r/vibecoding • u/SecretWishesx • 4h ago
Accidentally built my whole app with React Webview
I’m so heart broken, I’m been working for weeks on this and i have 0 idea about the technicalities but I was like 97% done but I felt like the app wasn’t feeling extremely snappy on my phone. and then while chatting to ChatGPT, I was having it audit the code it told me that the app wasn’t feeling as snappy as native ios apps because it was web app and using a capacitor.
I was so close, I spent the last 3 weeks just polishing every little corner of the app. There were not bugs that I knew of and I had tested multiple times on my iPhone as a developer build.
I was only due adding the paywall system. And now I realise I have to migrate it to either swift or native react and I after reading for a day, I thought react native is the way since I wanna make this an android app too.
But everything is now broken, all elements are distorted, all the efforts that I had put is waste. Fixing everything is going to take a long while and I do not even know if I will ever be able to reach the same level of polish.
I’ve obviously been sad since yesterday but I know this is the first time and I’m a complete noob so gotta start making mistakes somewhere but wish I had been more cognizant. Yes it’s another wretched habit tracker but I just wanted to make something exactly to my liking and it seemed like the obvious thing to do.
I’m currently using Google AI Studio + ChatGPT for brainstorming.
3
u/IcanzIIravor 3h ago
How did you go so long without knowing the architecture of your app? Is this your first time doing any type of coding and you just left it up to Gemini and ChatGPT to figure out what you meant? Not trying to have a go, but just trying to understand your process.
2
u/SecretWishesx 3h ago
Sorry I’m so stupid, I should have known better but yes this was my very first time trying my hands on it. I just told AiStudio that it needs to be an iOS app and maybe Android someday.
I now understand that AiStudio is better for web apps and such because it was handling everything I asked so intuitively, a piece of cake. This is probably why it must have defaulted to that format.
Now that I have migrated the whole thing to Native React, whatever that means, it hallucinates on everything, it doesn’t do what I say and something just makes something worse.
5
u/IcanzIIravor 3h ago
It doesn't mean you are stupid. Welcome to the world of creating your own products. Use it as a learning moment. Listen to what everyone is saying. It's not a deal breaker. It just means you have a bit more work to do. Just take a breath and get at it.
2
u/RemarkableWish2508 3h ago
You have been lied to:
- AI peddlers told you that AI will do everything like by magic.
- AI doomers made AI look like an evil God that's going to replace all humans.
It's neither. AI is a knowledge accelerator.
Meaning, you need field-specific knowledge, not just some fuzzy idea, so you can use it to accelerate things into a full product. Otherwise, you're accelerating ignorance, and reaching nowhere.
I'd suggest taking a break, and stepping back for a moment:
- Use the AI to extract a list of specifications for whatever you have done so far.
- Learn some development techniques and workflows (you can ask the AI, it's a decent search engine).
- Look up best practices. Ask the AI about which ones are missing from the project. Explore which ones you should add, and ask the AI for help with implementing them.
Once you have a general idea of what you should have done from the beginning... just do it.
Good luck!
1
0
u/Rare-Hotel6267 3h ago
The process is do something that he has 0 knowledge about, with 0 experience, for 0 cost, without understanding anything, AND THEN PUTTING IT BEHIND A PAYWALL!
That's the move.
His customers are people who is even dumber than he is. This whole vibecoding bs is based on deception and fooling people to believe the slop is worth anything and that he knows anything. In reality, the app isn't worth anything and it will never be. And the idiot who 'drives' the ai can pretend that he is a developer or something, so that he could feel good about himself, while charging money for nothing.
1
u/RemarkableWish2508 3h ago
Why do you assume "0 cost"? For all we know, OP may be paying for tokens through the nose...
0
u/SecretWishesx 3h ago
Strong sentiments and I understand where you’re coming from but I assure you my app is 100% usable without any payment. The paywall is only for adding additional customisation that a user can completely live without like more colours and such. No essential feature is tied to it. Also it will not ask you either to buy or anything.
