Some people say that AI will replace developers, and some people say that it's almost useless.

I disagree with both. AI is an awesome tool, and everyone who won't learn how to use AI will be replaced soon.

Reader, that's why in this email I'll share step-by-step instructions on how you can use AI to become a 10x developer.

For the last year, I was trying various AI tools for coding, and I believe I found the best combination as of August 2024.

Step 0: Do Not Use AI

If you want to be actually good with AI, you need NOT to USE it in the first place. Let me explain.

AI is like a magic pill that 5x your speed, and 5x your focus. But it doesn't make you a better developer.

5 x 0 = 0;

10 x 0 = 0;

100000 x 0 = 0;

If you are zero, maybe AI will help you to create something, but AI won't make you a good developer.

I was writing code super fast even before AI.

So can you imagine what AI did to me? Now I can be like Flash ⚡️ 😅!

So if you want to become a good developer who can create stuff very fast, and not just another 'average' dev who struggles to find a job, I recommend not using AI while you studying and building your first projects.

Because if AI is writing code and solving problems for you, you won't learn a lot, and won't develop problem-solving abilities that are necessary for every developer.

Yes, studying is slow. But it's a long-term game. You are slow now so you can be way faster than others later.

Step 1: Claude

If you already know how to code well, and you've built at least 3-5 projects WITHOUT AI, you should be in a good state to start using it, to speed up your work.

The best FREE tool to start with is not Chat GPT. Maybe in future, they'll release an update and become the best in the game again, but right now the best AI for coding is Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

Last week I built an admin panel for ZaCode that looks like this, just with 3 prompts:

It's not the 'best code I've ever seen', but it does the job.

I added some fixes & improvements and implemented them into our codebase and BOOM, the job is done.

For the prompt, I just mentioned what tech stack I use, and what I want to build. Potentially you can also add a couple of code samples, so it knows your code writing style.

Instead of 3 hours, it took me 30 minutes to build a multipage form. Isn't that cool?

To start using Claude you can just go to their website and register for free.

The free version is as good as the paid one, but if you code a lot, you'll hit the free limit and gonna have to upgrade to a $20/month subscription, which I believe is worth it, considering how much time is saves.

It is still not capable of writing super complex functionalities, but it definitely can speed your work up significantly.

Step 2: Cursor

After getting confident with Claude, it's time to take the next step and supercharge your code editor.

You can do it by installing Cursor!

It's a code editor, that was forked from VSCode, so it has absolutely the same look and feel but with some extra AI features:

Autocomplete
Just normally write the code, and it'll fully understand the context and suggest some edits. Press the 'Tab' to accept suggestions.
Refactor the code with AI
Just select the code that you want to change, press cmd + K (or ctrl + K on Windows) and enter the instructions. It'll scan your file and modify it accordingly.
AI Chat in your code editor
Just press cmd + L (or ctrl + L on Windows), and it'll open the AI chat where you can ask AI to generate the code for you or explain something.
Moreover, you can use @codebase mentioned in that chat, and it'll use your whole project's code as context, and you'll be able to ask questions about your code.
AI in the terminal
If you have some errors in the terminal you can ask AI to analyse them and suggest fixes.

It has a lot of other features, but those are the main ones that I'm using myself.

Pro Tips

Use Claude 3.5 Sonnet model. In cursor you can use different models for code generation, Claude is the best for now.
Do not enable Privacy Mode. In that case, it won't be able to scan all your files and answers will be worse.
But if you are using it on the job, be careful, as exposing the company's code to external AI can be against your company's rules.

Conclusion

Guys, I realised how the time that we are living in is CRAZY.

A lot of people say that the market is in a bad state, but with AI I see SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES for coding.

You can create complex apps WAY FASTER.

You can deliver a better job FASTER.

You can learn FASTER.

You can build your own startup FASTER.

Overall the market is growing and changing, and it's so interesting to watch it!

AI slightly changes the way you think as a developer, but as soon as you switch your mindset, you open so many new opportunities.

Don't think that AI makes everything easy. Succeeding in life is still as hard, as it always was, but If you are an ambitious person who loves to create, it's the perfect time to learn how to code and use AI to be faster & better.

Content

My YouTube journey continues. Thank you all for the great feedback on the first video, that means a lot to me!

Last week I published a new video, how AI will change web development in 2024, you can watch it by clicking here or by clicking on the image below:

There I break down the future of coding and AI in the web development industry, and what you can do, not to be left behind.

Hope you found this email helpful, let me know if you did, and see you next week 👋!

Best regards,

Andrew "Uses AI to be a 10x Developer" Zacker