Six MCPs that transformed my engineering management workflow — from codebase access to observability to task management.

Discover 6 powerful MCPs for engineering managers — Sourcegraph, Slack, Splunk, OpenMetadata, Confluence, and JIRA — and how they dramatically reduce busy work and improve decision-making.

6 Useful MCPs for Engineering Managers Using Claude Code

6 Useful MCPs for Engineering Managers

Why measuring business value beats counting tickets closed. An engineering manager's guide to developer productivity metrics using Kanban and Agile Sprints.

Measure Business Value, Not Tickets Closed - Developer Productivity

Measure Business Value, Not Number of Tickets Closed

A challenging, but rewarding start to management.

Learn 5 engineering management philosophies that helped turn around a declining product and consistently exceed expectations quarter after quarter.

5 Engineering Management Philosophies for High-Performing Teams

5 Engineering Management Philosophies I Have Found Helpful

Instead of relying on algorithms to push your content, use old-school RSS feeds to notify your followers whenever you post.

Learn how to create a self-hosted RSS feed for your NextJS blog. Notify subscribers automatically when you publish new content without relying on algorithms.

How to Add an RSS Feed to Your NextJS Blog - Self-Hosted Guide

I Turned My Blog Into an RSS Feed

Grow your audience by appealing to people who enjoy audiobooks and podcasts.

Learn how to convert blog posts into realistic audio using OpenAI's TTS API and PyDub for audio manipulation. Grow your audience with audio content.

Create an Audio Blog with OpenAI Text-to-Speech API & PyDub

Creating an Audio Blog Using OpenAI and PyDub

Smart search, blog, newsletter, analytics, affiliate marketing, RSS feed — everything self-hosted and FREE!

How I built a complete self-hosted digital identity with blog, newsletter, analytics, AI search, and RSS feed for just $12/month on Digital Ocean.

Self-Hosted Digital Identity for $12/Month - Blog, Newsletter, Analytics & More

I Created A Comprehensive Self-Hosted Digital Identity for $12/month

Making all my blog posts and YouTube videos searchable in real-time.

How I built a real-time pipeline that automatically indexes new blog posts and YouTube videos for AI-powered smart search using OpenAI and PostgreSQL.

Build a Realtime Search Pipeline with OpenAI Embeddings & Postgres

I Built a Realtime Smart Search Pipeline

Helping visitors search across all my blogs and YouTube videos with some OpenAI magic.

Step-by-step guide to building an AI-powered search feature using OpenAI Embeddings API and PostgreSQL vectors for blogs and YouTube videos.

Build AI Search with OpenAI Embeddings & PostgreSQL pgvector

Building an AI Search Feature With OpenAI Embeddings & Postgres Vectors

Implement custom rate limits per API endpoint.

Implement custom Nginx rate limits per API endpoint to protect your self-hosted website from bot traffic and DDoS attacks. Practical configuration guide.

Protect Your Server from DDoS Attacks with Nginx Rate Limiting

Protecting Against Bot Attacks Using Nginx Rate Limits

Custom events, reports, and conversion funnels - all with more privacy baked in.

Track custom events, build reporting dashboards, and analyze conversion funnels with Umami, a powerful privacy-first open source Google Analytics alternative.

Umami Analytics - Open Source Google Analytics Alternative with Custom Events

A Powerful Private Open Source Alternative to Google Analytics

All the web analytics you need, without the surveillance-like tracking.

Replace Google Analytics with self-hosted Umami for privacy-friendly web analytics. No cookies, no tracking, and you own all your data. Free setup guide.

Self-Host Umami - Free Private Google Analytics Alternative

Self-Hosting a Free Private Google Analytics Alternative

How I made my NextJS website responsive without learning about HTML and CSS.

How I made my NextJS website fully responsive using ChakraUI breakpoints. A practical guide to mobile-responsive design without deep CSS knowledge.

Making NextJS & ChakraUI Websites Responsive - A Practical Guide

Finally Making Sense of Responsive Screens

I saved >$100/month by migrating to a self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager to run my small business.

How I replaced Ghost ($174/mo) with self-hosted Listmonk for free. Manage 10,000 email subscribers and send newsletters without monthly fees.

Self-Host Listmonk - Free Newsletter System for 10,000 Subscribers

I Pay $0 for a 10,000 Subscriber Self-Hosted Email Newsletter System

Deploy all your frontend apps, backend APIs, and other services using one server and one domain.

Learn how to deploy multiple frontend apps, backend APIs, and Docker containers on one server using Nginx reverse proxies and a single domain.

Host Multiple Web Apps on One Server with Nginx Reverse Proxy

Hosting Multiple Web Apps and APIs with Nginx Reverse Proxies

Replicating my perfect local development workflow in a cloud server to code and deploy from anywhere in the world.

