Smol
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What is Smol?
Smol.ai is a platform for AI engineers that provides curated daily AI news and organizes hackathons. The main offering is AINews, a daily newsletter that summarizes top AI discussions from Discord servers, Reddit communities, and X/Twitter accounts, delivering a daily roundup to over 150,000 AI engineers. The platform also runs hackathons for AI engineers that can be accessed via email inquiry.
The platform offers open-source tools including smol developer, a Python library that acts as a
Smol pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Free and open-source under MIT license. Smol developer is completely free to use with no subscription required. However, code generations incur OpenAI API costs at approximately $10 for a complex full-stack app. Users can choose local/open models with Continue as an alternative to avoid API costs. No paid tiers or subscription plans are offered.
Smol pros
- Daily AI news roundup saves time scrolling multiple sources
- Over 150k AI engineers use the newsletter
- Free open-source smol developer library available
- Generates complete codebases from natural language prompts
- Supports multiple programming languages and frameworks
- Can embed developer agent into your own applications
- No subscription required - open source and free
- Works with GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 models
- Human-in-the-loop workflow allows manual code review
- Quick prototyping for unfamiliar APIs and technologies
- Active community on Twitter and GitHub
- Hackathons for AI engineers available
- Shared dependencies feature maintains code coherence
- Error messages can be pasted back for debugging
- MIT license allows free commercial use
Smol cons
- OpenAI API costs apply (~$10 for full-stack apps)
- Slow feedback loop (2-4 minutes per generation)
- Requires detailed prompts for complex applications
- Manual fixes often needed for complex apps
- No compiled releases - only source code on GitHub
- Anthropic Claude doesn't follow code generation instructions well
- Chrome extension specific code not generalized
- Cannot install its own dependencies automatically
Frequently asked questions about Smol
What is smol.ai?
Smol.ai is a platform for AI engineers featuring curated daily AI news (AINews newsletter) and organizing hackathons. It serves as an informational hub and community resource for over 150,000 AI engineers to keep up with AI developments every weekday.
What is smol developer?
Smol developer is an open-source Python library that acts as a 'junior developer' agent. It scaffolds entire codebases from concise product specifications provided in natural language prompts, supporting multiple programming languages and frameworks for rapid prototyping.
How do I use smol developer?
You can use it in two ways: Git Repo mode by cloning the repository and running main.py with a product spec argument, or Library mode by installing smol_dev as a dependency and using its plan, specify_file_paths, and generate_code_sync functions in your own app.
Is smol developer free?
Yes, smol developer is completely free and open-source under the MIT license. However, code generations incur OpenAI API costs at approximately $10 for a complex full-stack application. There is no subscription fee.
What AI models does smol developer use?
Smol developer defaults to GPT-4-0613 but can also use GPT-3.5-turbo-0613. It was originally built using OpenAI's Codex model. You can specify the model using the --model flag when running the CLI.
How does AINews newsletter work?
AINews summarizes top AI discussions from Discord servers, Reddit communities, and X/Twitter accounts, sending a daily roundup every weekday. It reaches over 150,000 AI engineers and is also available on X (@smol_ai).
Can I embed smol developer in my own app?
Yes, that's the main purpose of Library mode. You can install smol_dev via pip and use its functions (plan, specify_file_paths, generate_code_sync) to create a developer agent inside your own application.
What programming languages does smol developer support?
Smol developer supports various programming languages and frameworks. There are also community forks in JS/TS, C#/Dotnet, and Golang. The main implementation is 81.9% Python with JavaScript, CSS, and HTML support.
How do I sign up for hackathons?
Hackathons are available via email enquiry. You can contact swyx at smol dot ai for more information about participating in AI engineer hackathons organized by Smol.ai.