Robby Russell
@robbyonrails.com
F'uncle of six. CEO @PlanetArgon.com. Host @maintainable.fm. Creator of @ohmyz.sh. Guitarist @mightymissoula.com. Host of On Rails podcast.
https://robbyonrails.com/links/
https://robbyonrails.com/links/
Early morning run along the river in Austin: dark and humid. 💦 #RailsWorld
September 22, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Early morning run along the river in Austin: dark and humid. 💦 #RailsWorld
Packing for Rails World…
More than two months ago, I started writing my keynote by disappearing into the forest near the Oregon coast for a few days. Just me, stacks of notecards, yellow notepads, a lot of trees… and some runs on the beach to let the ideas wander.
More than two months ago, I started writing my keynote by disappearing into the forest near the Oregon coast for a few days. Just me, stacks of notecards, yellow notepads, a lot of trees… and some runs on the beach to let the ideas wander.
September 20, 2026 at 9:47 PM
Packing for Rails World…
More than two months ago, I started writing my keynote by disappearing into the forest near the Oregon coast for a few days. Just me, stacks of notecards, yellow notepads, a lot of trees… and some runs on the beach to let the ideas wander.
More than two months ago, I started writing my keynote by disappearing into the forest near the Oregon coast for a few days. Just me, stacks of notecards, yellow notepads, a lot of trees… and some runs on the beach to let the ideas wander.
Reclaim your weekend. Note to self
September 20, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Reclaim your weekend. Note to self
We’re just a few days away from Rails World in Austin.
Looking forward to catching up with old friends, meeting some new ones, and revisiting Austin. It’s been a few years.
I’ll be giving my keynote, “The Most Valuable Engineer Isn’t Shipping Features,” on Tuesday afternoon.
Looking forward to catching up with old friends, meeting some new ones, and revisiting Austin. It’s been a few years.
I’ll be giving my keynote, “The Most Valuable Engineer Isn’t Shipping Features,” on Tuesday afternoon.
September 18, 2026 at 1:19 PM
We’re just a few days away from Rails World in Austin.
Looking forward to catching up with old friends, meeting some new ones, and revisiting Austin. It’s been a few years.
I’ll be giving my keynote, “The Most Valuable Engineer Isn’t Shipping Features,” on Tuesday afternoon.
Looking forward to catching up with old friends, meeting some new ones, and revisiting Austin. It’s been a few years.
I’ll be giving my keynote, “The Most Valuable Engineer Isn’t Shipping Features,” on Tuesday afternoon.
People love to hate on Jira. I’m not really one of them… people hate working on tickets in just about any system.
My gripe is simpler: why isn’t "Jira" in the domain name?
My gripe is simpler: why isn’t "Jira" in the domain name?
September 17, 2026 at 10:12 PM
People love to hate on Jira. I’m not really one of them… people hate working on tickets in just about any system.
My gripe is simpler: why isn’t "Jira" in the domain name?
My gripe is simpler: why isn’t "Jira" in the domain name?
It's rare that the type of TV series I am really into... ends up winning a ton of awards. Kudos to Widows Bay.
Same with music. Morning Phase by Beck is an amazing album... and I never thought I'd agree with the Grammys on anything.
Same with music. Morning Phase by Beck is an amazing album... and I never thought I'd agree with the Grammys on anything.
September 16, 2026 at 10:51 PM
It's rare that the type of TV series I am really into... ends up winning a ton of awards. Kudos to Widows Bay.
Same with music. Morning Phase by Beck is an amazing album... and I never thought I'd agree with the Grammys on anything.
Same with music. Morning Phase by Beck is an amazing album... and I never thought I'd agree with the Grammys on anything.
Curious: What’s the statute of limitations on being in high school and having classmates pay someone to solder in modchips ordered from some Taiwanese mail-order operation so their PlayStation 1s could play ripped CD-Rs…
September 16, 2026 at 12:15 AM
Curious: What’s the statute of limitations on being in high school and having classmates pay someone to solder in modchips ordered from some Taiwanese mail-order operation so their PlayStation 1s could play ripped CD-Rs…
Looking forward to Austin next week.
