Initial (vibe) commit

TLDR:

in this article I described how I created motyl.dev in less than an hour using vercel v0, what worked and what didn't.

What is V0?

V0 is a platform that allows you to build and deploy web applications using AI. It's a bit like ChatGPT, but for building web applications. It's in early stages and it's not perfect, but it's a lot of fun to play with.

How I created motyl.dev

Vercel's v0 platform recently provided an extraordinary "vibe coding" experience, allowing me to build a working prototype of a personalized frontend developer newsletter landing page with a CMS in less than an hour. This rapid development was at least 10x faster than traditional manual coding, demonstrating the immense potential of AI-driven development.

The Genesis of a Prototype

My journey with v0 began with a simple request:

a landing page to collect email addresses for a newsletter aimed at frontend developers. I want a professional platform delivering expert-level articles.

It worked 🚀 V0's initial response provided a solid foundation, featuring a clean design, an email collection form, and sections for value proposition and testimonials (fake ones for now but I will get real ones soon - I promise 😄 ).

The real magic, however, started when I began personalizing the experience. As a Software Developer and with a passion for Functional Programming, Software Craftsmanship (recently) AI, I wanted the page to reflect my unique identity and expertise. V0 seamlessly integrated these elements, transforming the generic template into a bespoke representation of my professional ethos, complete with a philosophy (provided in prompt).

From Concept to Code: Iterative Refinement

The iterative nature of the conversation with v0 was where its power truly shone. I continued introducing new concepts and challenging its initial outputs.

A critical requirement was the ability to manage articles. V0 ingeniously implemented a full-fledged Admin CMS with a login page, an article editor supporting Markdown and code snippets (with VS Code-like highlighting), and dynamic article pages.

what youll lern from me section divs are not even, make them aligned. In next step add /admin page where I can login and add articles (like in CMS), added articles should be displayed on /slug-to-article pages, autogenerated slug based on article title, editor should allow easy paste of code snippets (make sure typescript is supported) and the snippets should be displayed for the user highlighted (in vs-code like style), change color palette to dark with purple accents, add butterfly motive somhere in the background, but not agrressive

This was a monumental addition, drastically expanding the scope of the project. (later I decided to rewrite this functionality but it is not part of this story 😉 )

Not everything worked as expected

The aesthetic underwent a significant transformation. I requested a dark theme with purple accents and a subtle butterfly motif in the background, aiming for a modern, tech-forward, yet elegant look.

change theme add some puple accents, add butterfly image in backgorund (but make sure it des not steal users attention its just background touch)

V0 delivered... the same boring black and white design. I was disappointed, but I persisted. I asked again and again with the same result. Eventually it worked with following prompt:

page is too black and white, we need to maintain dark mode but add some more color accents, propose some palette to chose from before you will apply changes

V0 replayed with

```
I'll propose several color palette options that maintain the dark mode while adding vibrant accents. Here are some carefully curated palettes that would work well for a frontend developer newsletter:

Palette Options

1. Purple Butterfly (Current Enhanced)... (and so on)

```

And it worked 🚀 when I asked for "Purple Butterfly" palette.

Addressing Errors and Refining Functionality:

No development process is without its hiccups.

/admin reports Runtime Error Page not found

When the /admin page initially presented a "Page not found" error or redirects, v0 diligently diagnosed and rectified the issues, refining the authentication flow and ensuring data persistence using localStorage. This demonstrated its ability to debug and learn from its own outputs.

Email Notification Integration:

A crucial feature for a newsletter is subscriber notification.

when user clicks Join email titled "Greg, there is new newsletter subscriber!" should be sent to email "---I added my email here---" with a message that includes the email from the form

I requested an email to be sent to my professional address upon new subscriptions (for a POC this is enough). V0 integrated this seamlessly, utilizing the Resend API and navigating through several API-related errors (400, 403, and testing mode limitations) until the system was fully functional, demonstrating remarkable persistence and problem-solving.

The Power of "Vibe Coding"

The term "vibe coding" perfectly encapsulates the experience. It wasn't about writing lines of code; it was about expressing an intent, a "vibe," and letting the AI translate that into a functional application. The conversation flowed naturally, almost as if collaborating with an extremely proficient and endlessly patient developer. Each iteration built upon the last, progressively bringing the vision to life.

This accelerated development cycle, from an initial concept to a fully functional, aesthetically pleasing, and personalized prototype in less than an hour, is a testament to the transformative power of platforms like Vercel's v0. It significantly reduces the barrier to entry for creators and developers, allowing for rapid experimentation and iteration.

In upcoming articles, I'll delve deeper into specific aspects of this process, providing more technical insights and exploring the implications of AI-driven development for the future of software craftsmanship.
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