Shipping Something Small, Quickly

The Goal

Build and run a complete command-line todo list app in 30 minutes.

Features:

• Add tasks
• List tasks
• Mark tasks as done
• Save tasks to a file (persistence)

Step 1: Plan (3 minutes)

Before coding, decide what you want:

• Storage: Simple JSON file
• Interface: Command-line commands
• Scope: Just the basics - no due dates, priorities, etc.

Step 2: Bootstrap (5 minutes)

Create the project structure:

Step 3: Generate the Core (10 minutes)

Use this prompt to generate the main code:

Create a simple command-line todo app in Python with these requirements:

1. Commands:
 - python todo.py add "task description" - adds a task
 - python todo.py list - shows all tasks
 - python todo.py done 1 - marks task #1 as done

2. Storage: Read/write tasks from tasks.json

3. Format in tasks.json:
 [{"id": 1, "text": "Buy milk", "done": false}]

4. Keep it simple:
 - Use only standard library (json, sys)
 - No classes needed, just functions
 - Print helpful messages

Generate the complete todo.py file.

Step 4: Review and Apply

The AI should generate something like this (your version may differ):

python
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import json
import sys

TASKS_FILE = "tasks.json"

def load_tasks():
    try:
        with open(TASKS_FILE, "r") as f:
            return json.load(f)
    except FileNotFoundError:
        return []

def save_tasks(tasks):
    with open(TASKS_FILE, "w") as f:
        json.dump(tasks, f, indent=2)

def add_task(text):
    tasks = load_tasks()
    new_id = max([t["id"] for t in tasks], default=0) + 1
    tasks.append({"id": new_id, "text": text, "done": False})
    save_tasks(tasks)
    print(f"Added task #{new_id}: {text}")

def list_tasks():
    tasks = load_tasks()
    if not tasks:
        print("No tasks yet!")
        return
    for task in tasks:
        status = "✓" if task["done"] else " "
        print(f"[{status}] {task['id']}. {task['text']}")

def mark_done(task_id):
    tasks = load_tasks()
    for task in tasks:
        if task["id"] == task_id:
            task["done"] = True
            save_tasks(tasks)
            print(f"Marked task #{task_id} as done!")
            return
    print(f"Task #{task_id} not found")

def main():
    if len(sys.argv) < 2:
        print("Usage: python todo.py [add|list|done] [args]")
        return

    command = sys.argv[1]

    if command == "add" and len(sys.argv) > 2:
        add_task(" ".join(sys.argv[2:]))
    elif command == "list":
        list_tasks()
    elif command == "done" and len(sys.argv) > 2:
        mark_done(int(sys.argv[2]))
    else:
        print("Unknown command or missing arguments")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Review checklist:

• Only uses standard library (json, sys)
• Has all three commands (add, list, done)
• Loads and saves from tasks.json
• Matches what you asked for

Step 5: Test (5 minutes)

Expected output:

[ ] 1. Buy groceries
[ ] 2. Call mom
[ ] 3. Finish project

Then after marking #1 done:

[✓] 1. Buy groceries
[ ] 2. Call mom
[ ] 3. Finish project

Step 6: Commit and Ship (2 minutes)

bash
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git add .
git commit -m "Complete todo app with add, list, and done commands"

Common Issues

What You Built

In 30 minutes, you:

• Planned a small project
• Generated code with AI
• Reviewed it for correctness
• Tested all features
• Committed your work

Next Steps

Ideas to extend this (good vibecoding practice):

• Add a remove command
• Add due dates
• Add priorities (high/medium/low)
• Save to a different file format

Each extension is another opportunity to practice the vibecoding workflow.

Congratulations! You've completed the Vibecoding track. For more advanced topics, check out the Engineer Track or explore Patterns.