How I replicated my local dev workflow on a Digital Ocean cloud server for remote coding and deployment. A complete self-hosting setup guide.

Set Up a Private Cloud Development Server on Digital Ocean

How I Set Up My Private Cloud Server for Development

How I exposed my NextJS and FastAPI powered website to the public internet using Nginx web server on a Linux server.

Step-by-step tutorial to set up Nginx reverse proxy on a Linux server for NextJS and FastAPI apps with SSL certificates and custom domain.

Nginx Reverse Proxy Tutorial - Host NextJS & FastAPI on a Linux Server

I Finally Figured out Nginx Reverse Proxy

How I saved more than $100 by self-hosting instead of using cloud-based SASS products.

How I saved over $100/month by buying a Digital Ocean cloud server and self-hosting my website, newsletter, and more instead of using expensive SaaS products.

Why I Bought a Cloud Server for $12/Month Instead of Using SaaS

I Bought a Cloud Server for $12/month

Irtiza Hafiz

📍 Get notes and diagrams: https://irtizahafiz.com/newsletter?utm_source=yt
▶️ Get the code: https://github.com/irtiza07/public_api/tree/main/projects/mcp-server-intro-0

Learn how a single MCP server can seamlessly connect with various LLMs to fetch and update personal information, from banking details to task lists, without needing multiple custom setups.

0:00 Introduction to MCP Servers
2:02 Understanding LLM Limitations
2:58 Role of MCP Servers
4:50 Connecting MCP Servers to LLMs
5:50 Demonstrating MCP with Cloud Desktop
7:02 Updating Tasks via MCP
8:18 Adding Reminders with MCP
9:14 Using MCP with GitHub Copilot
10:50 Debugging MCP Connections
12:48 Conclusion and Next Steps

Model Context Protocol (MCP) | Explained

📍 Get notes and diagrams: https://irtizahafiz.com/newsletter?utm_source=yt
▶️ Get the code: https://github.com/irtiza07/public_api/tree/main/projects/openai-tools-shell-command

Dive into a live demo to see how you can query your system for details like Python version, current directory, and memory usage, all through OpenAI's shell tool.

0:00 Introduction and Overview
0:27 Demo: Running Shell Commands
3:17 Explanation: How It Works
5:14 Deep Dive: OpenAI Shell Tool
8:16 Demo: Node Version Query
10:04 Code Walkthrough
12:48 Conclusion and Resources

AI Models Run Shell Commands | LLM Tools

📍 Get notes and diagrams: https://irtizahafiz.com/newsletter?utm_source=yt
▶️ Get the code: https://github.com/irtiza07/public_api/tree/main/projects/openai-simple-tool-function-calling

Dive into a detailed demo where we explore how to set up and execute multiple function calls like fetching weather data for different cities, and learn how to handle streaming events efficiently. 

0:00 Introduction
0:07 Overview of OpenAI API for Streaming
0:23 Function Definitions
1:10 Demo: Streaming Weather Query
2:13 Streaming Response Explanation
5:46 Second Example: Rainfall Query
6:00 Theory Behind Streaming
10:30 Code Walkthrough
15:11 Final Example: Event Location Query
16:13 Conclusion and Outro

Streaming LLM Tool Calls | LLM Tools

📍 Get notes and diagrams: https://irtizahafiz.com/newsletter?utm_source=yt
▶️ Get the code: https://github.com/irtiza07/public_api/tree/main/projects/openai-simple-tool-function-calling
        
In this video, we dive into handling multiple function call requests from a model, using a practical example of determining the weather for an event. 

0:00 Introduction to Handling Multiple Function Calls
1:04 Demo: Querying Weather for Events
2:14 Understanding Function Call Workflow
3:01 Passing Function Definitions to the Model
4:14 Model's Function Call Request Process
5:00 Executing and Returning Function Results
6:09 Second Function Call and Response
7:15 Finalizing the Weather Report
7:40 Code Walkthrough: Initial Call Setup
8:06 Looping Through Function Call Requests
9:04 Mapping Function Names to Signatures
9:56 Sending Function Outputs to the Model
10:20 Handling Multiple Function Calls Simultaneously
11:10 Example: Multiple Weather Requests
11:44 Expanding to More Locations
11:55 Conclusion and Resources

Multiple Function Calling | LLM Tutorial

📍 Get notes and diagrams: https://irtizahafiz.com/newsletter?utm_source=yt
▶️ Get the code: https://github.com/irtiza07/public_api/tree/main/projects/openai-simple-tool-function-calling
        
In this video, we explore how to leverage function calling with the OpenAI API, enabling your code to interact seamlessly with OpenAI by executing local functions and returning results.

