ThePrimeagen
ThePrimeagen (Michael Paulson) is an American programmer and streamer who worked as a software engineer at Netflix from 2013 and is known for programming streams and videos on Twitch and YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry, the Neovim plugin Harpoon and his Frontend Masters courses.
Contents11 sections
Key facts
2010Starts a Text-Message Marketing Startup
He recalls falling for programming while learning Java at Montana State University; in 2010 he started Via Text, a text-message marketing startup, and later worked at Schedulicity and WebFilings.[1]
2013Joins Netflix
He recalls that a Netflix manager invited him to interview because of his RxJS work; he joined in 2013, moved to California and worked on the TV team building Netflix’s television app.[1]
2018Begins Streaming While at Netflix
He says he began streaming around June 2018.[1]
His streaming career began while he was at Netflix with Extra Life, a charity streaming effort whose donations go to children’s cancer research; the name ThePrimeagen comes from the last level of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, a Nintendo game he loved as a child.[2]
September 9, 2022Guest on the Syntax Podcast
On episode 508 of the Syntax podcast he discussed his streaming setup, how he chooses what to stream, why he makes his kind of content and his love of Vim with hosts Wes BosWes BosWes Bos is a full-stack web developer and programming educator from Canada who creates online courses on JavaScript and web development and co-hosts the web development podcast Syntax with Scott Tolinski.Open the full entry and Scott Tolinski.[3]
May 2024Terminal Launches Coffee Ordering over SSH
In May 2024 Terminal.shop launched a store where coffee can be ordered only through SSH terminal commands; its first product was a 12-ounce bag of medium-roast Brazilian beans for $25.[4]
ThePrimeagen and TJ DeVries built the terminal store on a livestream using Charm’s tools, and the coffee quickly sold out.[5]
May 17, 2024Guest on the freeCodeCamp Podcast
On episode 124 of the freeCodeCamp podcast, which noted that he had left Netflix to stream programming full-time, he discussed going from a teacher predicting he would never accomplish anything to becoming an engineer, his love of “Nintendo Hard” games, and his view that AI will create more developer jobs than it destroys.[6]
March 22, 2025Appears on the Lex Fridman Podcast
He appeared on episode 461 of the Lex FridmanLex FridmanLex Fridman is a Soviet-born, US-raised computer scientist and podcast host who works as an MIT research scientist on human-AI interaction and autonomous driving. His Lex Fridman Podcast is known for hours-long conversations with guests including heads of state and technology leaders.Open the full entry Podcast, whose page describes him as a programmer named Michael Paulson; topics included his love of programming, his life story, his work at Netflix, Groovy and Falcor, breaking production, video-platform infrastructure, learning programming languages, Rust and performance.[7]
May 2025YouTube Channel Has 473,000 Subscribers
As of May 2025 his YouTube channel had 473,000 subscribers; he said working alone lacks the shared hard problem-solving he had with his team at Netflix.[2]
As of October 2026: Courses, Podcast and Open-Source Work
He teaches several courses on Frontend Masters (its page now branded Master.dev), including VIM Fundamentals, The Last Algorithms Course You’ll Need, Rust for TypeScript Developers, HTMX & Go and Everything You’ll Need to Know About Git; his instructor bio says he is married with four children.[8]
He co-hosts the podcast The Standup with Teej, covering software and everyday topics, with regular guests including Casey Muratori and Carson Gross.[9]
Harpoon, the Neovim file-navigation plugin he created, has about 9,200 stars on GitHub.[10]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
X: Public account: https://x.com/ThePrimeagen (opens in a new window)[7]
YouTube: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/ThePrimeagen (opens in a new window)[11]
YouTube: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/ThePrimeTimeagen (opens in a new window)[7]
Netflix: Official website: https://www.netflix.com/ (opens in a new window)[2]
Sources
- Transcript for ThePrimeagen: Programming, AI, ADHD, Productivity, Addiction, and God | Lex Fridman Podcast #461 (opens in a new window)
- Be Creative: ThePrimeagen’s Five-Hour Interview With Lex Fridman (opens in a new window)
- Supper Club × The Primeagen - Vim, Streaming, Rust, all Around Interesting Guy (opens in a new window)
- 美国初创公司新活：用 SSH 终端命令点咖啡 (opens in a new window) (in Chinese)
- A coffee shop for your terminal (opens in a new window)
- AI is Overrated – Why ThePrimeagen Ripped Out GitHub Copilot From His Code Editor [Podcast #124] (opens in a new window)
- #461 – ThePrimeagen: Programming, AI, ADHD, Productivity, Addiction, and God | Lex Fridman Podcast (opens in a new window)
- Learn from ThePrimeagen's courses | Master.dev (opens in a new window)
- The Standup with ThePrimeagen - Podcast - Apple Podcasts (opens in a new window)
- GitHub - ThePrimeagen/harpoon · GitHub (opens in a new window)
- ThePrimeagen (ThePrimeagen) · GitHub (opens in a new window)