Choosing When Hermes Agent Automations Need an LLM
I use Hermes Agent to interpret and configure automations, then let Home Assistant or a script execute repeatable actions with visible failure states.
Read the pieceKahWee Teng · Staff software engineer
Complex systems deserve clear thinking.
I work on frontend systems and developer experience, then write about what the diagrams leave out: migrations, performance, AI-assisted engineering, and the tradeoffs that make software last.
Bearings
KahWee in 30 seconds
- Role
- Staff software engineer
- Focus
- Frontend systems + developer experience
- Journal
- 91 field notes since 2016
- Perspective
- Singapore → San Francisco
Working terrain
Experience, shown through the work.
Four recurring questions, each grounded in a piece that shows the decisions, evidence, and tradeoffs behind it.
AI Pricing Is Becoming UX
GPT-5.6 turns capability into a price ladder, while Codex Spark turns speed into a separate button. AI pricing is becoming part of the interface.
Read the piece
Evaluating a TanStack Table v9 Upgrade
I wanted to keep a shared table component current without accepting migration work on faith. A side-by-side benchmark made the trade-off much easier to judge.
Read the pieceMigrating from Remix to React Router v7 - Part 1
My Remix-to-React Router v7 migration touched 40 files and removed 591 net lines. Imports were easy; TypeScript took the time.
Read the pieceFrom the trail
Latest field notes
Optimizing Cubbly After Moving Away from SSR
Removing SSR simplified Cubbly but delayed useful inventory. I compared four client-loading compositions and kept the one that made real route content 31–42% faster.
Removing React SSR from Cubbly to Simplify Lingui
I removed React SSR from Cubbly because maintaining Lingui across the Worker and browser was not worth the speed it bought on a private application.
Choosing When Hermes Agent Automations Need an LLM
I use Hermes Agent to interpret and configure automations, then let Home Assistant or a script execute repeatable actions with visible failure states.
AI Pricing Is Becoming UX
GPT-5.6 turns capability into a price ladder, while Codex Spark turns speed into a separate button. AI pricing is becoming part of the interface.