September 15, 2026 at 2:54 AM
Looking forward to Austin next week.
The longer a team compensates for friction, the more likely it is to mistake those workarounds for expertise.
September 14, 2026 at 5:34 PM
The longer a team compensates for friction, the more likely it is to mistake those workarounds for expertise.
Anyone have a photo printer they recommend? Not looking for anything bigger than 8x10 or so
September 13, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Anyone have a photo printer they recommend? Not looking for anything bigger than 8x10 or so
Remember when we connected with everyone we met at a conference or client meeting… on Facebook?
15 years later, you’re browsing some guy named Peter’s summer photos. Haven’t spoken since 2011.
Meanwhile… good to see your uncle is out of jail.
15 years later, you’re browsing some guy named Peter’s summer photos. Haven’t spoken since 2011.
Meanwhile… good to see your uncle is out of jail.
September 11, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Remember when we connected with everyone we met at a conference or client meeting… on Facebook?
15 years later, you’re browsing some guy named Peter’s summer photos. Haven’t spoken since 2011.
Meanwhile… good to see your uncle is out of jail.
15 years later, you’re browsing some guy named Peter’s summer photos. Haven’t spoken since 2011.
Meanwhile… good to see your uncle is out of jail.
We’ve been working through a bunch of new features and updates for @ohmyz.sh lately.
One of the latest: a new cooldown option for the updater.
Our release strategy has always been pretty simple… git pull from the primary branch.
One of the latest: a new cooldown option for the updater.
Our release strategy has always been pretty simple… git pull from the primary branch.
September 11, 2026 at 4:42 PM
We’ve been working through a bunch of new features and updates for @ohmyz.sh lately.
One of the latest: a new cooldown option for the updater.
Our release strategy has always been pretty simple… git pull from the primary branch.
One of the latest: a new cooldown option for the updater.
Our release strategy has always been pretty simple… git pull from the primary branch.
How many months do you keep renewing a CL lost&found post for a fancy pocket knife you found on an Oregon coast beach that seemed like someone would have definitely missed it?
September 10, 2026 at 7:15 PM
How many months do you keep renewing a CL lost&found post for a fancy pocket knife you found on an Oregon coast beach that seemed like someone would have definitely missed it?
Shipped a herdr plugin for @ohmyz.sh today. Just enable it after your next % omz update.
Can do things like use herdr session/window details in your zsh theme... autocomplete those new-to-you commands, and some aliases to shave some keystrokes. Have fun!
github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmy...
Can do things like use herdr session/window details in your zsh theme... autocomplete those new-to-you commands, and some aliases to shave some keystrokes. Have fun!
github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmy...
feat(herdr): add plugin for herdr by robbyrussell · Pull Request #14079 · ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh
Standards checklist:
The PR title is descriptive.
The PR doesn't replicate another PR which is already open.
I have read the contribution guide and followed all the instructions.
The code ...
github.com
September 10, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Shipped a herdr plugin for @ohmyz.sh today. Just enable it after your next % omz update.
Can do things like use herdr session/window details in your zsh theme... autocomplete those new-to-you commands, and some aliases to shave some keystrokes. Have fun!
github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmy...
Can do things like use herdr session/window details in your zsh theme... autocomplete those new-to-you commands, and some aliases to shave some keystrokes. Have fun!
github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmy...
Wish I had the discipline to track my cuppings like @brigleb.com
☕ New Cupping: Yembek Anaerobic Natural
🫘 Roasted by: Broadsheet Coffee Roasters
🥄 Method: Chemex
🍓 Notes: nectarine, honey, raspberry
🫘 Roasted by: Broadsheet Coffee Roasters
🥄 Method: Chemex
🍓 Notes: nectarine, honey, raspberry
Yembek Anaerobic Natural
☕ New Cupping: Yembek Anaerobic Natural
🫘 Roasted by: Broadsheet Coffee Roasters
🥄 Method: Chemex
🍓 Notes: nectarine, honey, raspberry
unpacking.coffee
September 8, 2026 at 6:31 PM
Wish I had the discipline to track my cuppings like @brigleb.com
What does maintainability look like from the user’s side?
