SCRNIFY Update: When 'Quick Projects' Aren't So Quick

The "We'll Definitely Launch by Christmas" Chronicles 🎅

Remember when we (Laura & Heidi from Numero33, your favorite small Austrian tech company) thought we'd launch SCRNIFY by Christmas? Oh, sweet summer children we were! Turns out, transforming an internal screenshot tool into a public service is like trying to untangle Christmas lights – it seems simple until you're three hours in and questioning all your life choices.

Video Capture: The New Kid on the Block 📹

First up: adding video capture. Our internal tool was like that stubborn relative who refuses to change – static screenshots only, zero configuration options. Adding video capture was like teaching grandma to use TikTok – theoretically possible, but with a lot more "why isn't this working?" moments than expected.

The Great Browser Battle 🦁

Picture this: We had this perfectly modded Brave browser setup internally. "Let's just use Chrome for SCRNIFY," we said. "It'll be simpler," we said. Narrator: It was not simpler.

After a wild browser rodeo, we crawled back to Brave, but this time with a twist – vanilla Brave, no mods. But wait, there's more! Every time Brave starts fresh, it needs to download its adblock and cookie blocking rules. It's like that one friend who always needs to "quickly" check their hair before leaving – it's never quick.

Our solution? We now prefetch those rules and write them to the user data config. It's like meal prepping, but for browsers! 🥗

The WaitUntil Saga ⏰

Our internal tool was stuck in its ways, always waiting for networkIdle. Making this configurable was like trying to convince a cat to follow instructions – technically possible, but way more complicated than you'd expect. The spaghetti monster that is our internal tool made sure we earned every single configuration option we added.

New Router, Who Dis? 🛣️

We jumped on the TanStack Router train! Moving from code-based to file-based routing was like learning to drive on the other side of the road – perfectly doable, just needs some brain rewiring and occasional "oh wait, not that way" moments.

The Landing Page Situation 🎨

After a refreshing two-week break (because sometimes you need to turn it off and on again, including your brain), we tackled our landing page using Vercel's v0. Current status: It exists! Is it pretty? Well... let's just say we're actively seeking good AI prompts to make it less "first attempt at web design." Any suggestions? We're all ears!

What We Learned 📚

1. Christmas deadlines are like New Year's resolutions – ambitious but rarely realistic
2. Browser configurations are the gift that keeps on giving (headaches)
3. Taking breaks actually helps – who knew?
4. Sometimes the best solution is the simplest one (looking at you, vanilla Brave)
5. File-based routing is pretty cool once you get the hang of it

What's Next? 🚀

We're still here, still coding, and still believing in the dream of making website capturing less painful for everyone. Our internal spaghetti monster is slowly being tamed, our landing page might eventually look professional, and who knows? Maybe we'll even hit our Easter launch date! (Just kidding, we're not setting any more holiday-based deadlines 😅)

Stay tuned for more adventures from your favorite Austrian screenshot enthusiasts!

Cheers, Laura & Heidi 🇦🇹

P.S. If anyone has any killer v0 prompts for a screenshot tool landing page, slide into our DMs! Our current design could use some... everything.