Case Studies

Real-world usage of AI coding tools on production projects, with measured outcomes.

CASE STUDY 2026-05-11

Rebuilding a Next.js dashboard with Windsurf: where Cascade saved time

A four-week rebuild of a B2B analytics dashboard in Next.js using Windsurf. Cascade was strong on page assembly and state wiring, weaker on product decisions and chart semantics.

Editor · 8 min #windsurf #nextjs

CASE STUDY 2026-05-10

One sprint with Cline on a FastAPI microservice: tokens, time, and what shipped

I used Cline as the primary coding interface for a 2-week sprint on a Python FastAPI service. Here are the actual numbers — tasks completed, hours spent, API spend, and what I'd do differently.

Owner · 12 min #cline #fastapi

CASE STUDY 2026-05-09

Modernizing a Java Spring Boot service with GitHub Copilot: slow, steady, useful

A measured case study from upgrading a Java Spring Boot service. Copilot helped most with tests, repetitive API changes, and small refactors, not with the migration strategy.

Editor · 8 min #copilot #java

CASE STUDY 2026-05-07

Three months of Cursor on a production Rails app: the honest numbers

I tracked task completion times before and after adopting Cursor on a 6-year-old Rails monolith. The results were more nuanced than the marketing suggests.

Owner · 11 min #cursor #rails

CASE STUDY 2026-05-06

Using Zed for a Rust workspace refactor: performance mattered more than AI

A Rust workspace refactor tested Zed as the primary editor. The AI features helped in narrow spots, but the bigger gain came from editor speed, project search, and lower friction.

Editor · 7 min #zed #rust

CASE STUDY 2026-05-04

A three-tool AI code review loop: Cursor, Copilot, and Aider on the same PRs

A small team tested Cursor, Copilot, and Aider as separate review passes before human review. The useful result was not more comments, but better self-review before opening PRs.

Editor · 8 min #code-review #workflow

CASE STUDY 2026-04-21

Copilot vs Cursor on the same feature: a head-to-head log

I built the same feature — a multi-step form with validation — twice, once in Copilot and once in Cursor. Same model under the hood. Different UX, different output, surprisingly different time-to-done.

Owner · 10 min #cursor #copilot

CASE STUDY 2026-04-19

A sprint with Windsurf on a Django REST API: where Cascade fits and where it doesn't

Two weeks of Windsurf as the primary editor on a Django + DRF service. Tracking what Cascade produced cleanly, what it didn't, and how the workflow compares to running the same project in Cursor.

Owner · 11 min #windsurf #django

CASE STUDY 2026-04-17

Aider on a jQuery → React migration: 8 weeks, 23k lines, what actually happened

I migrated an internal admin tool from jQuery to React using Aider as the primary tool for the mechanical parts. Here's the breakdown of what worked, what didn't, and the cost.

Owner · 13 min #aider #react

CASE STUDY 2026-04-11

Six months with Zed as my primary editor: an honest retrospective

I switched from Cursor to Zed last fall to test whether the editor performance gain offset the AI feature gap. Six months later, here's where I actually landed.

Owner · 9 min #zed #editor

CASE STUDY 2026-04-03

AI tools on a 3-developer team: coordination patterns that work

Three engineers working on the same codebase, all using AI tools heavily. The output looked inconsistent until we agreed on coordination patterns. Here's what we landed on.

Owner · 9 min #team #workflow

CASE STUDY 2026-03-30

Using Cline + MCP to debug a data pipeline: connecting the agent to real systems

I wired Cline to our staging Postgres and Snowflake via MCP servers, then asked it to help debug a data quality issue. The investigation that followed showed where MCP shines and where it doesn't.

Owner · 10 min #cline #mcp

CASE STUDY 2026-03-21

Aider migrating a Go microservice from net/http to chi: a 4-day diary

An old Go service used raw net/http for routing. We needed to migrate to go-chi. With Aider, the migration took 4 days and produced cleaner output than I'd have written by hand.

Owner · 9 min #aider #go

CASE STUDY 2026-03-18

Migrating a Django SaaS from views to DRF with Cursor: 80 hours over four weeks

Moving a 5-year-old Django app from class-based views to Django REST Framework. The Cursor part was about 60% of the win; the planning was the rest.

Editor · 9 min #cursor #django

CASE STUDY 2026-03-17

Cline on a Rust Axum service: agentic Rust is harder than you'd think

Tried to use Cline's autonomous agent on a Rust web service. Surprises and friction across 30 hours of focused work.

Editor · 8 min #cline #rust

CASE STUDY 2026-03-16

Aider on a Go gRPC service: protobuf-driven development at speed

Building a Go gRPC service with Aider and Buf. The protobuf-first workflow fits aider's strengths better than freeform code generation does.

Editor · 8 min #aider #go

CASE STUDY 2026-03-15

Building a React Native app with Windsurf: 6 weeks, two designers, one engineer

Cross-platform mobile MVP with Windsurf as primary tool. Honest assessment of where Cascade fit and where it slowed us down.

Editor · 8 min #windsurf #react-native

CASE STUDY 2026-03-08

Cursor on a Vue 3 e-commerce build: 6 weeks, 18k lines, what shipped

I built an e-commerce frontend in Vue 3 with Cursor as the primary tool. Here's the breakdown of what Cursor handled cleanly, where it struggled, and what I'd do differently.

