Start building with AI. Zero to shipped, step by step.
You do not need a CS degree or a bootcamp. You need the right AI, the right tool, and a cheap place to ship. Eight decisions, in the order you will face them, with one honest verdict each. This is the exact path this site took.
Click a step number to mark it done. Saved in your browser, no account needed.
Which AI should you use?
Pick your AI plan
The model matters less than people think - it changes every quarter. The plan you pay for matters more. Claude is the strongest for coding right now and most tools below can run on it. Do not overpay: compare real prices, limits and included models before subscribing to anything.
Our pickClaude, on the cheapest plan that fits your usage
Which coding tool?
Pick your coding agent
Two families: terminal agents (Claude Code, OpenCode) that work in any project from a shell, and AI editors (Cursor, Windsurf) that wrap VS Code. Our pick is a terminal agent - it works over SSH on a server, automates well, and does not tie you to one editor. Claude Code if you have a Claude plan, OpenCode if you want cheap.
Our pickClaude Code (a terminal agent)
Where will it run?
Choose your stack
Decide where your product lives before you write code - everything else flows from it. Stack A: a 5 EUR/mo VPS you own, direct-to-prod, SQLite, full control. Stack B: Cloudflare serverless (Pages + Workers + D1), zero servers to run, generous free tier. Pick A to understand and own everything; pick B to never think about a server.
Our pickA 5 EUR/mo VPS (Stack A)
Which framework?
Pick a boring framework
Pick what the AI knows deeply, not what is trendy. Astro for content-heavy sites and landing pages (it runs this site), with React islands where you need interactivity. On a VPS, a Python backend like Django or FastAPI is a fine choice too. Avoid exotic frameworks: the AI writes worse code in them, and you cannot judge that code yet.
Our pickAstro + React islands (or Django/FastAPI on a VPS)
Where do you code?
Set up where you develop
The counterintuitive pick: develop where it runs. Install Claude Code directly on the VPS and connect over SSH from anything - an old laptop, a tablet, your phone. No local environment drift, no "works on my machine". On Stack B you develop locally and deploy with one wrangler command.
Our pickClaude Code on the VPS, over SSH + tmux
What about the database and CMS?
SQLite is enough
You do not need Postgres, a managed database or a paid CMS on day one. One SQLite file (or Cloudflare D1, which is SQLite too) handles your users and your content; markdown files in your repo are your CMS, and the AI edits them for you. Zero external services, zero monthly fees, trivial backups.
Our pickSQLite on the VPS, or D1 on Cloudflare
How do you ship it?
Ship direct to prod
No CI pipeline, no staging, no Kubernetes. Push to GitHub, build on the box, restart the service - live in under a minute, rollback in one command. Then put your domain behind Cloudflare DNS and you get TLS, caching and a shield in front of your VPS for free.
Our pickgit push + one deploy script
How do you get good?
Understand what the AI writes
Shipping is step one; not being hostage to your own codebase is the real skill. Short lessons on React, Git and the web stack teach you to read and judge AI code, with an AI tutor on every page. Daily flashcard reviews (spaced repetition) make it stick in minutes a day. And get your product indexed from day one.
Our pick15 minutes a day: one lesson + one flashcard review
Ready? Start at step 1.
Pick your AI plan first - it is the only step that costs money, so get it right.
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