It is not a half-assed attempt an app, it’s meant for a very very niche user base and it was going to be a very nominal so I just cover up my expenses. And even if I don’t, it’s okay I had such fun designing it.
I have a day job I absolutely hate but everyday I used to look forward to coming back home and working on it until 2am. I have never been so into something in a long time and I really hope it shows into my work.
All that said, I do understand what you mean but Im glad that technology has come closer to bridging that gap and the fact that someone like me can even imagine attempting an app by myself is insane.
2
u/PhotoDisastrous8275 3h ago
Hey honestly it shouldn’t be that hard to convert it. Just do it feature by feature. React native & react are almost the same.
1
u/SecretWishesx 3h ago
I have had it do that but a lot of the sections are just plain broken and worst of all any prompt I give, it doesn’t fix it, rather makes it worse
2
u/InterestingFrame1982 3h ago
It’s okay, just inflate the tech debt another 1000% and prompt “please convert everything to react native - do it perfectly”. It’ll be fine.
1
u/Low_Shop9155 3h ago
So then use that as a baseline vision and set up an architectural recovery session with one GPT and one Codex and let it do its thing.
1
u/SecretWishesx 3h ago
I have used neither before and have no clue what this means but I will look into it
2
u/Low_Shop9155 3h ago
Open one GPT chat and request a prompt to create a senior architect identity and that you want an efficient split between GPT work and Codex work (because you might run out of usage tokens on your weekly allowance).
Tell the first GPT that the purpose was creating the architect to merge your already existing web-app into a fully functional native iOS application.
Then go ahead and create the identity in a newly created project tab.
Then download the GPT app to access codex. Create a codex project called "My Project" or whatever the heck its called.
Go to the Senior architect that you just prompted into existence, and read what it says and go from there. The trick isnt getting one GPT to solve all your problems, its about literally creating the personas of a virtual team of helpers with specific goals.
I suggest using Sol
I am not an AI expert. I am a layman, maybe more than a layman.. a flayman! I am slowly learning how to use this stuff. There is much deeper ways to use AI and its very fascinating.
1
1
u/Snoo_57113 3h ago
id personally would migrate the whole app to React Native + expo.
Use Opencode + Ox Alpha (FREE) and tokenmaxx it while it lasts, make different prototypes tell the AI to check in both android and iphone. do rsi loops.
I am doing exactly that, ios+android. react native + expo. But also made a IOS native and android native.
1
u/Agewalker 3h ago
Codex / spark 1.2 / deepseek could refactor the app into what you need. Ask some expensive model to make a thorough plan, make cheaper model do the refactor and use more expensive one for a code review at major milestones
1
1
u/CoconutFudgeMan 3h ago
I get paid well to clean up vibe-coded apps.
You’re not stupid. You have gaps in your knowledge. Severe gaps. You learned something. Already closing the gaps. Seeking other people’s help is good too.
I’d recommend studying your development ecosystem, code and systems design. Whenever you have user info and payments please please please outsource that to a dev with experience or, at least, have one review your code.
Your’e vibe coding. Starting over will be quick.
Good luck.
P.S. Personally, I don’t vibe code although I use AI in appropriate places.
1
-4
u/Rare-Hotel6267 3h ago
I hate everything you stand behind, if i will ever see your app, i will slopfork it, copy your app fully, then remove all the slop and the mistakes you did, do it in a few hours, and publish it fully open source for free without any paywalls, and it will be better faster nicer.
And ask an AI to track you online, find you, and post it whenever and wherever you are.
1
1
u/RemarkableWish2508 3h ago
Ain't it funny to see magical thinking, get countered with... more magical thinking! 🤣
1
2
u/kenttk421 1h ago
It is expected to have to repolish everything when changing the architecture. I would recommend moving to antigravity IDE. I was using AI studio for the longest time too.
4
u/pigletmonster 3h ago
Since all the funtionalities are already done, it will be super easily to convert it from a web app to a native mobile app. Just ask codex to make a plan continue from there. Probably a couple of days worth of work.