Owner · 11 min #cursor #vue

CASE STUDY 2026-02-27

GitHub Copilot on a 12-year-old Perl codebase: surprising wins, predictable losses

An honest report on using Copilot for Perl maintenance. Some tasks worked better than expected; others were frustrating in specific ways.

Editor · 7 min #copilot #perl

CASE STUDY 2026-02-26

Cline on an Airflow data pipeline: agentic ETL development

Building a customer data pipeline with Airflow and Cline. The autonomous loop fits ETL development surprisingly well.

Editor · 7 min #cline #airflow

CASE STUDY 2026-02-25

Cursor on a Flutter mobile app: Dart support is rougher than expected

Used Cursor for a 4-week Flutter project. The experience was mixed; Dart is a less-trained language and it shows.

Editor · 5 min #cursor #flutter

CASE STUDY 2026-02-24

Aider on embedded C firmware: a story of patience and skepticism

Used aider on a microcontroller project. The agent loop is uniquely poor fit for embedded development; the autocomplete-style use was useful.

Editor · 6 min #aider #embedded

CASE STUDY 2026-02-23

Zed on an Elixir Phoenix app: AI assistance for a niche stack

Built a real-time Phoenix application using Zed. The Elixir story is improving but still has gaps; Zed's editor itself was the strongest part.

Editor · 6 min #zed #elixir

CASE STUDY 2026-02-22

Cursor on a C++ game engine: where memory ownership trips the AI

Used Cursor for engine work on a small indie game project. C++'s memory model and template metaprogramming exposed clear AI weaknesses.

Editor · 6 min #cursor #cpp

CASE STUDY 2026-02-08

Aider on a Rust CLI tool: when small projects fit AI tools well

Built a small CLI tool in Rust with aider. The constraints of Rust were less painful than on a larger project; small CLIs hit a sweet spot.

Editor · 5 min #aider #rust

CASE STUDY 2026-02-07

Cline on a GraphQL API server: schema-first development at agent speed

Building a GraphQL API with Apollo Server and Cline. The schema-first workflow makes Cline particularly effective.

Editor · 5 min #cline #graphql

CASE STUDY 2026-02-01

Cursor across a 5-engineer React Native team: what consistency requires

Five engineers on a React Native project with Cursor. The path from 'everyone uses it differently' to 'team-coherent AI usage' was non-trivial.

Editor · 7 min #cursor #teams

CASE STUDY 2026-01-23

Cursor on a 2-week startup MVP: what happens when speed is the only constraint

Built a SaaS MVP solo in 2 weeks using Cursor heavily. Honest assessment of where AI accelerated and where corners were cut.

Editor · 6 min #cursor #startup

CASE STUDY 2026-01-22

Building a CLI tool with Cline using strict TDD: when the discipline pays off

Built a small developer tool with strict test-first discipline. Cline was a great fit; the tests guided the implementation effectively.

Editor · 5 min #cline #tdd

CASE STUDY 2026-01-18

Aider for modernizing 200 bash scripts: when shell work fits AI tools

Modernized a legacy collection of operations scripts using aider. Bash isn't glamorous but the work shape suited AI assistance.

Editor · 5 min #aider #bash

CASE STUDY 2026-01-14

Copilot on an internal admin panel: 80 small features over 4 weeks

Building admin tooling for a small company. Copilot fits well; the work shape (lots of similar small features) plays to AI strengths.

Editor · 6 min #copilot #internal-tools

CASE STUDY 2026-01-06

Cline on a marketing site redesign: when AI excels at content-heavy sites

Rebuilt a marketing site over a weekend with Cline. Content-heavy work plus design system fits AI tools well.

Editor · 5 min #cline #marketing

CASE STUDY 2026-01-05

Cursor on a data validation pipeline: catching data quality bugs

Built a data quality validation system for a small ETL pipeline. Cursor shines for the structured nature of validation logic.

Editor · 5 min #cursor #data-quality

CASE STUDY 2026-01-04

Aider for Python tooling modernization: from setup.py to pyproject.toml

Migrating 30 internal Python tools from setup.py to modern pyproject.toml with uv. Aider was useful for the mechanical translation.

Editor · 4 min #aider #python

CASE STUDY 2025-12-22

Cline on a Stripe integration: standard patterns at agent speed

Built a Stripe checkout integration with Cline. Standard SaaS payment flow; AI handled it cleanly.

Editor · 4 min #cline #stripe

CASE STUDY 2025-12-21

Cursor on a localization rollout: i18n across 200 components

Adding internationalization to an existing app. Cursor handled the mechanical work; deciding what to translate was human.

Editor · 4 min #cursor #i18n

CASE STUDY 2025-12-20

Rewriting a CLI tool from Python to Rust with aider: a port study

Ported a 2000-line Python CLI to Rust over a long weekend. Aider helped most with the mechanical parts; idioms required human judgment.

Editor · 4 min #aider #rust

CASE STUDY 2025-12-09

Migrating a 50k-line codebase to TypeScript strict mode using Cursor

Enabled strict TypeScript on an existing codebase incrementally. Cursor handled most of the type fixes.

Editor · 4 min #cursor #typescript