> The Beginning
I wanted to experiment with vibe coding. I just didn't know what to build.
It was the start of 2026, so naturally... I built a habit tracker. Creative, huh.
>> Choosing the Platform
The original idea was almost aggressively minimal:
One habit = one page.
A full-year grid.
Tap a square. Done.
I used a reference photo of a simple calendar grid that had months across the top, days down the side, each square grid representing a day of the month.
I had no idea which platform to use, so I gave the same prompt to Bolt, Google AI Studio, Lovable, and Replit to compare the initial outputs.
Lovable couldn't quite align the calendar grid, even after a few attempts to fix the error.
Replit's design felt too "desktop-first" for a mobile app.
Between Bolt and Google AI Studio, the later was surprisingly free. It was the clear winner.
I used ChatGPT to refine the code and Google AI Studio's preview to iterate fast.
>> From Grids to Gains
Halfway through, I realized my minimalist grid was simple... but useless.
A year is too big. A day is too small.
It made more sense to use a 52-week system, tracking completions weekly while keeping the year-at-a-glance structure.
>> Features
- Create, edit, delete, and color-code habits
- Assign habits to specific weekdays
- Mark daily completion in a weekly matrix
- Drag-and-drop reorder in edit mode
- Initialize new weeks by copying last week’s habits or starting blank
- Highlight the current week
- View YTD performance and week-by-week history
This habit tracker was built primarily for myself, so I added a PWA manifest and iOS web metadata for install-like behavior.
>> Tech Stack
- React + TypeScript - Frontend
- Tailwind - Styling
- Vercel - Deployment
- Google AI Studio + ChatGPT - Vibe coding tools
>> Closing Thoughts
This may not be the perfect habit tracking app for everyone. But it’s mine, and it works!
It’s mind-blowing how easily AI can turn an idea into a functioning product. This project gave me the confidence to see code as a creative medium rather than a barrier.
Eight weeks into the year, I’ve also realized that building the app with AI was the easy part.
Keeping the habits?
That’s still 100% human effort 乁( •_• )ㄏ