Replit for rapid prototyping as a solo dev

I spent about $50 in the past month alone. Was it worth it?

Sparing the details which I will eventually get into, I don’t think AI-assisted dev will go far if the user/ prompter has unsound asks. Some training goes a pretty long way.

For more complex setups (custom integrations, auth, backend), a non-technical user will likely get into a lot of mess and create a bunch of hidden bugs, if one even gets a prototype up and running at all.

For simpler setups (no-backend, custom domain), it is can be a massive timesaver to be able debug directly in the IDE.

Parameters for this article:

• Have you tried cursor or bolt? No, I haven’t. So I won’t bother comparing (yet, just installed cursor!) This is just a reflection piece of how I used Replit on my mostly solo “dev” journey.
• How often do you use Replit: quite often as my main dev/ IDE for full month of January for mainly hobbyist projects.
• How do you use Replit: I am not an engineer by training (beyond a bootcamp) and some rogue projects. I would provide some UI reference, some code snipplets for existing projects. I may make some opinionated recommendations on what stack is preferred based on what I am familiar with/ what I can maintain…