Coding by feel: how an ordinary person built a database with Claude

It turns out that nowadays any person can write code directly with Claude. A Wired journalist decided to test this idea and created a full-fledged database for tracking "minor public grievances" — complaints from ordinary people about everyday problems. All this without a single day of programming experience. The result turned out to be unexpectedly successful.

What is vibe coding

"Vibe coding" is a relatively new term in development, denoting code written not based on deep knowledge of syntax and architecture, but rather on feel and general understanding of how everything works. This used to be impossible: without knowledge of a programming language and its rules, you couldn't write anything. But AI assistants (like Claude, ChatGPT) changed the equation. Now you can simply describe what you need, and AI will generate working code. This lowers the barrier to entry for people without technical education, giving them the ability to implement an idea on their own.

Experiment with a grievances database

The author chose an interesting task: create a system for tracking "minor grievances of the masses" — ordinary problems that people encounter in everyday life. Instead of hiring an expensive developer, he opened a dialogue with Claude. The process looked roughly like this: the author described what he needed, Claude suggested the architecture, wrote the code, and then explained each step. When errors arose, Claude helped catch and fix them. The work proceeded iteratively, in dialogue:

• Rough idea instead of detailed technical specification
• Interactive development — clarifications during dialogue
• Automatic explanation of syntax and logic
• Assistance with debugging and fixing errors
• Tips for improving code style

Result exceeded expectations

What came out? A working database. A usable interface. Code that doesn't crash during testing. Of course, this is not an enterprise solution for a multimillion-dollar company, but for an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) or prototype — it's perfect. And most importantly: an average person created in a few hours what would previously have required a freelancer or Junior developer. The author didn't even know where to look for the error in the code — Claude found it and explained it.

"I didn't even know where to start looking for the error in the code —

Claude found it in two seconds and explained why it was there"

What this means

Low-code development ceases to be just a trend or marketing slogan. If an average person can formulate a task in ordinary Russian language and get working software in a few hours — this truly changes the rules of the game. For startups, small businesses, freelancers, this means: stop waiting for "specialists" with experience and start doing it right now.