A collection of tip-bits by James Irving-Swift — software development notes, setups and opinions.https://irving-swift.com/https://irving-swift.com/why-i-moved-from-wordpress-to-astro/https://irving-swift.com/why-i-moved-from-wordpress-to-astro/One of our WordPress sites was compromised, I restored it from a backup and decided I was done. Why I've moved to Astro and Markdown, and why I don't think I need a CMS or Yoast anymore.Mon, 26 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMTWordpressOpinionshttps://irving-swift.com/rolling-the-dice-what-ive-been-working-on-over-the-last-six-months/https://irving-swift.com/rolling-the-dice-what-ive-been-working-on-over-the-last-six-months/Leaving Amenitiz, trying developer-led tech recruitment, and the Expo projects that followed — CPOURNOUS, 11310.com, VegVisits and a stealth game.Mon, 01 Sep 2025 11:21:29 GMThttps://irving-swift.com/ai-in-hospitality/https://irving-swift.com/ai-in-hospitality/Will AI assistants replace OTAs and direct-booking websites? Why the hospitality industry should start preparing for an API-first future.Thu, 03 Apr 2025 10:59:56 GMThttps://irving-swift.com/implementing-magic-link-authentication-with-auth-js-and-deep-linking-in-an-expo-hybrid-app/https://irving-swift.com/implementing-magic-link-authentication-with-auth-js-and-deep-linking-in-an-expo-hybrid-app/How I made Auth.js magic-link sign-in work across both the web and an Expo hybrid app using a second verification token and a deep link.Mon, 10 Feb 2025 08:38:26 GMTDevelopmenthttps://irving-swift.com/my-current-developer-tool-setup/https://irving-swift.com/my-current-developer-tool-setup/The editors, terminals, CLI tools, browsers and utilities in my day-to-day developer setup — and the ones I've moved away from.Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:34:18 GMTDevelopmentOpinionshttps://irving-swift.com/setup-your-mac-with-ansible/https://irving-swift.com/setup-your-mac-with-ansible/How I use an Ansible playbook to configure a brand-new MacBook in under an hour — perfect for a fresh start or disaster recovery.Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:50:52 GMTDevelopmenthttps://irving-swift.com/running-expo-in-wsl2/https://irving-swift.com/running-expo-in-wsl2/Why scanning the Expo Go QR code fails when your project runs in WSL2, and the one-flag fix I wire into package.json.Tue, 12 Nov 2024 12:21:13 GMTDevelopmenthttps://irving-swift.com/my-journey-through-operating-systems-from-acorn-to-macos/https://irving-swift.com/my-journey-through-operating-systems-from-acorn-to-macos/From RISC OS on an Acorn to Red Hat, Ubuntu, Windows with WSL2, the Steam Deck and macOS — my journey through operating systems and where I've landed.Fri, 01 Nov 2024 10:30:21 GMTOpinionshttps://irving-swift.com/my-get-started-wordpress-script/https://irving-swift.com/my-get-started-wordpress-script/The bash script I use to spin up a new WordPress site on my server — wp-cli install, Apache vhost and a Let's Encrypt certificate in one go.Tue, 29 Oct 2024 11:30:14 GMTWordpresshttps://irving-swift.com/the-wordpress-plugins-i-use-and-why/https://irving-swift.com/the-wordpress-plugins-i-use-and-why/The key WordPress plugins I rely on for performance, security, SEO and email — with the pros and cons of each.Tue, 29 Oct 2024 10:09:08 GMTWordpress