Goals
Why is instantly re-running code so useful?
Goal 1: Stay in flow.
The inner loop is the key to developer productivity and happiness. A lot has been written about this but the key idea is how easily can you make a change and see the result?
Ideally you've already got HMR (or at least automatic reload). But you still have to trigger the code to run.
Here is your life before re-run:
- Best case: you switch tabs to Postman or your client app & click something.
- Common case: you need to tab out & go through multiple clicks to replicate a request. It totally destroys your flow.
- Worst case: the state is complex and you need to use mental energy figuring out how to even replay the request (e.g. it comes from a webhook, a complex form, etc.)
...and that's on every. single. change.
After re-run: you stay in VSCode, and just click the button that's right there next to your route/function:
No accounts. No costs. No bs. It just runs locally like any normal module.
The only reason to create an account is to add optional extra stuff:
- If you want to use our optional team features (shared & synchronized requests/states library)
- If you use our *replicate feature (which stores customer production requests so you can replicate any user request/issue instantly).
Goal 2: Running code should never be hard.
Have you ever sent something for a code-review and accompanied it with a detailed set of instructions for how to actually run it?
Ever had to write instructions on how to replicate the different edge-cases?
Rerun for Teams adds the option of a shared library of requests/function payloads. So you can save payloads for future use & share them with your team. So all those states and weird edge-conditions are a button click away. In Visual Studio Code. Right next to your handler.
Goal 3: Instantly replicate any user-request.
If your app has complex state, user configs, etc. it can be hard to replicate a user's request.
Sometimes replicating is harder than fixing the bug. And it's soul destroying.
E.g. You get a support ticket. You spend 90 minutes trying to replicate the run, just 15 minutes debugging & fixing. And then you have no way to test that the fix actually works. So you email the customer asking if they can give it a go, and wait 4 hours for a reply.
Rerun Replicate extends the "rerun" button so it can replicate any customer request/state. Just search for it, or get the "rerun ID" from your logs/error message & you've instantly replicated their exact request/state. (We can also help with other common barriers to replicating: safely accessing prod data, auth, etc.)