frontpage.
newsnewestaskshowjobs

Made with ♥ by @iamnishanth

Open Source @Github

fp.

Open in hackernews

1KB JavaScript Demoscene Challenge Just Launched

115•babakode•7mo ago
I just launched JS1024 — a creative coding challenge with a strict limit: 1024 bytes of JavaScript.

No libraries. No frameworks. Just raw code.

You can submit visual effects, generative art, tiny games, synths, or whatever you can fit into 1KB of JavaScript.

→ https://js1024.fun/

Think of it as a spiritual successor to JS1k or the 4k demoscene — with a modern twist.

Would love feedback, ideas, or help spreading the word. And if you’ve ever made a tiny JS demo, please share — I’d love to see it.

Comments

econ•7mo ago
It is unclear if it must be canvas or if using the Dom is allowed.
skhameneh•7mo ago
I found it clear after reading the page, the “Demo Categories & Shim Details” gives three different options.

In short, canvas is not required, using the DOM is allowed.

moritzwarhier•7mo ago
> You can submit visual effects, generative art, tiny games, synths, or whatever you can fit into 1KB of JavaScript.

There is no mention of canvas

nomel•7mo ago
I think any local restrictions, beyond the 1024 character limit, would go against the spirit of it all.
babakode•7mo ago
There is two web technologies shims: HTML and Canvas
mg794613•7mo ago
Did that site just got "slashdotted"? Because none of the examples want to load atm.
babakode•7mo ago
It's working for me. All of them. There is no demos submitted for 2025 edition yet tho
xnx•7mo ago
Given the amount of features built-in to modern browsers, there should be some very impressive things possible in 1K.

There have been a few cool Javascript things in 140 characters: https://www.dwitter.net/

zamadatix•7mo ago
Happy to see another year!

I think it'd be nice if the rest of the shims were dropped too. "1024 bytes of JavaScript. No libraries. No frameworks. Just raw code". Year by year it's getting easier to do more in the same amount of bytes. Last year's 1st place winner was a plain HTML entry which implemented its own canvas. 8 of all 148 entries 2020-2024 have used the shader shim, fewer than used the deprecated p5js shim in 2020. The categories/category winners are cool but it should be based on what approach was used rather than which framework they started with. E.g. "Sand and Water" is the "js winner" solely because it used the shim and "Splash Dash" didn't but really Splash Dash won both overall and won the js canvas category too, it just did it without the free bytes from the canvas framework.

revskill•7mo ago
Js is fun.
cies•7mo ago
I wonder is someone truly believing this is a good hire ("the new hire can do the JS!") or a bad hire (as in: no clue what a fun programming language is like, or "must have never used JS in anger").
binarymax•7mo ago
Participated in the first two JS1ks. Thanks for bringing this back! Having some nostalgia. I can't believe this is 15 years old already: https://js1k.com/2010-first/demo/688

Thanks for keeping the JS demoscene alive!

babakode•7mo ago
My pleasure. I love seeing people being creative
whynotmaybe•7mo ago
> use your mouse to try and click the evading squares

2010's reality seems so close and yet so distant at the same time while trying to click it with duckduckgo on an android.

leptons•7mo ago
Anyone looking for ideas should definitely check out:

https://beta.dwitter.net/top/year

babakode•7mo ago
Absolutely! That list is a goldmine of ideas hahaha perfect for 1KB inspiration.
averageRoyalty•7mo ago
Why did you use ChatGPT to write your submission text? I can't speak for everyone, but it makes me much less likely to check out your project as I have less faith in it.
babakode•7mo ago
Yes that is true! But the reason is because I do not know english that good I'm not an english speaker, sorry for making the post look spammish
averageRoyalty•7mo ago
That's fair! I think your english is coming across great by the way. Appreciate the honesty!
shagie•7mo ago
One of the things to do is to use it as an editor who can identify things to correct and a translator of your words (in non-english) rather than asking it to generate the material.

For example (and I am a native English speaker but I still make mistakes), https://chatgpt.com/share/d891f9ac-923b-47a8-8de9-ab73017ba9...

By starting from what you write (with your tone and words) it can more accurately maintain that tone and help you identify where you make mistakes and become more proficient in English.

wilkystyle•7mo ago
How did you know OP used ChatGPT?
nateb2022•7mo ago
Three emdash's, "spiritual successor", "modern twist."
gbraad•7mo ago
So I can't use em dashes, without people thinking I am a bot? :-o. But have to say, the "modern twist" is a weird addition that is not natural. There is nothing modern about it.
jamesfinlayson•7mo ago
Apparently not - a non-technical family member told me this exact thing on the weekend.
patternuslki•7mo ago
>So I can't use em dashes, without people thinking I am a bot?

