[InsideOutSanta]

I don't think any app should be built like this. Rather, I think this approach should be used when you already have a large codebase and are making atomic changes to it. In fact, I think taking this approach for greenfield work is more likely to result in slop because early accidental decisions turn into fundamental design choices.

Instead, I've settled on a top-down approach: I write an in-depth spec for the whole app first, then have the LLM implement reviewable sections of it.

[zem]

I write greenfield projects this way and have continued to do so with LLMs. it works very well if you have a decent idea of the architecture you are heading towards, and if you are willing to refector aggressively if you have a better idea.

to me the key point is that I get those better ideas a lot more readily by looking at the code than by planning up front - I have a good feel for when adding the next feature is harder than it should be, or when the resulting code is messier than I would like, and seeing the concrete code usually gives me the best idea for how exactly to improve it.

[oblio]

Most apps, just like most buildings, aren't greenfield, though :-)