Vibe coding your readme files
You've probably heard of something called ~vibe coding~. It’s a term for developing software with the help of AI. It’s like working with a personal robot that creates code for you!
Developing software this way is nothing short of incredible. Imagine seeing a robot churn out an entire app in minutes! It’s mind-blowing! I was a developer for a long time and still am somedays but was never the sort of developer that could crank out new code without some sort of help - either from blog/forum posts or code snippets saved from previous projects. Maybe it's because I've worked with so many programming languages over the years that my brain just can't keep all the syntax straight.
Using AI for development has been really fun. It's a real timesaver when it comes to validating an idea. I don't have to spend months on something only to realize I'm no longer in love with the idea or want to take it in a different direction. But one of my favourite parts of developing with AI is actually pretty mundane - building the README file. Every project has one and I've been using them to store all the details about a project, including links to the latest documentation online for all the technologies I'm using. It helps when coming back to the project after a bit of time away.
Now, you don't really have to think about it. Finish writing the first iteration of your project and then ask the robots to generate a README file with all the information you want. For example:
Rewrite the readme to include details of the repo and the structure of the code. Provide key links to the technologies used and some sample terminal commands to get things working
Admittedly this is a pretty lazy prompt but what it gave me was fantastic.
So while the AI robots are building my code and neatly documenting everything in the README file, I'm freed up to focus on what really matters—figuring out if my idea is actually good, planning new features, or deciding how the user experience should feel. And best of all, I always know exactly where to find the important details when I come back to the project later.