@johnathayde.comjoins @robbyonrails.com on Maintainable to talk front-end sprawl, design systems, AI-assisted software archaeology, and rewrite vs. refactor.
Listen here : maintainable.fm/episodes/joh...
@johnathayde.comjoins @robbyonrails.com on Maintainable to talk front-end sprawl, design systems, AI-assisted software archaeology, and rewrite vs. refactor.
Listen here : maintainable.fm/episodes/joh...
September 8, 2026 at 4:53 PM
.
@ohmyz.sh recently turned 17. 🥳
2,500+ contributors later, I wrote a little thank-you to everyone who has contributed code, reported bugs, helped other users, sponsored the project… and especially the folks who keep it running day-to-day.
opencollective.com/ohmyzsh/upda...
@ohmyz.sh recently turned 17. 🥳
2,500+ contributors later, I wrote a little thank-you to everyone who has contributed code, reported bugs, helped other users, sponsored the project… and especially the folks who keep it running day-to-day.
opencollective.com/ohmyzsh/upda...
Oh My Zsh recently turned 17. - Oh My Zsh
Seventeen years is a slightly ridiculous amount of time for a little open source project that started as me sharing my Zsh configuration with some friends. Since then, more than 2,500 contributors hav...
opencollective.com
September 5, 2026 at 11:00 PM
.
@ohmyz.sh recently turned 17. 🥳
2,500+ contributors later, I wrote a little thank-you to everyone who has contributed code, reported bugs, helped other users, sponsored the project… and especially the folks who keep it running day-to-day.
opencollective.com/ohmyzsh/upda...
@ohmyz.sh recently turned 17. 🥳
2,500+ contributors later, I wrote a little thank-you to everyone who has contributed code, reported bugs, helped other users, sponsored the project… and especially the folks who keep it running day-to-day.
opencollective.com/ohmyzsh/upda...
Let's say you had $3k to throw at some ads/marketing for
@commitgoods.com... how would you deploy it?
@commitgoods.com... how would you deploy it?
September 4, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Let's say you had $3k to throw at some ads/marketing for
@commitgoods.com... how would you deploy it?
@commitgoods.com... how would you deploy it?
We’ve probably spent too much time optimizing the least performant parts of our code and workflows… and not enough time asking how much better we could make the parts that already perform well.
And it doesn’t need to be an either/or.
We’re living in a both/and era.
And it doesn’t need to be an either/or.
We’re living in a both/and era.
September 4, 2026 at 3:59 PM
We’ve probably spent too much time optimizing the least performant parts of our code and workflows… and not enough time asking how much better we could make the parts that already perform well.
And it doesn’t need to be an either/or.
We’re living in a both/and era.
And it doesn’t need to be an either/or.
We’re living in a both/and era.
Second date make-or-break topic territory.
My wife and I may not agree on everything, but we agree on the important things… like which way the TP roll is oriented. 😉
September 4, 2026 at 3:49 PM
Second date make-or-break topic territory.
I rarely grab a bagel at the coffee shop after my daily run, but when I do, I’m usually happy to share a few bites with my wife…
Today is one of those days when only you and I need to know that I got a bagel. 🥯 🤫
Today is one of those days when only you and I need to know that I got a bagel. 🥯 🤫
September 4, 2026 at 3:48 PM
I rarely grab a bagel at the coffee shop after my daily run, but when I do, I’m usually happy to share a few bites with my wife…
Today is one of those days when only you and I need to know that I got a bagel. 🥯 🤫
Today is one of those days when only you and I need to know that I got a bagel. 🥯 🤫
I've been turning down podcast guest and meetup speaking invites for the last several months, but I will have more availability this autumn/winter. Feel free to get in touch.
www.planetargon.com/speaking
www.planetargon.com/speaking
Speaking & Media | Planet Argon
Robby Russell speaks on maintaining legacy software, open source sustainability, and Ruby on Rails. Tell us about your event or show.
www.planetargon.com
September 2, 2026 at 2:35 AM
I've been turning down podcast guest and meetup speaking invites for the last several months, but I will have more availability this autumn/winter. Feel free to get in touch.
www.planetargon.com/speaking
www.planetargon.com/speaking
