Building an App with ChatGPT

Last month, I started to build a personal finance app using OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Over the course of 30 hours, I saw my app idea come to life, all thanks to the power of AI. In this post, I’ll share my experience and the lessons I learned while working with ChatGPT.

The code can be found here: https://github.com/ashwin67/finhandle

ChatGPT as a personal assistant

The process was incredibly smooth - I’d provide ChatGPT with a requirement, and it would generate Python, JavaScript, or HTML code snippets based on my request. It even remembered my directory structure and guided me on where to insert the new code. It felt like having a personal assistant that understood my project and could respond to my needs.

Growing pains with a growing project

As the project grew in size and complexity, I began to notice some limitations. ChatGPT’s memory seemed to struggle with retaining all the details from our lengthy conversations. It was like the AI had a limited RAM for each conversation, and it started to overwrite its memory, leading to inconsistencies in its responses.

Breaking the project into parts

One solution to this issue might be breaking the project into smaller parts. By focusing on specific sections or features, I could maintain a shorter conversation with ChatGPT, allowing it to better retain the context of the project. This way, I could still make progress without losing valuable input from the AI.

Looking ahead: ChatGPT improvements?

Despite these challenges, my experience with ChatGPT was mostly positive. It’s fascinating to see how far AI has come and how it can assist us in our daily tasks. Perhaps ChatGPT itself could learn from these limitations and offer suggestions on how to improve its memory management in future iterations.

In conclusion

Building an app using ChatGPT was an eye-opening experience. While there were some hurdles to overcome, the benefits of having an AI assistant were undeniable. As AI continues to evolve, I’m excited to see how it will shape the way we develop projects and solve problems in the future.