A while back I wrote about Youtube game devlog channels, but there are more insightful channels out there talking about building software. In this article, I’ll present a few that I often come back to and enjoy for their insights, entertainment value and more. For each, I’ll also add a video I enjoyed and give a good sense of what their content is like.
The Primeagen
This very experienced ex-Netflix engineer talks about technology and the craft of building software. I mostly watch moments from his stream, but he also has more in depth videos, tutorials and more. I enjoy his tone, philosophy and how he doesn’t shy away from stating his opinion even if it differs from what is usually said.
→ One video to watch: The Most Amazing Software Ever Created
Continuous Delivery
This channel hosted Dave Farley focuses on more advanced discussions about how to build and deliver software - from architecture to team organisation. This is very far from the latest trends and new frameworks, instead focusing on proven techniques built over many years of experience. I really enjoy how perfectly explained some concepts are, and I find myself quoting the channel quite often.
→ One video to watch: My Response To The NONSENSE McKinsey Article On Developer Productivity
Shawn Hickman
Shawn is the creator of Sofa and shares his journey building his app. Since I’m also on the solopreneur journey myself building an iOS app, his videos are incredibly insightful and I love to see his approach and philosophy. For instance his video about his first year as an indie app developer really resonated with me when I was getting started.
One video to watch: My 2024 Year in Review: Indie Life, Sofa Updates, and YouTube Growth
KRAZAM
This channel releasing skits about software, startups and the corporate world is the home of some of my favorite videos like The Hustle, Developer platform update or Microservices. One of the comments sums it up: “Understanding this kind of humour is both a blessing and an immeasurable burden of human suffering”. Just give it a watch.
→ One video to watch: Microservices
A Life Engineered
On this channel, Steve Huynh, ex-Amazon Principal Engineer, shares his take on how to build software. It is very interesting to discover his journey to become a principal engineer at a company like Amazon and all of his takeaways from the experience. He also doesn’t shy away from sharing things like money or previous failures which is refreshing. If you want a career in “big tech”, or if you are curious about this world, this is worth a watch.
→ One video to watch: How Much I Made at Amazon in 18 Years (As a Principal Engineer)
Fireship
Fireship is one of the most successful and entertaining software related channel, so you probably already know about it! Topics can range from new programming languages, advancement in AI, developer tools, the job market, new frameworks and more. Videos are short, fast paced, heavily edited and - most importantly - insightful and entertaining. He also has series about discovering a language in 100 seconds which I really enjoy.
→ One video to watch: C in 100 seconds
Aivars Meijers
Just like Shawn Hickman, Aivars shares his indie app developer journey, juggling freelance work and building apps. He shares insights and vlogs about his work in a simple and pleasant way. This hits close to home, and I really enjoy his videos.
One video to watch: I earn $4’760 month from side projects with this Simple tech stack
Theo
Theo is a ex-Twitch frontend engineer sharing his views on many topics in his fields. Lately I struggled to follow what is happening on the web, as I’m more focused on backend and mobile lately, so this has been helpful to stay up to date. I also appreciate that he is willing to share some very strong opinions, and even if I sometimes find myself strongly disagreeing with his takes, I can respect the work he’s putting into voicing them out in a way that makes sense.
→ One video to watch: Getting a Dev Job in 2025
Programmers are also human
This channel is mostly releasing skits about the world of software engineering. It’s hard to explain, but it’s quite funny and if you are writing software for a living you should take a look at it!
→ One video to watch: Interview with Senior JS Developer
Adam Lyttle
Adam’s content is focused both on how to build apps and how to market them. He shares his business strategies, revenues, tactics and more. As an app developer myself, this is very insightful!
→ One video to watch: My new app was doomed on day one (app development devlog)
Since you scrolled this far, you might be interested in some other things I wrote: