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Weekly Archive

Every week of the journey

Monday kickoff, mid-week behind the scenes, Friday launch — one app, three posts, every week.

  1. Week 16Kids● Shipped

    School Hub

    Your central communication hub for all things school related

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building School Hub

    Your central communication hub for all things school related

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    Mid-week build notes

    Heads-down on School Hub. Wrestling with the core flow before the Friday drop.

    FridayLaunch

    School Hub is live

    School for my daughter is starting this year and I though it might be cool to have an app to manage all things school related. This is really just a prototype for now. But what do you think about this idea? Really looking forward to feedback here. Leave a comment or contact me directly!

    Read the full week →
  2. Week 15Product Mgmt● Shipped

    Run Ops for Your Web Apps

    1 central place to monitor and control all your web apps

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building Run Ops for Your Web Apps

    1 central place to monitor and control all your web apps

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    Ease of build

    This was really easy to build, but it requires every web app to add a small piece of code to actually create and provide the stats, I can integrate securely (password protected) to my run ops app.

    Someone build something similar and found a more clever way to do this?

    FridayLaunch

    Run Ops for Your Web Apps is live

    I'm getting really many web apps now and I wanted to build a common place to monitor them to make sure they are up and running and to see the website traffic and user logins to compare them.

    Read the full week →
  3. Week 14Fitness● Shipped

    Tracker

    Simple tracker to track your goals and habits

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building Tracker

    Simple tracker to track your goals and habits

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    Integrating Shop Agent for Rewards

    1 enhancement idea I haven't built here, yet is to integrate my previous app, Shop Agent, to buy you something as a reward when you have fulfilled a goal with the tracker.

    What do you think about this idea?

    FridayLaunch

    Tracker is live

    I guess one of the most common use case: I built a simple, free of charge tracker, not fancy, but full-filling the key needs to track regular or one-time goals. What would you add here or are you missing?

    Read the full week →
  4. Week 13Productivity● Shipped

    Shop Agent

    1 click shop agent to buy things you by regularly

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building Shop Agent

    1 click shop agent to buy things you by regularly

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    Shopping Agents

    How much do you trust these agents really to give it your credit card and buy stuff for you?
    This was the key question for me here.

    So I implemented this app with multiple safety nets:

    1. Test Mode: You can test integrations with web shops in a test mode, where it doesn't actually buy anything, but stops in the check-out process.

    2. Limits: You can define how much money you want to give the agent to spend for you.

    FridayLaunch

    Shop Agent is live

    I regular buy coffee from a special coffee shop. Would be cool to buy this with a 1 click button. This was the inspiration for this web app. It almost worked, but has some issues with final check-out and really buying it. :D

    Read the full week →
  5. Week 12Kids● Shipped

    Storynest

    Storynest helps you create beautifully illustrated kids books in minutes.

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building Storynest

    Storynest helps you create beautifully illustrated kids books in minutes.

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    Becoming an author

    I always like it to fix problems with real use cases. My wife wants to become an author and publish a kids book.

    I though it is an interesting idea to create an app which help her create books fast to "test" them with our kids, but also to create a draft she can use to share with a publisher.

    FridayLaunch

    Storynest is live

    Creating kids books easily with help of AI is a fun way of turing your ideas into picture and a real story you can show and/or read for your kids.

    Read the full week →
  6. Week 11Health● Shipped

    My Lean League

    Lose weight together. Celebrate every %.

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building My Lean League

    Lose weight together. Celebrate every %.

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    Weight

    How much someone weight is a private and challenging topic. So how do you make this sensible topic "shareable" between each others.
    I though I focus on only showing the percentages you loose weight each week. This is probably quite OK for many to share rather than the exact kg/pounds.

    We started a small challenge within the family and I think this is quite fun to challenge us each week here.

    FridayLaunch

    My Lean League is live

    Track your weight, build a team, and compete on % of body weight lost — so everyone starts on equal footing. No shame, just cheering each other on.

    Read the full week →
  7. Week 10E-Invoicing● Shipped

    Atlas: Point-and-click e-invoicing adventure

    Adventure to learn about e-invoicing mandates like in France and Germany

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building Atlas: Point-and-click e-invoicing adventure

    Adventure to learn about e-invoicing mandates like in France and Germany

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    Mid-week build notes

    Heads-down on Atlas: Point-and-click e-invoicing adventure. Wrestling with the core flow before the Friday drop.

    FridayLaunch

    Atlas: Point-and-click e-invoicing adventure is live

    I built another e-invoicing game to learn country mandates. It is a bit a click-and-point adventures with mini games to keep it existing. Interested to hear: Which one do you like more? Vote in the vote section

    Read the full week →
  8. Week 09E-Invoicing● Shipped

    ZUGFeRD PDF Generator

    German B2B e-invoicing mandate is around the corner. I built a simple ZUGFeRD PDF generator allowing AR clerks to generate a compliant ZUGFeRD PDF as well as AP clerk to validate a ZUGFeRD PDF and get a validation report.

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building ZUGFeRD PDF Generator

    German B2B e-invoicing mandate is around the corner. I built a simple ZUGFeRD PDF generator allowing AR clerks to generate a compliant ZUGFeRD PDF as well as AP clerk to validate a ZUGFeRD PDF and get a validation report.

