Ask HN: Do you still write code by yourself?

#1

Post by codst » Sun, Aug 30, 2026, 6:41 AM UTC

I want to ask programmers, do you really still write code by yourself?

Hey there, I’m not talking about vibe coding. I don’t really like it because we don’t get full control over our code, and our projects are not truly independent.

For me, I like to generate the roadmap for my project by myself. I write down everything on paper, and then I tell an AI agent all my requirements and everything I want to build.

I don’t ask AI agents to write everything and make a website in a few minutes.

I like getting code in blocks. Then I read it and adjust what I want before starting to write another block.

This way, I can write code faster, but I also understand the logic and where the outcome came from.

I don’t like asking an AI agent, “Make a professional website that no one has.”

I want to know what I’m building and why I’m building it.

So, do you still write code yourself?

Re: Ask HN: Do you still write code by yourself?

#2

Post by kdiffin- » Sun, Aug 30, 2026, 6:57 AM UTC

I write code for myself and for my brain nowadays.

Deliberately designing something myself, seeing how shit it is, and then refactoring is the way I learn.

At work I vibe code. I design the API, I tell it use this set of tools, this pattern for the frontend, use go with stdlib for the backend, and use sqlc for the database repo code. Write out a dockerfile and make commits using conventional commits. I'm opinionated, because I've coded by hand.

That's not to say coding with AI agents doesn't develop your opinions and your "reasoning" when coding with AI though. There's obv something to learn about context management and the specificity / broadness of your prompt.

But beyond it being just better for your brain and reasoning, coding by hand is just fucking amazing. I get so much joy from just coding something by hand and seeing it work. Owning the process end to end. From designing the architecture, to writing the code, to deploying it myself. From building the CI pipeline to writing the API definition there's so much joy in building software.

Re: Ask HN: Do you still write code by yourself?

#3

Post by DenisDolya » Sun, Aug 30, 2026, 9:12 AM UTC

I used to write code with an LLM, but now I'm actively trying to switch to writing it by hand. Why? The answer is simple: I've noticed that I'm getting dumber at programming.