---
title: "Using val.town for the first time"
slug: using-valtown-for-the-first-time
canonical_url: https://nerdymomocat.github.io/posts/using-valtown-for-the-first-time/
collection: Stream
published_at: 2024-01-05T00:00:00.000Z
updated_at: 2024-01-05T00:00:00.000Z
tags: 
  - Tools
  - Apps
  - "Mini Automation"
  - Coding
author: "Nerdy Momo Cat"
---

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### Related Content

#### Pages That Mention This Page
- [Friction Logs](https://nerdymomocat.github.io/posts/friction-logs/)

#### Other Pages Mentioned On This Page
- [Notion Reference Manager](https://nerdymomocat.github.io/posts/notion-reference-manager/)

Honestly, [val.town](http://val.town/) is cool and fun and I have never been able to get something up and running as quickly as I have on val.town. Once [repl.it](http://repl.it/) stopped allowing you to run flask apps without upgrading, I knew it was only a matter of time, when I would need to switch to a different cloud function app.

I was able to move my reference manager from repl to [val.town](http://val.town/) Jan 4, 2024: [Notion Reference Manager](https://nerdymomocat.github.io/posts/notion-reference-manager/)

* * *

Here is a quick friction log:

I tried to use it as an IDE (based on around 3 hours of exploration), but there were a few challenges:

-   The all-scripts-on-one-page layout made it feel less like an IDE.
-   There was a noticeable delay between clicking run and seeing the output.
-   The auto-format code feature often didn't work as expected.
-   Every save increased the version, which was a personal irritation as I prefer versions to represent actual changes.
-   Sometimes, saving didn't work if I collapsed the tab group.
-   For it to feel like a true script IDE, it might need code folding functionality.

On the positive side, I appreciated the TypeScript argument suggestions. So, I've been using it more as an executable pastebin. Overall, I like how compact and clean the interface is, considering how much you can do with it.