Developer uses Claude to build entire dream journal app, removes all AI features from final product
Full-stack development with Claude
A developer on r/ClaudeAI shared their experience building a complete application called Somnia using Claude as their development partner. The solo founder described Claude as "essentially my entire team" throughout the weeks-long development process.
The workflow involved: describing what they wanted, having Claude write the code, testing on their phone, returning with what broke, and fixing it together. This cycle repeated approximately 200 times during development.
Technical stack built with AI assistance
The entire codebase was created through conversation with Claude, including:
- Next.js frontend
- Supabase backend
- Service worker
- Landing page
- Onboarding flow
- Database schema
- Every component
Decision to remove AI features
Initially, the developer planned to include multiple AI features in the product:
- AI-generated dream interpretations
- AI seed suggestions
- AI pattern analysis
After considering the target audience—people who want to journal dreams and program their subconscious—they realized users were seeking connection with their inner life, not outsourcing interpretation to a language model. The developer concluded that if someone plants an intention for their subconscious to process overnight, "the last thing they need is Claude telling them what it means."
Final product: mechanical dream journal
The app now contains zero AI features. The functionality is entirely mechanical:
- A 10-minute window opens before sleep time for writing what you want to dream about
- A window opens upon waking for recording what you dreamed
- The app shows whether your seed appeared in your dreams
The developer notes this approach feels right for this specific use case but raises the question of whether there are other products where hiding or removing AI features makes sense, even when AI was central to building the application.
The app is available to try at somniavault.me.
📖 Read the full source: r/ClaudeAI
👀 See Also
Developer Builds Custom Business System on Claude with Persistent Memory and Skill Compositions
A developer built a custom system on Claude Pro that goes beyond basic tasks, featuring 13 custom skills with defined inputs/outputs, persistent memory across sessions, automated daily briefings, and skill compositions that chain or parallelize operations. The system runs on Supabase, Cloudflare Pages, and vanilla HTML/CSS/JS.
Using Claude to Build PainSignal: A Database of 1,000 Real Business Problems
A developer used Claude Code to build PainSignal, a platform that organizes 1,000 real business problems from industries like trucking and cleaning. Claude handled data classification, opportunity clustering, and app concept generation.
Trading Algorithm Rebuild: From Win Rate to Est. PoP and Smart Pre-Filtering
A developer rebuilt their stock trading scanner to replace misleading 'Win Rate' calculations with accurate 'Est. PoP' (Estimated Probability of Profit) using N(d2) at breakeven prices, added market-metrics pre-filtering that reduced API calls by 85%, and implemented a three-outcome expected value model.
Why AI Won't Speed Up Your Development Processes – Focusing on Bottlenecks
Frederick Vanbrabant argues that AI won't automatically speed up software processes unless you fix upstream bottlenecks like vague requirements, as illustrated with Gantt charts and a deep dive into 'The Goal' and 'The Toyota Way'.