# Decker

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/decker/

23 people recommended Decker in Hacker News comments, 4 had mixed feelings and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 12 months, in 16 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free, open-source HyperCard-style tool for interactive decks and small programs; caveats: tiny iOS Safari window, limited font sizing.

Summary written by Claude from 32 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 31 of those comments still count.

## Why people recommend it

- HyperCard look and feel (3 comments in the sample): "If you give it a chance, I hope you'll find that Decker is much more than a superficial imitation of HyperCard's look and feel." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46256027)) "Decker can produce HyperCard-like graphs nicely" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48258708)) "open source and feels much more "Hypercardy" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47061705))
- Looks great on e-ink (3 comments in the sample): "seems like it would have a lot of potential for e-ink devices" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49063994)) "It looks way better than most modern interfaces on e-ink too!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49064043)) "it seems kinda perfect for e-ink" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49064036))
- Fast prototyping, quick to start (2 comments in the sample): "seems to give quick gratification. Looks like an easy and fun way to get started with programming" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49064593)) "I always enjoyed the speed with which I could prototype new ideas" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49065717))
- Dozens of examples to study (2 comments in the sample): "Decker has a similar mechanism for custom brush behavior; here's an interactive tutorial with a variety of examples" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47252042)) "Decker comes with dozens of example decks to take apart and study." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49074783))

## Other creative coding environments people recommend

- [Processing](https://hackerapproved.com/p/processing/): 8 recommend, 1 mixed, 2 criticize
- [p5.js](https://hackerapproved.com/p/p5-js/): 6 recommend, 0 mixed, 1 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Decker", https://hackerapproved.com/p/decker/ (23 recommend, 4 mixed, 3 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.