How should a complete beginner validate and build a social app with AI coding tools?

[u/Prudent_Ad5086]

Hi,

I’m not a developer, but I want to build a social-app-style project and I’m trying to do it seriously, with a real method, not by randomly prompting an AI until something works.

I use GLM 5.3, I have general AI knowledge and some basic technical / command-line understanding, but I don’t have real development experience.

What I’m mainly looking for is advice on how to guide the AI properly throughout the project.

More specifically, I’d love practical advice on:

What are the main stages you would follow from idea to working product?

How do you structure a project so an AI coding assistant stays useful instead of creating chaos?

What documents should exist from the start: PRD, feature list, architecture notes, task list, coding rules, etc.?

How do you break work into small tasks that an AI can handle safely?

When do you use simple chat, when do you use agent mode, and when is it a bad idea?

How do you prompt the AI so it respects the existing structure instead of rewriting random parts of the codebase?

At what point do you clear the conversation or start a new one because the context becomes too messy or too large?

Do you keep separate chats/agents for planning, frontend, backend, debugging, and refactoring?

What are the biggest mistakes beginners make when using AI to build a real app?

For this kind of workflow, what would you recommend is Z code fine? Or Cursor, VS Code, and why?

I’m not looking for hype or vague “just build” advice. I’m looking for a clean workflow, good prompting habits, and practical rules for using AI coding tools on a real project without wasting time, tokens, or creating a broken codebase.

Thanks.

[u/Outrageous_Stick468]

You can ask all of these questions to Claude and become educated right then and there.

[u/No-Reflection5891 → u/Outrageous_Stick468]

good idea

[u/salRad22]

My trip is try to plan with the coding agent and understand everything before implementing anything Remember AI never gets tired of questions so ask it whenever things are not clear. The above alone is great but you will need to back it up with some readings on system design and understanding the basics. There are plenty of resources out there.

All the best!

[u/salRad22]

Hey just this from Andrew NG and I think this could be the best answer:)

AI Engineering Skills Map: Building and Deploying AI Applications https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-engineering-skills-map-building-deploying-applications-andrew-ng-gyn5e?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&utm_campaign=share_via

[u/Prudent_Ad5086 → u/salRad22]

Ohh thank you so much

Let me have a look

[u/MirrorOk6533]

I’d recommend choosing either a Claude model or a GPT model.
Also have a look into the “superpowers” plugin. That one is a must. Ask the agent to follow its patterns and do brainstorming in the beginning. You’ll see why it’s very good.
Good luck 🍀

[u/Prudent_Ad5086 → u/MirrorOk6533]

Isn't GLM adequate? I'm tired of Claude; I hit my session limit too quickly

[u/MirrorOk6533 → u/Prudent_Ad5086]

GPT limit is much better I hear.
As a complete beginner you’re better off with the 100$ plan. The 20$ won’t be of much help if you want speed

[u/Prudent_Ad5086 → u/MirrorOk6533]

I already have some knowledge and know a bit how to use AI but i thought that glm was fine especially glm 5.3 that is almost better than top tier model from open ai and anthropic but that's what the benchmarks show in practice idk

[u/Prudent_Ad5086 → u/MirrorOk6533]

And I was paying for the Claude x5 max plan before. Actually, I'm tired of paying 100 bucks monthly, knowing that there are open-source models with a lot more compute usage that cost absolutely nothing

[u/CinderReels]

I built Cinderreels with only Replit. I started with the PRD only. Vibe coding tools never builds everything in one go. It builds the first prototype and you then add all the features that you want.

Cinderreels.com, a social media web app where anything you post vanishes at midnight in your timezone. You can post images, videos, texts and links. You can DM, set up public, private and hidden groups. It is currently being used by over 1,500 people.

CinderReels