Lab 1 · Pocket CRM on Supabase
Build Pocket CRM, a small app for a freelancer's contacts and deals, on Supabase. Six steps, from an empty folder to a preview link you can open on another device — still practice data, not a launch.
Behind the Prompt: How Your App Works
17 lessons · 2 optional extensions · ₪149
For vibe coders who want more than prompting: how software really works, from the screen to the database, in plain words. You build a real app with AI as you go and learn to check its work.
You build apps with AI, but you want to understand what it made.
0/122 topics
0/26 lab steps
Who it's for
- You build apps with an AI coding agent, and you have little or no coding experience.
- You're a founder, designer, product manager or maker, and you want to move from "it seems to work" to building with real understanding.
- You can get an agent to write code, but you can't yet tell whether it's right, safe or ready to publish.
- You feel the gap between you and a developer: the vocabulary, the mental model and the habits. This course works to close it, so you can talk to engineers as a peer and check much of your app yourself.
Not for: Working developers. You already know the basics, so the course would be a slow review.
What you'll walk away with
- You know the checks that catch the AI's common mistakes, and you run them before users meet the change.
- You give AI clear instructions and know how to check what it built.
- You can show that each user sees only their own data, and you know which security checks your app still needs before it holds real data.
- You can name the first limits your app will hit as it grows (data, traffic, cost), and you know what to measure before you add features.
- You can rehearse a staging release and rollback, and you know a live release needs its own approval.
- You can make a launch decision from evidence and talk with engineers about your app in their terms.
Who made this course, and why →
Prerequisites
- Node.js (LTS): installed by hand, together with Git below; the AI installs the rest. nodejs.org
- Git: the save-point tool every Lab uses from its first steps. On a Mac, typing git in the terminal offers to install it. git-scm.com
- An AI coding agent: one that works in your project folder and runs commands. A browser chat can't run your tests. Most of them need a paid plan or API credit: budget roughly $20 a month at the entry tier (prices change). The course examples use Claude Code, and every step works in any of these. When a step names a Claude Code command or folder, ask your agent for its equivalent. Claude Code · Cursor · Codex · Copilot
- A code editor (or IDE): to read what changed. An IDE is an editor plus helpers. Cursor is an editor with an AI agent; Claude Code is an agent in the terminal — different tools. VS Code
- Accounts you'll need, when a step asks: Apart from your AI agent, only free plans. Each step says when to sign up (GitHub, Supabase, Vercel and others) and links the provider's guide. If a free sign-up asks for a card, stop and take the step's fallback. Optional extras may cost money.
Topic levels
Every topic in Core is tagged Level 1, 2, or 3. Read Level 1 first. Use the filter in the course menu to show only the levels you want.
- Level 1
The foundation. No prior knowledge assumed. These are the words everything else builds on — do them first.
- Level 2
Go deeper: integrations, performance, shipping, and running an app others depend on. Read after Level 1 when you're ready.
- Level 3
Optional for most vibe coders. Skip unless the topic shows up in your project. Easy to hide in the course menu filter.
The Labs: what you'll build with AI
Three labs. Finish the lessons first (or do Lab 2 step by step alongside its lessons). Each lab stands on its own, and its steps build on each other, so do a lab in order.
Lab 2 · Nest Egg
Build Nest Egg, a household net worth and retirement planner, one lesson at a time: one step after each Core lesson, from an empty folder to a tested app in staging and a written launch decision.
Lab 3 · A Real Mobile App
Build Pocket Rates, a currency converter, as a real phone app with Expo. Run it on your own phone, make it work offline, and share it with a friend without any app store.
Finish with a working app you understand and know how to check. Add extras like payments or AI features in the optional lessons.