🧩 Build Better Auth in Next.js

Imagine an ever-growing, interactive platform that adapts as React evolves, a place where you code, get real feedback, and actually build mastery.
No outdated tutorials. No tutorial hell. No hunting for the next course.

One platform. Infinite growth.

🆕 Introducing the React Foundation
React just dropped a huge update on Tuesday, they’re officially creating the React Foundation. After 10+ years under Meta’s wing, React and React Native are getting a new home, with a vendor-neutral governance model and a board of directors led by Seth Webster. Big players like Amazon, Microsoft, Vercel, and Meta are on board as founding members. The goal? More community involvement, ecosystem support (think grants, conferences, infrastructure), and no single company calling the shots.

🥞 Recommended stack for React in 2025?
Looking for the best React SSR + SPA stack in 2025? The Reddit dev crowd is leaning away from Next.js, but not entirely.

Here’s the TL;DR from the thread:

In short: TanStack Start and React Router are rising stars, Next.js isn’t dead, but it’s no longer the default.

🪙 Coinbase Design System is now open source
Coinbase just open-sourced their internal design system, CDS, and it's packed. Built for React and React Native, it includes over 120 polished components across layout, inputs, graphs, overlays, and more. It supports full theming, styling APIs, and easy install docs. I love it when large companies open source their design systems, and this is another great example to learn from.

👀 Quick look into the useEffectEvent
React 19.2 adds a new hook called useEffectEvent, and Nico Prananta’s deep dive explains why it matters, it lets you define functions that always “see” the latest state and props without re-triggering effects, solving a common bug with stale closures inside useEffect; Dan Abramov clarified that while these functions are technically "unstable," they don't need to be in the dependency array, making them perfect for timers, subscriptions, and event handlers.

Quick Links

🤔 Vibe engineering
Simon Willison introduces “vibe engineering” as the thoughtful, high-skill counterpart to chaotic “vibe coding.” It’s about senior developers using AI agents responsibly, writing testable, maintainable, production-grade code while managing agent workflows like a team of interns. Tools like Claude Code and Codex CLI supercharge productivity, but only for those who already practice strong software engineering habits.

👴 Development gets better with Age
Werner Vogels reflects on being an “older developer” at Amazon, embracing decades of experience as a strength, not a limitation. He argues that seasoned engineers bring deep pattern recognition, hard-won instincts, and creative insight that AI alone can’t replicate. While GenAI moves fast, it’s just another wave, and experienced builders know when to ride it, and when to hit pause.

😠 Distracting software engineers is way more harmful than most managers think
Meetings are silently killing deep work for engineers, and AI tools aren’t fixing it. Anton Zaides argues that while remote work and AI promised more focus, distractions have only increased. Deep work is essential for flow, quality, and skill growth, yet constant context switching resets progress. The solution? Fewer meetings, better calendars, optional PRs, and setting a real example of focus time.

🎨 Nine HTTP Edge Cases Every API Developer Should Understand
Dochia.dev breaks down 9 critical HTTP edge cases every API developer should know, from Range header abuse and path traversal to request smuggling and malformed Content-Types. These can be production killers when overlooked. Frameworks help, but you’re still responsible for limits, validations, and closing security gaps at the app and infrastructure level. Mastering HTTP quirks isn’t optional, it’s how resilient systems get built.

In this video, you'll learn how to implement Better Auth in your Next.js application. We’ll cover how to set up Better Auth, create the server instance, and implement all the API endpoints. Then, we’ll build a complete authentication system with sign-in, sign-up, and logout functionality.

Better Auth is a relatively new authentication library that's quickly becoming one of the most popular and widely used solutions for React and Next.js applications. It's fully open source, supports all the essential features you'd expect, and understanding how it works is an important skill for any developer.