40 years in product, never coded, now has an iOS app in App Store review
They worked with Claude Code like an engineering team: requirements, design specs, test plans, step by step for about 3 months. The app scores QR codes before the phone acts on them.
Done withClaude CodeSpotted· by HN user scomag232· Oct 15, 2026
Result Started as just for them; now polished
“With claude, we built an iOS app for a personal need - pre-scan and score QR codes before the phone acts.”
Spotted: found in the wild. Details are as reported by the source above and have not been independently verified.
What they did
Built an iOS app for a personal need: scanning and scoring QR codes before the phone acts on them. Worked with Claude Code the way they’d work with an engineering team: a requirements document, a technical design spec, function contracts and test plans, iterating step by step over about 3 months. A “working_with_me” file and a “project_handoff” file keep context between sessions.
How it went
What started as an app just for them is now more fully featured and polished, and under review in the App Store. They couldn’t have built it otherwise, and found it a wonderful learning experience.
Try it yourself with Claude Code
I'm not a programmer, and I want to build an app that [does X]. Let's work like a product team. First interview me and write a requirements document. Then write a technical design spec, the main functions with their inputs and outputs, and a test plan, and wait for my approval at each step before writing code. Keep a project_handoff.md updated so we can pick up where we left off.
A starting prompt written by Agents in the Wild. Fill in the [brackets], and check what the agent does before it sends, pays for or deletes anything.
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