Comment by simonw
1 day ago
If the complexity grows beyond what it makes sense to do without React I'll have the LLM rewrite it all in React!
I did that with an HTML generation project to switch from Python strings to Jinja templates just the other day: https://github.com/simonw/claude-code-transcripts/pull/2
Simon, you're starting to sound super disconnected from reality, this "I hit everything that looks like a nail with my LLM hammer" vibe is new.
My habits have changed quite a bit with Opus 4.5 in the past month. I need to write about it..
What's concerning to many of us is that you've (and others) have said this same thing s/Opus 4.5/some other model/
That feels more like chasing than a clear line of improvement. It's interrupted very different from something like "my habits have changed quite a bit since reading The Art of Computer Programming". They're categorically different.
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Looking forward to hearing about how you're using Opus 4.5, from my experience and what I've heard from others, it's been able to overcome many obstacles that previous iterations stumbled on
Please do. I'm trying to help other devs in my company get more out of agentic coding, and I've noticed that not everyone is defaulting to Opus 4.5 or even Codex 5.2, and I'm not always able to give good examples to them for why they should. It would be great to have a blog post to point to…
Can you expound on Opus 4.5 a little? Is it so good that it's basically a superpower now? How does it differ from your previous LLM usage?
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Reality is we went from LLMs as chatbots editing a couple files per request with decent results. To running multiple coding agents in parallel to implement major features based on a spec document and some clarifying questions - in a year.
Even IF llms don't get any better there is a mountain of lemons left to squeeze in their current state.
That would go over on any decently sized team like a lead balloon.
As it should, normally, because "we'll rewrite it in React later" used to represent weeks if not months of massively disruptive work. I've seen migration projects like that push on for more than a year!
The new normal isn't like that. Rewrite an existing cleanly implemented Vanilla JavaScript project (with tests) in React the kind of rote task you can throw at a coding agent like Claude Code and come back the next morning and expect most (and occasionally all) of the work to be done.
And everyone else's work has to be completely put on hold or thrown away because you did the whole thing all at once on your own.
That's definitely not something that goes over well on anything other than an incredibly trivial project.
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I’m going to add my perspective here as they seem to all be ganging up on you Simon.
He is right. The game has changed. We can now refactor using an agent and have it done by morning. The cost of architectural mistakes is minimal and if it gets out of hand, you refactor and take a nap anyway.
What’s interesting is now it’s about intent. The prompts and specs you write, the documents you keep that outline your intended solution, and you let the agent go. You do research. Agent does code. I’ve seen this at scale.
Let's say I'm mildly convinced by your argument. I've read your blog post that was popular on HN a week or so ago and I've made similar little toy programs with AI that scratch a particular niche.
Do you care to make any concrete predictions on when most developers will embrace this new normal as part of their day to day routine? One year? Five?
And how much of this is just another iteration in the wheel of recarnation[0]? Maybe we're looking at a future where we see return to the monoculture library dense supply chain that we use today but the libraries are made by swarms of AI agents instead and the programmer/user is responsible for guiding other AI agents to create business logic?
[0] https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/w/wor.htm
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