Building for an audience of one: starting and finishing side projects with AI
8 days ago
- #Zig programming
- #X11 optimization
- #AI-assisted development
- FastTab is a custom task switcher built in Zig using OpenGL for faster performance on X11 with KDE.
- AI, specifically Claude, was instrumental in developing FastTab despite the author's lack of experience with Zig or X11.
- The development process involved iterative conversations with Claude to create a detailed specification and milestones.
- Using containers and git was crucial for safely experimenting and reverting changes during development.
- Different AI tools like OpenCode and Claude Code were tried, with token limits being a challenge, especially with Zig.
- AI-assisted coding requires coding knowledge to ask the right questions and refine the output.
- AI-assisted coding is seen as a boon for side projects, enabling quicker prototyping and completion.