The Setup Screen Is Not Evidence
The first fifteen minutes of an AI coding setup usually fail for a boring reason, not a model reason. The wizard says you are ready while your project folder still looks untouched and slightly embarrassed. I stopped arguing with welcome screens and started demanding a receipt that a compiler could actually read. Does a green checkmark compile on your machine, or does it just pose for a…
The first fifteen minutes of an AI coding setup often fail due to mundane reasons, not the model's capabilities. Setup screens may seem reassuring, but they lack tangible evidence that the compiler can read the code. Developers should demand a receipt, such as a passing test, before accepting any AI coding session. The canary file, created by running a simple test, is a crucial receipt.
If the canary file remains unchanged after the AI coding session, the session is not ready. This approach focuses on code changes and test results instead of decorative screens or model claims, providing a more reliable evaluation of the AI coding assistant.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
