This is a comprehensive review of my 30+ day journey.
What was my goal: [Project Goal]
Create a WhatsApp chatbot to remind me of my friends' birthdays as a proper software engineer.
What have I learned: [Key Learnings]
How to create a Product Requirements Document.
How to design a logo from an idea to v1 with ChatGPT.
How to make architectural decisions for the front end, back end, database, and hosting.
How users manage privacy with outside platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram bots, and other new AI products.
How to use Linear for Product/Project Management Best Practices
Using GitHub for Version Control, Gitflow Best Practices, and Code Review with GitHub Copilot
How to use VSCode and GitHub Copilot to code, commit, create/delete files and branches, and debug.
How to create new, unique characters with ChatGPT and animation with Google Veo 3.
How to copy/create an interactive landing page that incorporates video and scrolling.
How to host and create a Prisma Neon PostgreSQL relational database for free on Vercel.
How to Use AI to Interpret Incoming Messages and Extract Key Information
How to hide secret API keys for security purposes using .gitignore and .env files for environment variables.
How to deploy with Vercel, with feature updates and authentication removed for third-party platforms.
How to create a cron job with Trigger.dev, connecting the API to the database and setting up a task.
End result: [Project Outcomes]
Betterfriend.xyz is live! ✅
BetterFriend Bot - WhatsApp (never approved)
BetterFriend Bot - Telegram (banned for no reason)
BetterFriend Bot - Beta (live - we will not release it due to platform risk)
If any of the above is helpful to you, please comment and share this with your friends.
As always, thanks for being part of Project #1!
Announcing Project #2 - Full Privacy Personal AI System