December 23, 2025
Code for one, drama for all
Perfect Software – Software for an Audience of One
Your app, your rules: AI newbies vs old‑school purists
TLDR: One writer champions “perfect software” that fits one person and built their own blog, note plugin, and text tool with help from AI. Comments split between non-coders thrilled to finally DIY and veterans who say they’ve done this for years without AI, warning bigger projects hurt.
The author unveils a love letter to “perfect software”: tiny tools that fit you like your favorite coffee cup—no bloat, no roadmap, just sufficiency. They built a custom blog with Markdown and Python, an Obsidian “Serendipity” plugin that surfaces old notes, and a one‑click Chrome tool that justifies text. The claim: large language models (LLMs, chatty AI helpers) finally make it practical to craft software for an audience of one.
Cue the comment cage match. Newcomers cheered—“I’m building side projects with AI even if they’re only for me,” said one. Another non‑coder celebrated finally remixing apps they used to tolerate, like customizing fitness announcements. Defenders insisted the essay reads human. But veterans pushed back: “I’ve been making my own perfect tools for a decade—LLMs aren’t the point.” The vibes: empowerment vs purism, cozy DIY vs “we’ve always done it this way.”
Then the skepticism rolled in. A demo dropped at play.tirreno.com, but one commenter warned agentic AI workflows feel like “cheap dopamine,” and that medium‑size projects quickly morph from joy to pain. The meme‑y verdict: “Goldilocksware” is real, but the community is split between cozy DIY bliss and eye‑rolling purism. Either way, the audience of one has entered the chat. It’s tiny, personal, and it’s poking Big Tech’s scale‑obsessed bear. Harder, better, smaller, yours.
Key Points
- •The article defines “perfect software” as tools that fit a single user’s exact needs, emphasizing sufficiency over scale.
- •The author argues that valuable software does not need to grow or serve millions; it should keep a promise and include only necessary features.
- •Before LLMs, building personalized tools was impractical for most users; the author previously tried multiple platforms without finding a perfect fit.
- •After the release of Claude models, the author built a custom blog workflow using Markdown, Python scripts, HTML, and Netlify for deployment.
- •The author created two personal tools: an Obsidian plugin named Serendipity for random note surfacing and a Chrome plugin to justify webpage text.