When people say they don't write the code, they mean they don't type it, but if there are not vibe coding garbage they are still watching what the agent outputs, and redirects it when it goes wrong. Instead of fixing the code manually they prompt the LLM.
Ask HN: How do you offload all coding to AI?
21–30 of 30 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you offload all coding to AI?
#22I don't look at much code in my own work anymore. Sometimes, I'm just lazy. But mostly, I trust but verify. I spent a lot of months looking at every line, hand-editing, etc. I built a fair bit of trust. I learned the best way to assign tasks and structure the work. Beyond that, I definitely keep the architecture for myself. And I do believe that prior manual fluency is a requirement for being this hands off.
Re: Ask HN: How do you offload all coding to AI?
#23[dead]
Re: Ask HN: How do you offload all coding to AI?
#24[flagged]
Complete opposite in my experience. AI does best in a well established code base where it can use existing patterns as context. When you let it loose on a greenfield project and don't carefully and explicitly keep it in check you get back crap.
Re: Ask HN: How do you offload all coding to AI?
#25[dead]
Re: Ask HN: How do you offload all coding to AI?
#26The framing of "offload" might be the wrong model entirely. I don't offload coding to AI — I govern it.
I work with a two-layer setup: one AI agent as architect and coordination layer, another as implementer. Every cross-file change requires a documented amendment before a single line is written. The AI reads the decision log before touching any file.
The result is that the AI produces something coherent and maintainable — not because it's smarter, but because it has constraints. Without them my experience matches what others describe here: it goes rogue and changes unrelated things.
The overhead is real but it's architectural overhead, not AI overhead. You'd need the same discipline with a junior human developer.
Re: Ask HN: How do you offload all coding to AI?
#27Do not wait for your agent, launch parallel tasks when your agent is working. Then it does not matter anymore how long your agent takes, as long as you always have at least one idle agent.
Codehydra (https://github.com/stefanhoelzl/codehydra) can help you with this workflow.
Re: Ask HN: How do you offload all coding to AI?
#28[dead]
Re: Ask HN: How do you offload all coding to AI?
#29[dead]
Re: Ask HN: How do you offload all coding to AI?
#30[dead]