by Jason Snell
Vibe coding a personal task manager
Techdirt’s Mike Masnick was frustrated with his task manager, so he built his own using AI tools:
This is the core problem with all productivity software: you’re renting someone else’s vision of how work should happen… So I decided to build exactly what I needed: daily planning like Intend, but with integrated future task management, and none of the philosophical baggage (some of which may be great for others, but didn’t mesh with me!). A tool that adapts to me, not the other way around.
Here’s where the “vibe coding” magic happens — and it’s way simpler than you think. I started with two popular AI coding tools (Bolt and Lovable) and just… asked them to build what I wanted. In plain English. No technical specs, no wireframes, no user stories.
One of the best things about user automation has always been that you can create bespoke features that perfectly fit into your personal workflows. It’s fascinating to see how AI tools can potentially allow non-developers to create much more sophisticated tools than past forms of automation ever could.1
See also: friend of the site Harry McCracken’s personal vibe-coded notetaking app, cleverly named Doolee.
- Naming his personal task masterer after Alex Horne was the icing on the cake. ↩