Those are just for ChatGPT specifically, personally I know a ton of peculiarities from a wide variety of models that seem eerily consistent across prompts. You're very unlikely to accidentally use them though, much like spamming em dashes everywhere.

averageRoyalty•7mo ago
Also this style: "No libraries. No frameworks. Just raw code."

You can use whatever you like, but if you quack like a duck, people might think you're a duck.

magicalhippo•7mo ago
I've seen that style plenty before LLMs were a thing, frequently in the demoscene as well.

So to me it seemed totally in character, so to speak.

Here's one to me classic example[1].

[1]: https://youtu.be/RiHUKEEtzNE?t=120

averageRoyalty•7mo ago
Agreed. But for some reason, LLMs seem to use it more often and combined with other tell tale signs it becomes significantly less likely a human wrote it.
MaxBarraclough•7mo ago
Pretty much.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash#Usage_in_AI-generated_tex... :

> In April 2025, Rolling Stone reported on the growing perception that the em dash is a hallmark of AI-generated writing, particularly by ChatGPT. The article noted how this idea spread through social media, where users began referring to it as the "ChatGPT hyphen" and how these users advised avoiding it to appear more human.

lxe•7mo ago
It's not just a submission —— it's a testament to the rich tapestry of prompting.
mr_sturd•7mo ago
This is great! I remember taking part in the first JS1K competition. For some reason, I wrote most of the code semi "optimised" before running it through a "proper" optimiser. Good times!

https://js1k.com/2010-first/details/133

Discuss – Do AI agents deserve all the hype they are getting?

2•MicroWagie•1h ago•0 comments

Ask HN: Anyone Using a Mac Studio for Local AI/LLM?

47•UmYeahNo•1d ago•29 comments

LLMs are powerful, but enterprises are deterministic by nature

3•prateekdalal•5h ago•3 comments

Ask HN: Non AI-obsessed tech forums

26•nanocat•16h ago•21 comments

Ask HN: Ideas for small ways to make the world a better place

16•jlmcgraw•18h ago•19 comments

Ask HN: 10 months since the Llama-4 release: what happened to Meta AI?

44•Invictus0•1d ago•11 comments

Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (February 2026)

139•whoishiring•4d ago•517 comments

Ask HN: Who is hiring? (February 2026)

313•whoishiring•4d ago•512 comments

Ask HN: Non-profit, volunteers run org needs CRM. Is Odoo Community a good sol.?

2•netfortius•13h ago•1 comments

AI Regex Scientist: A self-improving regex solver

7•PranoyP•20h ago•1 comments

Tell HN: Another round of Zendesk email spam

104•Philpax•2d ago•54 comments

Ask HN: Is Connecting via SSH Risky?

19•atrevbot•2d ago•37 comments

Ask HN: Has your whole engineering team gone big into AI coding? How's it going?

18•jchung•2d ago•13 comments

Ask HN: Why LLM providers sell access instead of consulting services?

5•pera•1d ago•13 comments

Ask HN: How does ChatGPT decide which websites to recommend?

5•nworley•1d ago•11 comments

Ask HN: What is the most complicated Algorithm you came up with yourself?

3•meffmadd•1d ago•7 comments

Ask HN: Is it just me or are most businesses insane?

8•justenough•1d ago•7 comments

Ask HN: Mem0 stores memories, but doesn't learn user patterns

9•fliellerjulian•2d ago•6 comments

Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?

123•blenderob•4d ago•122 comments

Kernighan on Programming

170•chrisjj•4d ago•61 comments

Ask HN: Any International Job Boards for International Workers?

2•15charslong•15h ago•2 comments

Ask HN: Anyone Seeing YT ads related to chats on ChatGPT?

2•guhsnamih•1d ago•4 comments

Ask HN: Does global decoupling from the USA signal comeback of the desktop app?

5•wewewedxfgdf•1d ago•3 comments

We built a serverless GPU inference platform with predictable latency

5•QubridAI•2d ago•1 comments

Ask HN: Does a good "read it later" app exist?

8•buchanae•3d ago•18 comments

Ask HN: Have you been fired because of AI?

17•s-stude•4d ago•15 comments

Ask HN: How Did You Validate?

4•haute_cuisine•1d ago•6 comments

Ask HN: Anyone have a "sovereign" solution for phone calls?

12•kldg•4d ago•1 comments

Ask HN: Cheap laptop for Linux without GUI (for writing)

15•locusofself•3d ago•16 comments

Ask HN: OpenClaw users, what is your token spend?

14•8cvor6j844qw_d6•4d ago•6 comments