The Illustrated Transformer by Jay Alammar
Shares rank 12 of 60 articles by recommenders
People recommend it as the clearest explanation of how transformers work, with visuals that help readers grasp the ideas. Critics raised no complaints.
People recommend it as the clearest explanation of how transformers work, with visuals that help readers grasp the ideas. Critics raised no complaints.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Best explanation of transformers
“this particular blog post was the first and is still the best explanation of how transformers work”
Comment from 22 Dec 2025 in “The Illustrated Transformer” “I can't recommend enough, The Illustrated Transformer”
Comment from 21 Sep 2026 in “Transformers Explained Visually” Clear visuals aid understanding
“It really clicked to me after reading this two”
Comment from 22 Dec 2025 in “The Illustrated Transformer” “the visualizations were really helpful”
Comment from 22 Dec 2025 in “The Illustrated Transformer” Helpful for beginners and catching up
“Excellent resource for beginners”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Transformers Explained Visually” “Really a life savior to help me catching up a few months ago”
Comment from 22 Dec 2025 in “The Illustrated Transformer”
Other articles people recommend
The four most recommended other articles, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Programming as Theory Buildingby Peter Naur | 32 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Ur-Fascismby Umberto Eco | 18 | 2 | 90% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Politics and the English Languageby George Orwell | 14 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| The Grug Brained Developer by Carson Gross | 13 | 1 | 93% | 9 | — | Approved |
| The Illustrated Transformer by Jay AlammarThis page | 9 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Excellent resource for beginners”
“I can't recommend enough, The Illustrated Transformer”
“This guide is such a beast”
“the visualizations were really helpful”
“this particular blog post was the first and is still the best explanation of how transformers work”
“Really a life savior to help me catching up a few months ago”
“It really clicked to me after reading this two”
“Six years old, but the fundamentals haven't changed.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.