I created this dumb app in the middle of the night in 40 minutes with ChatGPT

17 pointsferat1y ago6 comments

I have a newborn, and the early mornings have been crazy. I usually stay awake beside my wife while she breastfeeds, waiting to burp the baby and sleep.

To keep me awake and help her stay awake, I started reading a few pages of books during these moments, but I was using the flashlight on my phone, which was very bright and unpleasant.

I was already considering buying a reading light, but that morning, in a moment of insomnia, I had the idea of creating an app that used the phone screen as a flashlight. I got up quickly and typed a prompt in ChatGPT, which generated something very close to what I imagined.

I copied the code and put it online using GitHub Pages right after. The whole process took about 40 minutes (and at least made me very sleepy right after; I fell asleep).

I used the app that same night, and this morning, I decided to improve it, improve some things, add some simple features, and also turn it into a PWA app that can be installed (so I could use it in full screen).

I liked the result so much that I published the app for free. It's straightforward, but I hope it will be useful to more people:

https://readinglight.app/

6 comments

runjake1y ago

Commenters are likely going to crap on you because this is super simple and it’s been done many times before, but remember, this is your exploration, your learning process.

Keep it up. I actually have my own HTML and JavaScript to do this but I’ve bookmarked yours because I like how your sliders work better.

As a parent of 3 kids, I struggle to find even an hour each night to work on personal projects.

vunderba1y ago

Agreed. I've used https://www.whitescreen.online in the past for this for diffuse lighting as a "pad" - what's more important is that you enjoyed the process of making something.

feratOP1y ago

Thank you very much for your words. I can't even imagine the lack of time with 3 children, this is my first and I'm already going crazy, haha

runjake1y ago

Enjoy it and spend as much time in the moment as you can.

It doesn’t seem like it now, but I promise you, the kid will be an adult in the blink of an eye.

People also told me this but I didn’t grasp it at the time.

coderff1y ago

I would for sure do the same as you haha I like to create my small dumb apps

nvusuvu1y ago

Awesome! Will you share the code and what made it specifically a PWA?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

I created this dumb app in the middle of the night in 40 minutes with ChatGPT

17 pointsferat1y ago6 comments

I have a newborn, and the early mornings have been crazy. I usually stay awake beside my wife while she breastfeeds, waiting to burp the baby and sleep.

To keep me awake and help her stay awake, I started reading a few pages of books during these moments, but I was using the flashlight on my phone, which was very bright and unpleasant.

I copied the code and put it online using GitHub Pages right after. The whole process took about 40 minutes (and at least made me very sleepy right after; I fell asleep).

I liked the result so much that I published the app for free. It's straightforward, but I hope it will be useful to more people:

https://readinglight.app/

6 comments

runjake1y ago

Commenters are likely going to crap on you because this is super simple and it’s been done many times before, but remember, this is your exploration, your learning process.

Keep it up. I actually have my own HTML and JavaScript to do this but I’ve bookmarked yours because I like how your sliders work better.

As a parent of 3 kids, I struggle to find even an hour each night to work on personal projects.

vunderba1y ago

Agreed. I've used https://www.whitescreen.online in the past for this for diffuse lighting as a "pad" - what's more important is that you enjoyed the process of making something.

feratOP1y ago

Thank you very much for your words. I can't even imagine the lack of time with 3 children, this is my first and I'm already going crazy, haha

runjake1y ago

Enjoy it and spend as much time in the moment as you can.

It doesn’t seem like it now, but I promise you, the kid will be an adult in the blink of an eye.

People also told me this but I didn’t grasp it at the time.

coderff1y ago

I would for sure do the same as you haha I like to create my small dumb apps

nvusuvu1y ago

Awesome! Will you share the code and what made it specifically a PWA?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse