CodePen 2.0, State of CSS 2026 results, Hacktoberfest preparations, MDN MCP server, and more | Front End News #115

CodePen 2.0, State of CSS 2026 results, Hacktoberfest preparations, MDN MCP server, and more

— Front End News #115 | 1 September 2026 —

Welcome everyone to the 115th issue of Front End News.

In this edition, we talk about the launch of CodePen 2.0, take a peek at what's new in ECMAScript 2026, and review the results of the State of CSS 2026 survey. Hacktoberfest preparations are ongoing with a new format, and MDN has released its own MCP server.

We stay up to date with Baseline updates and additions to the Web Platform thanks to the Chrome Web Dev Blog. In other Browser News, Chrome has reached version 152, Firefox released version 154, and Safari pushed the 26.6 update. Polypane 30 is out too, and Vivaldi made a large update with version 8.

Harry Roberts has launched a new weekly series dedicated to web performance, updated every Wednesday. There are already a good number of entries, so you have plenty to read while waiting for the next article.

We have a large number of high-profile targets on the Release Radar: Angular 22, Astro 7, Babel 8, Electron 44, Ember 7, Ionic Framework 9, npm 12, TypeScript 7, and WordPress 7. There's more on the list, so have a look for yourself.

As usual, there's a nice curated selection of Front End Resources for all your needs. The resource repository also receives a major update, making it easier to browse all the goodies listed there.

This issue also includes two new sections. The Developer Creator Club is my way to shout out some great developers that we learned a lot from, along with ways we can support them in these trying times. I am also including some articles that I find genuinely useful to advance our craft and knowledge.

Last but not least, I am myself searching for new opportunities, with a focus on the front-of-the-frontend, either in general or on the Shopware platform in particular. You can find ways to contact me on my website.

The Launch of CodePen 2.0

CodePen has been a staple in the web development landscape for a long time. While new features arrived along the way, they were built on top of the existing platform.

Version 2.0 brings a new, more modular architecture, prepared for future expansion. It also includes some great built-in features. Each Pen has its own version system, its own file system, and ca be deployed on subdomain in the format *.codepen.app. And the list goes on.

What's new in ECMAScript 2026

Each yearly version of ECMAScript brings new features. Paweł Grzybek has been evaluating these updates since 2016, and he does it again for this year's release.

The State of CSS 2026 Results

We got the results for the State of CSS 2026 survey, and they are very interesting. At a glimpse, Anchor Positioning is the most expected new feature and the cause of the most headaches, because browsers have not managed to implemented it properly. View Transitions and the if() function sit on the second and third place on the most requested list. More info is available at the link below.

Preparations for Hacktoberfest 2026: AI belongs to everyone

Hacktoberfest is a series of events dedicated to open-source software development. This year, there will be more than 300 community events worldwide.

If previous editions focused on the number of contributions each person made, the recent rise of AI has made this approach unfeasible. Instead, the events will focus on hands-on building, experimentation, and learning with open-source AI and open-weight models.

The 2026 edition will run in partnership with Major League Hacking (MLH) and DEV.

Introducing the MDN MCP server

MDN is now ready for the AI age with its own MCP server. The AI assistants and agents can now access accurate information about the web platform. It's also easier to get this info directly in your IDE, without opening a separate browser window.

💻 Browser News

Web Platform Updates

We continue to find what additions to the Baseline happened in the "monthly digest" articles:

The "New to the Web Platform in..." series continues with new entries for May, June, July, and August 2026:

Chrome

Chrome 149 brings CSS gap decorations, disconnecting WebSockets for bfcache, and Intl.Locale variants. The MCP server and CLI of Chrome DevTools for agents are now officially stable. Gemini can provide CSS code completion. Color contrast can now also be checked using the Advanced Perceptual Contrast Algorithm (APCA), alongside the traditional AA/AAA contrast checks.

Chrome 150 adds support for text that scales to the full width thanks to the CSS text-fit property, and borders can now be much more creative thanks to the CSS background-clip: border-area. DevTools now supports more CSS at-rules, along with better security and cross-origin hardening.

Chrome 151 brings the new <usermedia> capability element, declarative manual slot assignment for shadow DOM, and new performance entries for soft navigations and interaction-driven paints. DevTools gets more capable tools for AI agents, detailed CSS specificity breakdowns, improved memory debugging, and several extension and security updates.

Chrome 152 expands JavaScript access to pseudo-elements such as ::backdrop, ::scroll-marker, and ::view-transition, introduces the CPU Performance API, and adds Connection Allowlists for tighter control over external network requests. DevTools gets improved request replay and payload inspection, better support for modern CSS and custom elements, soft-navigation Core Web Vitals in Live Metrics, and the ability to export console tables as Markdown or CSV.

Firefox

Firefox 151 brings better protection against fingerprinting, support for the Web Serial API, native PDF merging, and the option to select your location in the built-in VPN.

Firefox 152 reorganized the Settings panel, brings experimental support for the JPEG XL format, and improves the use of passkeys via the WebAuthn Related Origin Request feature.

Firefox 153 brings HDR video playback on Windows and support for Intl.LocaleInfo. The Containers feature helps you keep different activities separate, with cookies and ad tracking being isolated to their own containers.

Firefox 154 adds support for the text-box-trim and text-box-edge CSS properties, the sibling-index() and sibling-count() CSS functions, and new methods for Iterator.prototype.

Polypane

Polypane 30 brings you Playgrounds, so that you can open any local directory as an HTTPS URL. Chromium 152 runs under the hood; the Network panel gets major improvements, and the video recording feature is now faster, smoother, and can include sound.

Vivaldi

Vivaldi 8 brings a new design overhaul, named "Unified". It allows for a lot of customization, including six preset layouts and several thousand themes. Mobile versions receive a native PDF viewer, and Android users receive Accordion tabs.

Vivaldi 8.1 focuses on delivering improvements and fixing issues. Android users get more options to customize their preferences. On iOS, it is now easier to migrate from Safari to Vivaldi.

WebKit

Safari 26.6 updates WebAssembly’s streaming compilation paths and includes multiple fixes for issues related to CSS, service workers, networking, extensions, and WebRTC.

🚀 Web Performance

Harry Roberts started a weekly series dedicated to web performance: Web-Perf Wednesdays. If this area is of any interest to you, you'll hardly find a better teacher.

📡 The Release Radar

The Release Radar always felt "not-quite-right" to me. So I'll run a little experiment: I'm going to focus on breaking releases, as I did in the previous issue. On top of that, I will only mention the latest major updates for a handpicked number of packages.

🛠️ Front End Resources

I have refactored the Front End Resources repository. There are now separate listings for each category and a tag cloud that allows more accurate filtering of the available resources.

There's more where that came from. Explore the rest of the Front End Resource collection.

🏆 The Developer Creator Club

I am starting a new section dedicated to developers who create content, code, courses, and other products that help us become better at our craft.

Times are difficult for many independent creators, and they could use our support to keep making useful things for the community.

Important note: I am listing these products to help more people discover them. I have not purchased or reviewed them, so I cannot personally vouch for their quality, value, or results. Please evaluate each product based on the information provided by its creator and the creator's established work and reputation.

Ahmad Shadeed

Ahmad is a senior UX Designer and front-end engineer known for fast, creative problem-solving and solid CSS/layout systems.

Josh Comeau

Josh is a self-proclaimed "indie hacker" who dedicates all his time to educating other developers.

Kevin Powell

Kevin is a full-time educator and self-proclaimed "CSS Evangelist", aiming to "help people fall in love with CSS".

Sara Soueidan

Sara is an independent web user interface developer, author, speaker, and educator. She works at the intersection of design and code, and is a strong champion of accessibility.

📑 Interesting articles

For many years, I shared interesting articles with my colleagues. So I decided to share them here too. Here's some interesting and useful stuff I've read recently.

Wrapping things up

Ukraine is still suffering from the Russian invasion. To find ways to help, please read Smashing Magazine's article We All Are Ukraine 🇺🇦 or contact your trusted charity.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, there are a couple of ways to support it:

Each of these helps me out, and I would appreciate your consideration.

That's all I have for this issue. Have a great and productive week, keep yourselves safe, and spend as much time as possible with your loved ones. I will see you again next time!