technical-blog-writing

name	technical-blog-writing
description	Technical blog post writing with structure, code examples, and developer audience conventions. Covers post types, code formatting, explanation depth, and developer-specific engagement patterns. Use for: engineering blogs, dev tutorials, technical writing, developer content, documentation posts. Triggers: technical blog, dev blog, engineering blog, technical writing, developer tutorial, tech post, code tutorial, programming blog, developer content, technical article, engineering post, coding tutorial, technical content
allowed-tools	Bash(belt *)

Install the belt CLI skill: npx skills add belt-sh/cli

Technical Blog Writing

Write developer-focused technical blog posts via inference.sh CLI.

Quick Start

Requires inference.sh CLI (belt). Install instructions

belt login

# Research topic depth
belt app run exa/search --input '{
  "query": "building REST API Node.js best practices 2024 tutorial"
}'

# Generate header image
belt app run infsh/html-to-image --input '{
  "html": "<div style=\"width:1200px;height:630px;background:linear-gradient(135deg,#0f172a,#1e293b);display:flex;align-items:center;padding:60px;font-family:ui-monospace,monospace;color:white\"><div><p style=\"font-size:18px;color:#38bdf8;margin:0\">// engineering blog</p><h1 style=\"font-size:48px;margin:16px 0;font-weight:800;font-family:system-ui;line-height:1.2\">How We Reduced API Latency by 90% with Edge Caching</h1><p style=\"font-size:20px;opacity:0.6;font-family:system-ui\">A deep dive into our CDN architecture</p></div></div>"
}'

Post Types

1. Tutorial / How-To

Step-by-step instruction. The reader should be able to follow along and build something.

Structure:
1. What we're building (with screenshot/demo)
2. Prerequisites
3. Step 1: Setup
4. Step 2: Core implementation
5. Step 3: ...
6. Complete code (GitHub link)
7. Next steps / extensions

Rule	Why
Show the end result first	Reader knows if it's worth continuing
List prerequisites explicitly	Don't waste time of wrong audience
Every code block should be runnable	Copy-paste-run is the test
Explain the "why" not just the "how"	Tutorials that explain reasoning get shared
Include error handling	Real code has errors
Link to complete code repo	Reference after tutorial

2. Deep Dive / Explainer

Explains a concept, technology, or architecture decision in depth.

Structure:
1. What is [concept] and why should you care?
2. How it works (simplified mental model)
3. How it works (detailed mechanics)
4. Real-world example
5. Trade-offs and when NOT to use it
6. Further reading

3. Postmortem / Incident Report

Describes what went wrong, why, and what was fixed.

Structure:
1. Summary (what happened, impact, duration)
2. Timeline of events
3. Root cause analysis
4. Fix implemented
5. What we're doing to prevent recurrence
6. Lessons learned

4. Benchmark / Comparison

Data-driven comparison of tools, approaches, or architectures.

Structure:
1. What we compared and why
2. Methodology (so results are reproducible)
3. Results with charts/tables
4. Analysis (what the numbers mean)
5. Recommendation (with caveats)
6. Raw data / reproducibility instructions

5. Architecture / System Design

Explains how a system is built and why decisions were made.

Structure:
1. Problem we needed to solve
2. Constraints and requirements
3. Options considered
4. Architecture chosen (with diagram)
5. Trade-offs we accepted
6. Results and lessons

Writing Rules for Developers

Voice and Tone

Do	Don't
Be direct: "Use connection pooling"	"You might want to consider using..."
Admit trade-offs: "This adds complexity"	Pretend your solution is perfect
Use "we" for team decisions	"I single-handedly architected..."
Specific numbers: "reduced p99 from 800ms to 90ms"	"significantly improved performance"
Cite sources and benchmarks	Make unsourced claims
Acknowledge alternatives	Pretend yours is the only way

