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Skillstechnical-blog-writing

technical-blog-writing

Writing & research

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Updated 10-15 08:33

About this skill

Install the belt CLI skill: npx skills add belt-sh/cli

Technical Blog Writing

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

Quick Start

Requires inference.sh CLI (belt). Install instructions

belt login

# Research topic depth
belt app run exa/search --input '{
  "query": "building REST API Node.js best practices 2024 tutorial"
}'
Generate header image

belt 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"><p style="font-size:18px;color:#38bdf8;margin:0">// engineering blog<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<p style="font-size:20px;opacity:0.6;font-family:system-ui">A deep dive into our CDN architecture" }'



## 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

### 3. 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

### 4. 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

### 5. 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
belt 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
belt 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
belt 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 inference-sh/skills@seo-content-brief
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@content-repurposing
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@og-image-design

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