How I use AI when I write code

I use AI every day, and I try to be strict about what it is for. My rule is that AI assists. It does not own the code.

Repetitive work and cleanup

The first use is the boring one: repetitive tasks and cleaning up code. Renaming things across a project, reshaping similar blocks, tidying what is already there. This is work where the right answer is obvious and the only cost is time, so it is a good fit.

A first draft for new features

For a new feature, AI gives me a starting point. A draft is useful because it puts something on the table to react to. Then I continue by hand: I read it, change it, and build the real thing myself.

Writing down the why

While I build, I document where decisions were made and why. That is the part AI cannot do for me, because the reasons are mine: what I tried, what I rejected, what the project needs.

Why I work this way

In my opinion this is the ideal way to code with AI: fast, but also good. I stay the author, I understand every line in my projects, and anyone who joins an open source project of mine can find the reasoning behind the code next to the code.