOT to use it

6. Further reading

7. Postmortem / Incident Report

Describes what went wrong, why, and what was fixed.

Structure:

1. Summary (what happened, impact, duration)

2. Timeline of events

3. Root cause analysis

4. Fix implemented

5. What we're doing to prevent recurrence

6. Lessons learned

7. Benchmark / Comparison

Data-driven comparison of tools, approaches, or architectures.

Structure:

1. What we compared and why

2. Methodology (so results are reproducible)

3. Results with charts/tables

4. Analysis (what the numbers mean)

5. Recommendation (with caveats)

6. Raw data / reproducibility instructions

7. Architecture / System Design

Explains how a system is built and why decisions were made.

Structure:

1. Problem we needed to solve
2. Constraints and requirements
3. Options considered
4. Architecture chosen (with diagram)
5. Trade-offs we accepted
6. Results and lessons

Writing Rules for Developers

Voice and Tone

Do Don't

Be direct: "Use connection pooling" "You might want to consider using..."

Admit trade-offs: "This adds complexity" Pretend your solution is perfect

Use "we" for team decisions "I single-handedly architected..."

Specific numbers: "reduced p99 from 800ms to 90ms" "significantly improved performance"

Cite sources and benchmarks Make unsourced claims

Acknowledge alternatives Pretend yours is the only way

What Developers Hate

❌ "In today's fast-paced world of technology..." (filler) ❌ "As we all know..." (if we all know, why are you writing it?) ❌ "Simply do X" (nothing is simple if you're reading a tutorial) ❌ "It's easy to..." (dismissive of reader's experience) ❌ "Obviously..." (if it's obvious, don't write it) ❌ Marketing language in technical content ❌ Burying the lede under 3 paragraphs of context

Code Examples

Rule Why

Every code block must be runnable Broken examples destroy trust

Show complete, working examples Snippets without context are useless

Include language identifier in fenced blocks Syntax highlighting

Show output/result after code Reader verifies understanding

Use realistic variable names calculateTotalRevenue not foo

Include error handling in examples Real code handles errors

Pin dependency versions "Works with React 18.2" not "React"

Good code block format:

# What this code does (one line)
def calculate_retry_delay(attempt: int, base_delay: float = 1.0) -> float:
    """Exponential backoff with jitter."""
    delay = base_delay * (2 ** attempt)
    jitter = random.uniform(0, delay * 0.1)
    return delay + jitter

# Usage
delay = calculate_retry_delay(attempt=3)  # ~8.0-8.8 seconds

### Explanation Depth

| Audience Signal | Depth |
|----------------|-------|
| "Getting started with X" | Explain everything, assume no prior knowledge |
| "Advanced X patterns" | Skip basics, go deep on nuances |
| "X vs Y" | Assume familiarity with both, focus on differences |
| "How we built X" | Technical audience, can skip fundamentals |

**State your assumed audience level explicitly** at the start:

"This post assumes familiarity with Docker and basic Kubernetes concepts.
If you're new to containers, start with [our intro post]."

