Aspect
Dev tools
browser extension for copying page components
SHOW HN2022
374points
72comments
#97of 2,570 in 2022
Top 4%of 2022 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
6 positive, 13 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 12 critical, out of 33 comments about the project. Thread score -0.11.
Idea: 3 for, 6 againstExecution: 2 for, 4 againstDocs: 0 for, 1 againstPerformance: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Clean landing page and simple design
From 2 comments
Nice work and an excellent landing page; congrats! What happens if the target website uses a react component library (like mui)? I guess for some use cases it could still be…
thih9 on HNNice work! Love how simple the landing page is. Does it copy adaptive styles as well?
news_92 on HN
Works well on real sites
From 1 comment
This is really, really neat! I've just tried it with a few random apps and it works flawlessly. Loving where you're going with Aspect. It fits the ux/component dev persona much…
boomskats on HN
Useful for beginners and learning
From 2 comments
No lash back, but real question on the value, IMO this tool is very useful for beginners, but myself being more experienced now, I would not use it. The html structure and the…
iorek_dev on HNRemember: others' work is theirs unless they license it to you. Just because you technically can copy something doesn't mean you're allowed to make and distribute copies or…
oliwarner on HN
Objections
Copyright and derivative work concerns
From 3 comments
This is pretty cool. Are you worried about copyright at all though? Especially if this get used in a commercial context?
dpbriggs on HNHow is that not considered creating derivative works? Would not touch this for anything beyond basic toys and never for anything commercial, no chance in hell. Edit: view source…
rubyist5eva on HNif the code for the web app is available (assuming a license that permits it) there is no need to use an extension to copy a component. you got the source code if the code is not…
spinny on HN
Exports HTML-like markup, not true React components
From 3 comments
I think there is great value if you sell this to all the small web agencies. But it is a bit misleading to say it will copy a component. Components are more than HTML/CSS. Maybe…
iorek_dev on HNHTML and CSS does not a Component make
cush on HNI think this is very cool, but two thoughts: 1) Your explainer "Copy React code from any website" implies that I'm copying the react code from a website. What you are doing is…
tomhallett on HN
Output HTML/inline styles are cluttered
From 2 comments
No lash back, but real question on the value, IMO this tool is very useful for beginners, but myself being more experienced now, I would not use it. The html structure and the…
iorek_dev on HNI think this is very cool, but two thoughts: 1) Your explainer "Copy React code from any website" implies that I'm copying the react code from a website. What you are doing is…
tomhallett on HN
Does not handle component logic or non-HTML rendering
From 1 comment
Most of the complexity of React components is in the business logic (validation, interactivity, accessibility, data fetching, etc.). It seems like this isn't going to help you…
zeroonetwothree on HN
Requests
Show React output in demo video
From 1 comment
I think this is very cool, but two thoughts: 1) Your explainer "Copy React code from any website" implies that I'm copying the react code from a website. What you are doing is…
tomhallett on HN
Support for other frameworks like Vue, Angular, Svelte
From 1 comment
Your response tells me it is a game changer and is going to be useful for tons of developers. I predict that they will create this for Angular, Vue, Svelte, etc.
rvz on HN
Browsers beyond Chrome
From 1 comment
Be better if it were only chrome.
pleb_nz on HN
Questions
How does it work?
From 1 comment
How does it work?
gardenhedge on HN
Does it copy adaptive or responsive styles?
From 1 comment
Nice work! Love how simple the landing page is. Does it copy adaptive styles as well?
news_92 on HN
Does it work with transpiled code or component libraries like MUI?
From 2 comments
Q for you: does this work if the code has been transpired, e.g., with Babel?
PeterWhittaker on HNNice work and an excellent landing page; congrats! What happens if the target website uses a react component library (like mui)? I guess for some use cases it could still be…
thih9 on HN
Alternatives named
CSS Scan
From 2 comments
Reminds me of CSS scan [1]. It was also on Hacker News [2] a while back. [1] https://cssscan.pro/ [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17609252
AdriaanvRossum on HNWow, $20/month or $120 yearly for what looks like a very thin wrapper on inspect-element features. I'm sure some might be willing to pay for the convenience it adds, yet with a…
matthberg on HN
SnappySnippet
From 1 comment
This is like SnappySnippet, https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/snappysnippet/mdmgnnmlhdfofojkdoajglgmhaicejkk?hl=en-US And it’s open source. This file does all the parsing…
egfx on HN
Huula
From 1 comment
Reminds of Huula[1] which snapshots the whole web page. [1]: https://huu.la
mosfets on HN
Browser view source and inspect element
From 2 comments
This reminds me of the "olden" days where you view source and copy/paste into Dreamweaver. Is this limited to React sites, or any HTML page?
nemothekid on HNTried it, doesn't seem to generate or copy a react component. Chrome app seems to mimic inspect element functionality of my browser. Don't think this app does what is described.
gCoaster on HN