The complete beginner’s guide to coding with AI: from PRD to generating your very first lines of code

What It Covers

Claire Vaux demonstrates building a personal project hub from scratch using AI coding tools, walking through the complete workflow from writing requirements to deploying a functional Next.js app with document management and prototype display capabilities.

Key Questions Answered

• •Starting workflow: Write a detailed PRD first before coding to get better AI-generated results. This upfront planning reduces prompting time later and helps AI tools understand exact requirements, preventing scope creep and unnecessary complexity in generated code.
• •Tool selection strategy: When vibe coding platforms like v0 generate overly complex solutions, pivot immediately to Cursor with Composer One model. Starting fresh in an IDE with clear constraints produces simpler, more controllable results than iterating on bloated prototypes.
• •GitHub Desktop for beginners: Use the visual GitHub Desktop app instead of command line to learn version control. The visual interface shows file changes, diffs, and commits clearly, making Git concepts accessible without needing to understand terminal commands first.
• •Agent instructions pattern: Create reusable agent instruction files in an agents folder that define workflows for specific tasks like writing PRDs. Reference these files with @ mentions to maintain consistency across documents and reduce repetitive prompting for similar tasks.