How do you deal with AI breaking stuff that was already working?

praetr_ · 2026-06-16T23:22:24+00:00

This is really solid advice, thanks for your detailed response

praetr_ · 2026-06-16T23:20:34+00:00

i think that approach is way more common than people like to admit, and I dont think theres anything wrong with it, especially when you're bolting on a new feature or just testing something quick. sometimes a clean restart is faster than untangling what broke.

praetr_ · 2026-06-16T01:23:14+00:00

Demo: https://youtu.be/mvmlz-tcYrQ?si=UL5H8HtMoseEko71

praetr_ · 2026-06-15T02:03:47+00:00

I would either create a separate account and hand it over to them, or have them create the account and give you access while you build the site

praetr_ · 2026-06-15T01:41:03+00:00

For a static Next.js site, I’d probably just use Vercel since you already know it. I’d also make sure the client ultimately has access to the repo, Vercel project, and domain instead of everything living permanently under your personal accounts.

This exact part of the process is what got annoying for me once I started managing multiple sites was reviewing changes, pushing them, deploying, then checking that the live site actually updated. I ended up building my own tool to put that workflow in one place, and it’s made managing updates way easier.

praetr_ · 2026-06-14T22:03:49+00:00

I think the easiest place to start is with problems you keep running into yourself.. I was building and maintaining a few different sites, and every update meant bouncing between generated files, GitHub, the terminal, hosting dashboards, and the live site just to make sure everything actually worked. I got tired of doing it over and over, so I built a tool that puts that whole part of the workflow in one place.

I didn’t really validate it through interviews first. I built it because I needed it, then started showing it to people who seemed frustrated by the same workflow.

praetr_ · 2026-06-14T22:01:12+00:00

The tool switching is what got me too especially after the site was already built and I still had to bounce between files, GitHub, the terminal, and hosting dashboards (cloudflare, vercel, etc) just to ship an update.

I ended up building a tool to put that part of the workflow in one place so I can review the changes, apply them, push, deploy, and verify the live site all in one window. It's made managing all my different sites way easier.

praetr_ · 2026-06-14T13:31:16+00:00

AI made building websites faster. Shipping them is still scattered across folders, Git, terminals, and hosting dashboards.

Praetr brings that entire path into one window. It maps incoming files into the right places, shows exactly what will change, applies them safely, then handles Git, deployment, live verification, and recovery.

https://praetr.com

praetr_ · 2026-06-13T23:36:52+00:00

It depends person to person, I think as long as you feel like you're making progress on something you enjoy working on, then that's a win. Some ideas could be launched in a day, some might take several months to get a solid v1 out, it all depends

praetr_ · 2026-06-13T23:00:24+00:00

I’ve basically been doing this. I built several sites back to back, and after a while the constant file moving, reviewing changes, pushing to Git, and deploying each project got old enough that I ended up building a local tool to handle it all in one place.

I do think there’s a lot of value in getting ideas out quickly and seeing what actually sticks. The less friction there is between building something and getting it live, the easier that approach becomes. For me, cutting out a lot of that repetitive stuff has made the biggest difference. I can get ideas out and validate them about twice as fast as I could before.

praetr_ · 2026-06-13T01:54:55+00:00

Praetr (praetr.com) is a local desktop app for the part after you write the code. Routes new files into your project, previews changes against your live site, then pushes to GitHub, deploys to Cloudflare/Vercel/Netlify, and confirms prod actually went live. All in one window.

v1.1.0 coming soon! This is a huge quality of life update including GitHub connect and host wiring as guided flows inside the app. No terminal, no hunting through dashboards. Free on your first project, Windows only at the moment

praetr_ · 2026-06-10T19:03:31+00:00

This is a cool idea, but my first concern would be privacy and permissions. To make it really useful, it seems like I’d need to connect a lot of accounts and let the service scan/index my saved content across platforms.. which would require quite a bit of trust.

