Deploy Anything with AI: From Elixir to Rust to Edge Functions
Deploy Anything with AI: From Elixir to Rust to Edge Functions. By Erwan Rougeux. October 28, 2025, Iglu Bangkok, Thailand. Fork It Community.
Who am I?
VP, International Growth @ Clever Cloud (sovereign PaaS).
Passionate about software development & cloud architecture; open-source and privacy advocate.
Love privacy-by-design & new AI tools.
De-rusting with AI
- Context: I wanted to “de-rust” my coding muscles without actually coding.
- Constraint: ChatGPT 3.5 only; I copy-pasted outputs, no deep refactors.
- Challenge: a niche domain (handpan tablature) + a web UI, in 3 sleepless nights.
The rules & setup
Ground rules
- Tooling: ChatGPT 3.5 (no plugins, no external copilots) + plain browser / dev server.
- Method: rapid prompt → copy → run; fix only what breaks.
- Scope: minimal web app that renders handpan tabs and lets me poke at the UX.
- Risk accepted: messy code, fragility, zero tests.
Why this matters
- Forces AI to design + implement in a niche.
- Surfaces what LLMs do well vs. where human engineering is still required.
What v1 (AI-made) actually delivered
The MVP
- A simple browser app that can generate & display handpan tabs.
- Basic interactions, good enough for a live demo.
Strengths
- Speed: from idea to demo in hours, not weeks.
- Coverage: boilerplate UI, glue code, small utilities on demand.
Limits
- Brittle: hidden coupling, inconsistent naming, unclear data model.
- Maintainability: no tests, no architecture, hard to extend.
MVP
What I learned
Where AI shines
- Scaffolding, boilerplate, CSS/DOM snippets, quick polyfills.
- Explaining unknown APIs well enough to unblock me.
Where AI struggles
- Robust domain modeling (musical edge cases, layouts).
- State management & testing discipline.
- Non-functional needs: perf, security, accessibility.
Working strategy
- Small, testable prompts; lock the spec; iterate with examples.
- Treat the model like a junior: review, constrain, verify.
The upgrade path
The v2.0
- From toy to tool with Windsurf + Claude Code.
- Architecture: typed core, clear modules, DB, tests.
- UX: snappier rendering, cleaner editor, export / share flows.