What Developers Hate

❌ "In today's fast-paced world of technology..." (filler)
❌ "As we all know..." (if we all know, why are you writing it?)
❌ "Simply do X" (nothing is simple if you're reading a tutorial)
❌ "It's easy to..." (dismissive of reader's experience)
❌ "Obviously..." (if it's obvious, don't write it)
❌ Marketing language in technical content
❌ Burying the lede under 3 paragraphs of context

Code Examples

Rule	Why
Every code block must be runnable	Broken examples destroy trust
Show complete, working examples	Snippets without context are useless
Include language identifier in fenced blocks	Syntax highlighting
Show output/result after code	Reader verifies understanding
Use realistic variable names	calculateTotalRevenue not foo
Include error handling in examples	Real code handles errors
Pin dependency versions	"Works with React 18.2" not "React"

Good code block format:

```python
# What this code does (one line)
def calculate_retry_delay(attempt: int, base_delay: float = 1.0) -> float:
    """Exponential backoff with jitter."""
    delay = base_delay * (2 ** attempt)
    jitter = random.uniform(0, delay * 0.1)
    return delay + jitter

# Usage
delay = calculate_retry_delay(attempt=3)  # ~8.0-8.8 seconds

### Explanation Depth

| Audience Signal | Depth |
|----------------|-------|
| "Getting started with X" | Explain everything, assume no prior knowledge |
| "Advanced X patterns" | Skip basics, go deep on nuances |
| "X vs Y" | Assume familiarity with both, focus on differences |
| "How we built X" | Technical audience, can skip fundamentals |

**State your assumed audience level explicitly** at the start:

"This post assumes familiarity with Docker and basic Kubernetes concepts. If you're new to containers, start with [our intro post]."

## Blog Post Structure

### The Ideal Structure

```markdown
# Title (contains primary keyword, states outcome)

[Hero image or diagram]

**TL;DR:** [2-3 sentence summary with key takeaway]

## The Problem / Why This Matters
[Set up why the reader should care — specific, not generic]

## The Solution / How We Did It
[Core content — code, architecture, explanation]

### Step 1: [First thing]
[Explanation + code + output]

### Step 2: [Second thing]
[Explanation + code + output]

## Results
[Numbers, benchmarks, outcomes — be specific]

## Trade-offs and Limitations
[Honest about downsides — builds trust]

## Conclusion
[Key takeaway + what to do next]

## Further Reading
[3-5 relevant links]

Word Count by Type

Type	Word Count	Why
Quick tip	500-800	One concept, one example
Tutorial	1,500-3,000	Step-by-step needs detail
Deep dive	2,000-4,000	Thorough exploration
Architecture post	2,000-3,500	Diagrams carry some load
Benchmark	1,500-2,500	Data and charts do heavy lifting

Diagrams and Visuals

When to Use Diagrams

Scenario	Diagram Type
Request flow	Sequence diagram
System architecture	Box-and-arrow diagram
Decision logic	Flowchart
Data model	ER diagram
Performance comparison	Bar/line chart
Before/after	Side-by-side

# Generate architecture diagram
belt app run infsh/html-to-image --input '{
  "html": "<div style=\"width:1200px;height:600px;background:#0f172a;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center;padding:40px;font-family:system-ui;color:white\"><div style=\"display:flex;gap:40px;align-items:center\"><div style=\"background:#1e293b;border:2px solid #334155;border-radius:8px;padding:24px;text-align:center;width:160px\"><p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#94a3b8;margin:0\">Client</p><p style=\"font-size:18px;font-weight:bold;margin:8px 0 0\">React App</p></div><div style=\"color:#64748b;font-size:32px\">→</div><div style=\"background:#1e293b;border:2px solid #3b82f6;border-radius:8px;padding:24px;text-align:center;width:160px\"><p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#94a3b8;margin:0\">Edge</p><p style=\"font-size:18px;font-weight:bold;margin:8px 0 0\">CDN Cache</p></div><div style=\"color:#64748b;font-size:32px\">→</div><div style=\"background:#1e293b;border:2px solid #334155;border-radius:8px;padding:24px;text-align:center;width:160px\"><p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#94a3b8;margin:0\">API</p><p style=\"font-size:18px;font-weight:bold;margin:8px 0 0\">Node.js</p></div><div style=\"color:#64748b;font-size:32px\">→</div><div style=\"background:#1e293b;border:2px solid #334155;border-radius:8px;padding:24px;text-align:center;width:160px\"><p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#94a3b8;margin:0\">Database</p><p style=\"font-size:18px;font-weight:bold;margin:8px 0 0\">PostgreSQL</p></div></div></div>"
}'

