james@perkins :~$
ceo · unkey Shipping Open source API infrastructure

Writing about building companies, the craft of code, and the messy middle in between.

now.sh ~/status
role
ceo & co-founder, unkey
reading
the hard thing about hard things
building
Shipping Open source API infrastructure
location
remote · US east

Recent writing// 05 of 35

all posts
2026 · 04.19
Unkey Is Staying Open Source
AI and open source isn't easy
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2025 · 08.18
Beyond the Grind: Why Early-Stage Founders Need a Life
Early stage founders need a life.
read →
2025 · 08.17
Why & How We Built a Better Auth Abstraction Layer
Open source projects live and die by friction. So we built auth abstraction layer to make it easier.
read →
2025 · 08.16
Build, Don't Just Babble
Talking to users is beneficial but talking to hundreds is just noise that hides signals.
read →
2025 · 08.15
Ratelimiting tRPC with Unkey
Ratelimiting tRPC with Unkey is easier, faster and more consistent then Redis based ratelimiting
read →
9 posts
thought leadership
Essays on building companies, making decisions, and leading teams.
26 posts
engineering
Deep dives into TypeScript, auth, distributed systems, and the tools we build.
0 posts
til
Quick notes on things I learned this week. Short, no preamble.
0 posts
book notes
What I'm reading and what stuck. Usually business, sometimes fiction.
"Most advice for founders is survivorship bias wearing a suit. Write what you learned, not what you think sounds wise."
— from an essay in progress
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Writing, delivered when it's worth reading.

No schedule. No growth hacks. I send a post when I've written one worth sending — usually 2–4 times a month.

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