The latest articles on DEV Community by Stilyan Stoyanov (@stilyanx). https://dev.to/stilyanx https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3922541%2F87522065-0e22-4214-9f61-254bbb0ec6eb.jpeg https://dev.to/stilyanx en Stilyan Stoyanov Sat, 09 May 2026 22:40:04 +0000 https://dev.to/stilyanx/every-learning-app-is-designed-to-addict-you-i-built-the-one-that-isnt-5dl0 https://dev.to/stilyanx/every-learning-app-is-designed-to-addict-you-i-built-the-one-that-isnt-5dl0 <p>Every learning platform I have ever used was built to need me back.</p> <p>Duolingo needs me to maintain a streak. Coursera needs me to stay enrolled. Khan Academy needs me to keep clicking. The product only works if I keep returning. That is not education. That is retention engineering acting as education.</p> <p>Aether is built on the opposite premise. Open it. Study. Close it. Come back when you want to, not when an algorithm decides you should.</p> <h2> What it is </h2> <p>Aether is a free, open-source learning platform. Fully static React/Vite. No backend. No accounts. No streaks. No notifications. Progress lives in IndexedDB -- on your machine, not a server. Drop the dist/ behind any web server and it runs. A Raspberry Pi, a $5 VPS, Cloudflare Pages. No database to configure. No auth to set up. No container stack unless you want one.</p> <p>It currently has:</p> <ul> <li>Classical Mechanics in full -- Newtonian through Hamiltonian, LaTeX throughout, problem sets, FSRS-scheduled review</li> <li>Arithmetic with interactive manipulatives</li> <li>German A1</li> <li>FSRS spaced repetition running entirely in the browser</li> <li>KaTeX for math rendering</li> </ul> <h2> Why the architecture matters </h2> <p>The backend is where dark patterns live. Streaks require a server to track them. Push notifications require a server to schedule them. Engagement metrics require a server to collect them. Remove the server and you remove the mechanism for all of it -- not as a policy, but structurally.</p> <p>This cannot be walked back by a future contributor adding "just one feature." There is no server to add it to.</p> <h2> What is missing - and why that is the point </h2> <p>Three subjects exist. The architecture handles any subject in any language.</p> <p>The subject you know best is not in it yet. The feature you would want is not in it yet. Both belong here, and neither requires a product manager to approve them.</p> <p>Content is Markdown with LaTeX. If you can write about a subject, you can add it. No React required. No build tooling knowledge required. Open a file, write, submit a PR.</p> <p>If you are a developer: the codebase is solo-built. Someone better at React than me will see things I missed. The architecture is intentional but not infallible. Issues and PRs are open.</p> <p>If you care about what does NOT get added -- streaks, accounts, notifications, social features -- that line is written into the contribution guide. If you want to be one of the people who holds it, you can be.</p> <h2> The only ask </h2> <p>Use it. If something feels wrong, name it. If a subject is missing, add it. If the code has a problem, open an issue.</p> <p>The version of this platform that is actually useful to most people does not exist yet. It gets built by the people who know what is missing.</p> <p><a href="https://github.com/StilyanX/aether" rel="noopener noreferrer">Link of the repo</a></p> webdev opensource productivity beginners