## Blog Post Structure

### The Ideal Structure

```markdown
# Title (contains primary keyword, states outcome)

[Hero image or diagram]

**TL;DR:** [2-3 sentence summary with key takeaway]

## The Problem / Why This Matters
[Set up why the reader should care — specific, not generic]

## The Solution / How We Did It
[Core content — code, architecture, explanation]

### Step 1: [First thing]
[Explanation + code + output]

### Step 2: [Second thing]
[Explanation + code + output]

## Results
[Numbers, benchmarks, outcomes — be specific]

## Trade-offs and Limitations
[Honest about downsides — builds trust]

## Conclusion
[Key takeaway + what to do next]

## Further Reading
[3-5 relevant links]

Word Count by Type

Type
Word Count
Why

Quick tip
500-800
One concept, one example

Tutorial
1,500-3,000
Step-by-step needs detail

Deep dive
2,000-4,000
Thorough exploration

Architecture post
2,000-3,500
Diagrams carry some load

Benchmark
1,500-2,500
Data and charts do heavy lifting

Diagrams and Visuals

When to Use Diagrams

Scenario
Diagram Type

Request flow
Sequence diagram

System architecture
Box-and-arrow diagram

Decision logic
Flowchart

Data model
ER diagram

Performance comparison
Bar/line chart

Before/after
Side-by-side

# Generate architecture diagram
infsh app run infsh/html-to-image --input '{
  "html": "<div style=\"width:1200px;height:600px;background:#0f172a;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center;padding:40px;font-family:system-ui;color:white\"><div style=\"display:flex;gap:40px;align-items:center\"><div style=\"background:#1e293b;border:2px solid #334155;border-radius:8px;padding:24px;text-align:center;width:160px\"><p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#94a3b8;margin:0\">Client</p><p style=\"font-size:18px;font-weight:bold;margin:8px 0 0\">React App</p></div><div style=\"color:#64748b;font-size:32px\">→</div><div style=\"background:#1e293b;border:2px solid #3b82f6;border-radius:8px;padding:24px;text-align:center;width:160px\"><p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#94a3b8;margin:0\">Edge</p><p style=\"font-size:18px;font-weight:bold;margin:8px 0 0\">CDN Cache</p></div><div style=\"color:#64748b;font-size:32px\">→</div><div style=\"background:#1e293b;border:2px solid #334155;border-radius:8px;padding:24px;text-align:center;width:160px\"><p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#94a3b8;margin:0\">API</p><p style=\"font-size:18px;font-weight:bold;margin:8px 0 0\">Node.js</p></div><div style=\"color:#64748b;font-size:32px\">→</div><div style=\"background:#1e293b;border:2px solid #334155;border-radius:8px;padding:24px;text-align:center;width:160px\"><p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#94a3b8;margin:0\">Database</p><p style=\"font-size:18px;font-weight:bold;margin:8px 0 0\">PostgreSQL</p></div></div></div>"
}'

# Generate benchmark chart
infsh app run infsh/python-executor --input '{
  "code": "import matplotlib.pyplot as plt\nimport matplotlib\nmatplotlib.use(\"Agg\")\n\nfig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(12, 6))\nfig.patch.set_facecolor(\"#0f172a\")\nax.set_facecolor(\"#0f172a\")\n\ntools = [\"Express\", \"Fastify\", \"Hono\", \"Elysia\"]\nrps = [15000, 45000, 62000, 78000]\ncolors = [\"#64748b\", \"#64748b\", \"#3b82f6\", \"#64748b\"]\n\nax.barh(tools, rps, color=colors, height=0.5)\nfor i, v in enumerate(rps):\n    ax.text(v + 1000, i, f\"{v:,} req/s\", va=\"center\", color=\"white\", fontsize=14)\n\nax.set_xlabel(\"Requests per second\", color=\"white\", fontsize=14)\nax.set_title(\"HTTP Framework Benchmark (Hello World)\", color=\"white\", fontsize=18, fontweight=\"bold\")\nax.tick_params(colors=\"white\", labelsize=12)\nax.spines[\"top\"].set_visible(False)\nax.spines[\"right\"].set_visible(False)\nax.spines[\"bottom\"].set_color(\"#334155\")\nax.spines[\"left\"].set_color(\"#334155\")\nplt.tight_layout()\nplt.savefig(\"benchmark.png\", dpi=150, facecolor=\"#0f172a\")\nprint(\"Saved\")"
}'

Distribution

Where Developers Read

Platform
Format
How to Post

Your blog
Full article
Primary — own your content

Dev.to
Cross-post (canonical URL back to yours)
Markdown import

Hashnode
Cross-post (canonical URL)
Markdown import

Hacker News
Link submission
Show HN for projects, tell HN for stories

Reddit (r/programming, r/webdev, etc.)
Link or discussion
Follow subreddit rules

Twitter/X
Thread summary + link
See twitter-thread-creation skill

LinkedIn
Adapted version + link
See linkedin-content skill

# Cross-post thread to X
infsh app run x/post-create --input '{
  "text": "New blog post: How We Reduced API Latency by 90%\n\nThe short version:\n→ Moved computation to edge\n→ Aggressive cache-control headers\n→ Eliminated N+1 queries\n\np99 went from 800ms to 90ms.\n\nFull deep dive with code: [link]"
}'

Common Mistakes

Mistake
Problem
Fix

No TL;DR
Busy devs leave before getting the point
2-3 sentence summary at the top

Broken code examples
Destroys all credibility
Test every code block before publishing

No version pinning
Code breaks in 6 months
"Works with Node 20, React 18.2"

"Simply do X"
Dismissive, condescending
Remove "simply", "just", "easily"

No diagrams for architecture
Walls of text describing systems
One diagram > 500 words of description

Marketing tone
Developers instantly disengage
Direct, technical, honest

No trade-offs section
Reads as biased marketing
Always discuss downsides

Giant introduction before content
Readers bounce
Get to the point in 2-3 paragraphs

Unpinned dependencies
Tutorial breaks for future readers
Pin versions, note date written

No "Further Reading"
Dead end, no context
3-5 links to deepen understanding

Related Skills

npx skills add inferencesh/skills@seo-content-brief
npx skills add inferencesh/skills@content-repurposing
npx skills add inferencesh/skills@og-image-design

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