Matthew Lang

I’ve been building a fair number of Rails applications using Claude Code recently. Here are a few things I have built in the last few weeks using agentic coding:

1. An application to support my Jekyll blog - This application replaces the Micro.blog features that I lost when I cancelled my subscription. I can now blog with just my phone if needed.
2. A bookmarking application - I’ve wanted this for a while, but it’s only been in the last few weeks that I’ve got round to this. It uses an algorithm to age bookmarks over time so I can keep an eye on the front page. If it falls off over time, then whatever. It beats the traditional bookmarking apps I have used in the past.
3. A dashboard of my projects - I use a slimmed-down version of Shape Up for my projects, but the hill chart feature in Basecamp is something that I find really useful. I’ve been implementing a similar tool for my own process.
4. An authentication portal for all of the above - This is a very recent addition, and while it’s not quite complete yet, it aims to remove the hindrance of having to remember different logins for different applications.

Agentic coding has made it much easier and quicker to iterate on personal applications. The productivity gains from this have been great, and the fact that these are just personal applications for me means I don’t need to worry too much about making the code understandable to others.

My recent adoption of SQLite3 as the database for these types of applications has made them much easier to manage and more cost-effective to run. As these applications are only for my use, I don’t need a dedicated database server; I can run the application on a server, and the SQLite database can sit in a shared folder for each application—a significant cost saver. Also, since each database is just a file, I can back up these files to another directory or copy them to my laptop as a backup.

What’s become clear from building these applications, though, is that I am trying to build some memory with these applications. The support application for my blog keeps me from losing the friction-free posting I had with Micro.blog. The bookmarking application provides an immediate picture of my recent bookmarks. The dashboard application provides context on where I am with my projects, and the authentication portal eliminates the need to remember multiple usernames and passwords. These applications not only help me on a technical level but also save me a lot of time by letting me avoid having to remember certain things.

Yes, these applications are built using agentic coding, tailored to what I need, and are most likely useless as open-source applications for others to use. Still, they work for me, and that’s enough—personal tools that fit my way of thinking, something that many SaaS applications can’t do.