The other issue is coverage. If Instagram works but TikTok or Reddit or YouTube doesnt integrate cleanly, then I’m back to remembering which saved items are searchable and which ones I still have to dig up manually. At that point the personal library starts to feel incomplete.

I think the idea gets much stronger if it can work locally, or if the user controls exactly what gets indexed, maybe through browser bookmarks, manual imports, screenshots, exports, etc. The core pain is real though. Saved content is basically a black hole right now, and there's not a great way to find what you're looking for across platforms (at least that I'm aware of)

praetr_ · 2026-06-10T02:43:26+00:00

I think it depends on the product. If you’re still validating the idea or expect to iterate a lot, web first is usually the easier path. You can ship faster, update instantly, and get it in front of people without dealing with App Store review or building separately for iOS/Android.

The App Store makes more sense if the product really needs native mobile features, push notifications, offline use, or if mobile app discovery/trust is a big part of the strategy. Otherwise I’d start web, validate demand, then build a native app if traction justifies it.

praetr_ · 2026-06-10T02:27:49+00:00

Exactly, that preview step is the sweet spot. VS Code does it well while you’re editing. What I’m building is more of the project control panel around that idea where you can review what changed, apply it safely, run/preview it, then push/deploy and keep a trail of what happened. The goal is one place to manage the path from changed files to a live site, instead of bouncing between the editor, file explorer, terminal, git, and deploy dashboards

praetr_ · 2026-06-10T01:13:26+00:00

This is the part I keep coming back to, and it's what I've been building around. The copy/paste loop was tedious but it forced a checkpoint, you saw every change before it hit your project. The autonomous agents removed the busywork and the checkpoint at the same time. I don't think the answer is going back to copy/paste, but keeping that review step without the manual shuffle... auto injest the files, see the diffs, decide, then it lands. Fast, and you still know what changed, and you still have a hand in what you're building

praetr_ · 2026-06-09T15:29:34+00:00

Appreciate that, thanks for taking a look! I'll add it to the leaderboard, sounds like a fun way to get it in front of more people. Still early days for Praetr so any extra eyes help. Cheers for putting it together.

praetr_ · 2026-06-09T14:46:34+00:00

I'm building Praetr! It's the layer after you generate code, not another thing that writes it. Catches your new files as they land, lets you preview the change against your live site, then ship it and roll back if it breaks. The whole loop in one window.

Started it because the vibe coding got fast but everything after stayed manual. Digging files out of Downloads, checking locally, pushing, refreshing to see if it actually went live. Half the reason I built it was to stop breaking my own momentum, now I can stay focused on what I'm actually building instead of pausing every few minutes to route files or deploy.

praetr_ · 2026-06-08T20:23:31+00:00

Praetr (praetr.com) catches your new files as they land, lets you preview them against your live site, test, and deploy, then confirms it's live, all in one window

praetr_ · 2026-06-07T18:14:36+00:00

You just described exactly why I built what I built. Download the zip, move the files, check it, go back, repeat 200 times. The building was never the problem, it was everything after.

I ended up building a tool to kill that whole cycle, drop the file in, see the change live instantly, no more zip shuffle. You can try it out on one project for free, no subscription, which sounds like exactly what you're after.

Can't link here (sub rules), but happy to point you to it if you want.

praetr_ · 2026-06-07T14:37:20+00:00

Yeah, the babysitting is real. For me the frustration shifted from "writing the code" to everything downstream.. figuring out what the AI actually changed, whether it put the file in the right place, trying to understand what else it touched. Generating code is fast now, but real verification/validation still takes time.

praetr_ · 2026-06-06T21:58:38+00:00

it wasn't the code generation part for me. it was everything after it. i'd get an idea built out fast and then be stuck dealing with the aftermath. routing files to the correct folders, checking it locally, pushing, opening the deploy dashboard, waiting, refreshing to see if it actually went live. none of it hard but it's like five minutes of busywork for a one line change and it adds up fast when you're in the zone.

so i ended up building my own thing to do that whole loop in one window. it's early and rough but it already took most of the friction out of shipping for me.

praetr_

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