Developer builds YouTube news multistream viewer with Claude Code
A developer has built Beholder, a free YouTube news multistream viewer that displays dozens of live news streams simultaneously in an auto-scaling grid layout. The project was created using Claude Code on a fresh Raspberry Pi installation.
How Claude Code was used
The developer set up a fresh Raspberry Pi with Claude Code, giving it permission to install whatever was needed for development and debugging. According to the developer, Claude Code:
- Built the entire frontend UI including React components for adaptive stream grid, channel browser, settings panel, ticker bars, modals, toast notifications, and mobile-responsive layout
- Created a toast notification system for error handling so API failures aren't silent
- Added stream error detection that shows broken/offline streams with an overlay containing a YouTube link and remove button instead of just showing a black box
- Helped evaluate YouTube ToS to remain compliant for data gathering
- Debugged and fixed bugs caused by the database of live streams and the scanner software that keeps it updated
- Continues to handle admin tasks like "Hey Claude, the CNN URL is wrong, rescan and update the DB"
App features
Beholder provides:
- 200+ live news channels from 6 continents in a dynamic grid that auto-sizes to your screen
- Channels organized by region (US, Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America) or by media bias rating
- Live scrolling news ticker pulling headlines from 30+ RSS feeds (AP, Reuters, BBC, CNN, etc.)
- Real-time stock market ticker with detailed quotes, top movers, and Yahoo Finance integration
- Internet outage ticker powered by Cloudflare Radar showing active outages by location and cause
- "Take a Break" mode that swaps news for lo-fi music, cartoons, nature cams, and meditation streams
- Pin/focus functionality to enlarge any stream while keeping others visible
- Per-stream and global mute, closed captions toggle, adjustable grid columns and font size
- Mobile, tablet, and desktop compatibility
Key differences from opening multiple YouTube tabs
- Background scanner continuously discovers which channels are actually live right now — no stale links
- Bias labels on every channel help users consciously diversify their news diet (or hide unwanted content)
- Ability to see how CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, and Fox cover the same story side by side
Tech stack
- Frontend: React, Vite, Cloudflare Pages
- Backend: Python/FastAPI, PostgreSQL, Railway
- External APIs: YouTube API, Yahoo Finance API, Cloudflare Radar API, RSS
The developer notes this started as a personal tool for monitoring breaking news and has grown from there. The app is live at https://beholder.news.
📖 Read the full source: r/ClaudeAI
👀 See Also
Claude Code Audits 80-Component React Library Docs: Real Bugs Found, New Bug Introduced
A staff engineer used Claude Code to audit docs for an 80-component React library. It caught real bugs but also introduced new ones requiring a review pass.
Steam Game Development with Claude Code: Technical Review Process and Code Restructuring
A developer used Claude Code to build and publish a Steam game, detailing how it handled Steamworks SDK integration, depot configuration, and localization for 7 languages, but struggled with image specifications and hardcoded data structures.
OpenClaw bot connects n8n, WordPress, Airtable, and GHL for CRM automation
A non-developer used an OpenClaw bot to connect n8n, WordPress, Airtable, and GoHighLevel environments via Telegram chats, building a CRM and workflow system within a week. The bot consumed significant tokens but proved cheaper than hiring technical help.
Developer Builds Couples Therapy App with Claude, Shares Prompt Engineering Insights
A developer built TherapAI, a couples emotional wellness PWA where partners each get a private AI companion powered by Claude Sonnet. The developer shares five specific prompt engineering techniques that made Claude feel more human and less like a chatbot.