As a lazy, ex-programmer, I feel that tools like Antigravity and Codex have changed my daily workflow, and despite some major drawbacks, I can’t recommend them enough.
For the better part of a decade, I felt somewhat ashamed that I had allowed the skills I acquired during my Computer Science studies to languish and practically disappear. 100% this is ‘my’ problem, but like many graduates of my era (early 2010’s) I never got stuck in one area of the tech industry to use the programming skills I gained during my 3 years of University studies.
I’ve worked on small projects here and there, but unfortunately I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t find programming all that fun or interesting. It always felt like a scratch. It is a means to an end. I liked the creation of the idea, the conceptualization, but not the implementation. I know, I know, maybe these ideas you scream at the screen should never come to fruition. This is an incredibly fair criticism.
The idea of a “vib-code” session feels lazy – because in many ways it is. Yes, I feel like my mini-projects aren’t worth doing if I can’t get out of my own way and lay the groundwork. Thing is, that’s how I felt until I used Codex and Antigravity a few months ago.
If these tools are available and you know the limitations or at least have an idea of what you are doing. I think of it as “delegating” to a developer, a developer who relies on very clear and structured information to do the right things, or you’ll run into all sorts of problems. I wouldn’t throw the junior dev under the bus, but some of my developer friends like these tools to junior devs – so please don’t shoot the messenger!
Special programs for daily life
There are several reasons why my mind has completely changed. As much as “productivity” can be a very toxic trait or used to sell a snake oil solution to your daily product, I can’t deny that one of the biggest obstacles in my time is the tasks you do over and over and find boring to do over and over again.
Think watermarking images, making adjustments in After Effects, compressing and converting files, adjusting colors in Photoshop, all that stuff and more. No problem separately. Massive, incredibly tiring and a lot time consuming.
For years I’ve been looking for extensions, tools, programs, and scripts to try to automate the monotony. Then, after a regular chat, I have everything related to the process colleague Jeff Benjamin On this exact thing, he suggested, “Why don’t you try using the Codex to set it up for you?”
I was confused as to why I hadn’t thought of this. I thought I was on board with what new technology could provide, but it never crossed my mind to test the waters on this one. I’ve tried Gemini a few times to create some scripts to facilitate some animations in After Effects, but I just found it a bad experience to do anything with the chat style UI code. Can I really code vibe to meet my expectations? It turns out you really can.
A custom interface designed to help you conceptualize and build an implementation plan before letting AI create that vision is instantly more appealing. After a few hours of searching, I feel like I’ve opened Pandora’s box – at least in a good way.
Rather than buying a generic plugin or add-on for potentially hundreds of pounds or dollars, I was fascinated by the idea that I could get AI to design a unique tool for my specific needs. It blew my mind and made me feel so stupid about something I should have known or at least tried.
I want to point out that I wouldn’t be so stupid as to claim that “I” built this. No, I effectively gave the idea to Gemini, ChatGPT or Claude.
For half a year, I have developed many tools for personal use. Things that pretty much automate those annoying little tasks. I’ve improved processes, I’m reclaiming time to spend on other areas of my work, or at least I can spend equally more time on each area than I could before.
Personal on the product
We’re told vibe-coding is possible for mass-release products. I agree 100% with most software developers that unless you can go back with a fine-toothed comb and know exactly how your app works, you probably shouldn’t publish apps with vibe code. Maybe not exactly line by line, but understanding the ins and outs is critical to both troubleshooting and troubleshooting.
Yes, you can make a prototype in minutes, but it can take hours, days or even weeks to get something working. Many people may not have the patience to see a project through from start to finish, and this is a huge pitfall. You can get 80-90% of the project “done” and spend more time fixing the 10%. To be clear, this is something that has driven me away from old software engineering in the past; it can simply be hit or miss with a tool to try to solve these problems.
That’s not without mentioning the problems of releasing such powerful tools to those who don’t have a chance to really understand what they’re doing with them, because vibe-coded apps can get out of hand very quickly without serious guardrails and direction. Spaghetti code begets spaghetti code, but if your project is only for personal or hyper-local use, this isn’t much of a problem. These are the risks inherent in security something you should 100% consider before trying to build things at any scale. Keep in mind that you may have no idea about potential exploits. Hence why my projects are always local.
Even with these pitfalls or pain points, I can’t help but recommend a little vibe coding if you have an idea and want to make it happen.
with Googlebook will be available later this year vibe code apps have the potential to fill the “app gap”. Maybe it’s a little buggy, but it can be a combined experience that will be better than the sum of its parts.
If that’s true, now is the time to give Antigravity, Codex, or Claude Code a real shot. I can’t recommend it enough.
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