Writing a to-do app with AI took 4 months, complex Agent configuration called not worth it
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An author who teaches AI-assisted programming says it took him about 4 months and about 50 commits to complete his own to-do app with AI. He attributes the time to highly personalized requirements and subjective result verification, so he had to stay closely involved in the development loop at all times. Based on this experience, he believes that in software scenarios where verification is difficult or feedback cycles are long, complex Agent configuration has limited benefit, and one should rely more on engineering practices such as clear specifications, modularization, testing and review.
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- Hacker News AIIt Took Me 4 Months to Build a Todo App with AI
The author explains that building a highly personalized todo app took roughly 50 commits over four months because validating the solution is subjective and required repeated trial and error, making complex agentic setups unhelpful. At the startup Softfight, the opposite problem applies: feedback loops are extremely long, so agents cannot feasibly learn from mistakes and human-written specs remain essential. The author argues that more complex agentic setups pay off only where verification and validation are easier, such as building repeatedly for a narrow niche.
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