0:00 Introduction to Function Calling with OpenAI API  
0:41 Demo: Weather Query Example  
1:40 Understanding Function Calls with OpenAI  
2:32 Diagram Explanation: Server and OpenAI Interaction  
3:33 Passing Function Schemas to OpenAI  
4:38 How the Model Decides to Call a Function  
6:01 Executing and Returning Function Results  
7:02 API Call and Response Handling  
8:02 Demo: High Priority Tasks Query  
9:02 Grounding Model Parameters with Function Schema  
10:41 Example: Travel and Family Tasks Queries  
11:41 Recap of Diagram and System Workflow  
12:14 Code Walkthrough: Initial API Call and Function Schema  
13:34 Handling Function Call Responses in Code  
14:35 Conclusion and Additional Resources

OpenAI Function Calling | LLM Tools Essentials

📍 Get notes and diagrams: https://irtizahafiz.com/newsletter?utm_source=yt
▶️ Get the code:
https://github.com/irtiza07/public_api/tree/main/projects/openai-rewards-news-web-search

Building an AI program using OpenAI's Web Search tool that browses the web for me to find helpful credit card and travel news.
        
0:00 Introduction to Web Browsing with OpenAI API  
0:29 Demo and System Architecture Overview  
1:11 Running the Model and Initial Results  
2:19 Exploring Different Websites and Topics  
3:28 How the Model Uses Web Search Tools  
4:01 Code Walkthrough and Explanation  
5:32 Prompt Construction and Cost Management  
6:31 Tool Configuration and Domain Filtering  
7:42 Analyzing Results and Conclusion

OpenAI Web Search | LLM Tools

📍 Get notes and diagrams: https://irtizahafiz.com/newsletter?utm_source=yt
▶️ Get the code: https://github.com/irtiza07/public_api/tree/main/projects/yt-pipeline-v0
        
I demonstrate how I use LLMs to effortlessly generate YouTube thumbnails and descriptions, streamlining my video creation process.

0:00 Introduction
0:14 Overview and Demo
0:41 System Diagram Explanation
1:12 Transcript and YouTube Chapters
2:17 Audio Conversion Process
3:05 Extracting YouTube Chapters
4:04 Generating Video Summary
5:00 Thumbnail Creation Process
6:23 Program Walkthrough
7:14 Running the Program
8:24 Transcribing Audio
9:01 Generating YouTube Chapters
10:03 Creating Video Summary
11:02 Thumbnail Generation
12:04 Thumbnail Customization
13:22 Iterative Thumbnail Edits
17:00 Finalizing the Thumbnail
19:17 Summary and Conclusion

How to Build Multimodal AI Pipelines Using Whisper, GPT-4o and GPT-Image-1

📍 Get notes and diagrams: https://irtizahafiz.com/newsletter?utm_source=yt
▶️ Get the code: https://github.com/irtiza07/public_api/tree/main/projects/openai-iterative-image-edits
        
In this video, we dive into using OpenAI's image models to create and iteratively refine images based on user prompts. Discover how to efficiently generate and edit images by leveraging response IDs instead of repeatedly sending original images, saving bandwidth and time. Follow along as we explore the system design, run a live demonstration, and examine the code, with all resources linked in the description for your convenience.

0:00 Introduction to Image Generation
0:38 System Design Overview
1:01 Starting the Image Generation
1:19 Understanding the System Design Diagram
2:38 Exploring Iteration Options
3:39 Code Walkthrough
5:19 Iteration Process Explained
7:19 Final Image and Conclusion

Edit Images Using GPT-5 | Live Demo with Python

📍For more AI programming resources, [join my mailing list](https://irtizahafiz.com/newsletter?utm_source=youtube_channel). 

In this video I automate by YouTube thumbnail generation process using OpenAI's GPT Image models.

[Github Code](https://github.com/irtiza07/public_api/tree/main/projects/openai-youtube-thumbnails)

0:00 Introduction and Overview
0:16 Video Structure and Demo
1:22 API Call and Thumbnail Generation
3:30 System Design Diagram
6:40 Code Walkthrough
9:15 Thumbnail Generation Results
10:00 Iterating and Improving Thumbnails
11:36 Conclusion and Resources

Using GPT-Image-1 for YouTube Thumbnails

In this video I build a pipeline using GPT-4o and Whisper models to automatically generate YouTube chapters from a recorded video MP4 file. We go from the audio file, to a transcript with timestamps, to a text file with youtube chapters.

[Github Code](https://github.com/irtiza07/public_api/tree/main/projects/openai-youtube-generate-chapters)

For detailed notes, [join my newsletter](https://irtizahafiz.com/newsletter?utm_source=youtube_channel). 

0:00 Introduction
1:03 Overview of the YouTube Pipeline
2:29 Code Walkthrough: Video to Audio Conversion  
4:29 Transcription with Whisper Model  
5:29 Generating YouTube Chapters with GPT-4o 
7:09 Formatting and Saving Chapters  
8:45 Recap and Closing Remarks