# Generate benchmark chart
belt app run infsh/python-executor --input '{
  "code": "import matplotlib.pyplot as plt\nimport matplotlib\nmatplotlib.use(\"Agg\")\n\nfig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(12, 6))\nfig.patch.set_facecolor(\"#0f172a\")\nax.set_facecolor(\"#0f172a\")\n\ntools = [\"Express\", \"Fastify\", \"Hono\", \"Elysia\"]\nrps = [15000, 45000, 62000, 78000]\ncolors = [\"#64748b\", \"#64748b\", \"#3b82f6\", \"#64748b\"]\n\nax.barh(tools, rps, color=colors, height=0.5)\nfor i, v in enumerate(rps):\n    ax.text(v + 1000, i, f\"{v:,} req/s\", va=\"center\", color=\"white\", fontsize=14)\n\nax.set_xlabel(\"Requests per second\", color=\"white\", fontsize=14)\nax.set_title(\"HTTP Framework Benchmark (Hello World)\", color=\"white\", fontsize=18, fontweight=\"bold\")\nax.tick_params(colors=\"white\", labelsize=12)\nax.spines[\"top\"].set_visible(False)\nax.spines[\"right\"].set_visible(False)\nax.spines[\"bottom\"].set_color(\"#334155\")\nax.spines[\"left\"].set_color(\"#334155\")\nplt.tight_layout()\nplt.savefig(\"benchmark.png\", dpi=150, facecolor=\"#0f172a\")\nprint(\"Saved\")"
}'

Distribution

Where Developers Read

Platform	Format	How to Post
Your blog	Full article	Primary — own your content
Dev.to	Cross-post (canonical URL back to yours)	Markdown import
Hashnode	Cross-post (canonical URL)	Markdown import
Hacker News	Link submission	Show HN for projects, tell HN for stories
Reddit (r/programming, r/webdev, etc.)	Link or discussion	Follow subreddit rules
Twitter/X	Thread summary + link	See twitter-thread-creation skill
LinkedIn	Adapted version + link	See linkedin-content skill

# Cross-post thread to X
belt app run x/post-create --input '{
  "text": "New blog post: How We Reduced API Latency by 90%\n\nThe short version:\n→ Moved computation to edge\n→ Aggressive cache-control headers\n→ Eliminated N+1 queries\n\np99 went from 800ms to 90ms.\n\nFull deep dive with code: [link]"
}'

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Problem	Fix
No TL;DR	Busy devs leave before getting the point	2-3 sentence summary at the top
Broken code examples	Destroys all credibility	Test every code block before publishing
No version pinning	Code breaks in 6 months	"Works with Node 20, React 18.2"
"Simply do X"	Dismissive, condescending	Remove "simply", "just", "easily"
No diagrams for architecture	Walls of text describing systems	One diagram > 500 words of description
Marketing tone	Developers instantly disengage	Direct, technical, honest
No trade-offs section	Reads as biased marketing	Always discuss downsides
Giant introduction before content	Readers bounce	Get to the point in 2-3 paragraphs
Unpinned dependencies	Tutorial breaks for future readers	Pin versions, note date written
No "Further Reading"	Dead end, no context	3-5 links to deepen understanding

Related Skills

npx skills add inference-sh/skills@seo-content-brief
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@content-repurposing
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@og-image-design

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