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    From Specs to Live

    Providing all the specs for latest ZUGFeRD 2.5 to Claude Code and let it just build this tool was really simple. Especially when specs are cristal clear, AI vibe coding tools do a fantastic job.

    FridayLaunch

    ZUGFeRD PDF Generator is live

    On 1st of January 2027, it will become mandatory for suppliers above 800.000€ annual turnover to create EN16931 compliant e-invoices and send them to their customers. ZUGFeRD PDF is one of the recommeded formats here. With this tool AR clerks can easily generate a compliant ZUGFeRD PDF incl. a validation report and even send it via email to their customers. I also build a valdiation tool where AP clerks can upload a ZUGFeRD PDF and proof if it is legally compliant with the ZUGFeRD specs. They can download a validation report as well. Disclaimer: This is not a Basware product. I built this as a private side project.

    Read the full week →
  9. Week 08Health● Shipped

    Allergy Radar

    I build a web app to show the forecast for allergies. Plan is to also launch this as my first mobile app.

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building Allergy Radar

    I build a web app to show the forecast for allergies. Plan is to also launch this as my first mobile app.

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    Claude Code on Mobile Phone

    This was the first time I built an app with the mobile phone version of Claude Code. It works well as well, I just don't like that this isn't synched with my Claude Desktop app.

    There is a terminal access for the mobile phone, but this requires to keep my Laptop on, which is not really feasible for me.

    FridayLaunch

    Allergy Radar is live

    I have a strong allergy against grass / hay fewer and wanted to build my own small app showing the forecast for allergies.

    Read the full week →
  10. Week 07E-Invoicing● Shipped

    Invoicia - Fun way of learning e-invoicing country mandates

    Invoicia turns dense tax rules into bite-sized lessons, quick quizzes and role-play scenarios. Built for AR clerks, AP clerks and Tax Managers.

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building Invoicia - Fun way of learning e-invoicing country mandates

    Invoicia turns dense tax rules into bite-sized lessons, quick quizzes and role-play scenarios. Built for AR clerks, AP clerks and Tax Managers.

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    Context

    Giving the right context is very crucial to build a correct learning app on a mandate. So I used only trustworthy articles to feed the tools. While cross checking, I didn't find any wrong information which is quite impressive.

    FridayLaunch

    Invoicia - Fun way of learning e-invoicing country mandates is live

    Country mandates can be complex to understand, so I built an app to have some fun learning them. Big disclaimer again: This is not a Basware product. I built this on my own as a side project.

    Read the full week →
  11. Week 06Kids● Shipped

    First Claude app: Family Council

    This is the first app I built 100% with Claude Code (and actually as well with Lovable).

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building First Claude app: Family Council

    This is the first app I built 100% with Claude Code (and actually as well with Lovable).

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    First prompt with Claude

    I asked Claude to help me build this.

    Prompt:

    How can I built a web app with Claude and publish it on a website?

    Questions:
    Q: What kind of web app are you trying to build?
    A: A full app with users, login, database

    Q: How much coding do you want to do yourself?
    A: None — Claude does everything

    Q: Do you already have somewhere to host it?
    A: No, need a free option

    And the answer from Claude:
    Got it — full app with auth and a database, you don't want to write code, and you need a free host. Here's an honest path that actually works for that combo.

    The realistic stack for "Claude does everything"

    For a no-code-yourself approach with users, login, and a database, the sweet spot is:

    • Frontend + backend: Next.js (React framework that handles both UI and server logic in one project)

    • Auth + database: Supabase or Clerk + Supabase — these give you signup, login, password reset, and a Postgres database without you writing auth code from scratch

    • Hosting: Vercel (free tier, made by the Next.js team, deploys straight from GitHub)

    • Code generation: Claude Code (in your terminal) or this chat

    All of these have free tiers that get you to a real, live app at a real URL — no credit card required to start.

    The honest caveat

    "Claude does everything" works well for writing the code. But you'll still need to:

    1. Install a couple of tools on your computer (Node.js, Git, optionally Claude Code)

    2. Create free accounts on GitHub, Vercel, and Supabase

    3. Copy API keys from one dashboard to another

    4. Run a few commands Claude gives you

    If that sounds like too much, there are true no-code builders (Bubble, Softr, Lovable, v0) where you describe the app in plain English and they handle hosting too. They're faster to start but less flexible and most have paywalls once you have real users.

    Recommended path — step by step

    1. Set up accounts (15 min): GitHub, Vercel, Supabase — all free, sign up with the same email.

    2. Install tools (10 min): Node.js from nodejs.org, Git, and Claude Code (npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code).

    3. Start a Claude Code session in an empty folder and tell it exactly what to build. Example prompt:

      "Create a Next.js 14 app with TypeScript and Tailwind. Use Supabase for auth (email + password) and database. The app is [describe what it does]. Set up the database schema, login/signup pages, a protected dashboard, and prepare it for deployment to Vercel."

    4. Hook up Supabase: Claude will tell you which keys to grab from your Supabase dashboard and where to paste them (into a .env.local file).

    5. Push to GitHub: Claude can do this for you with a few commands.

    6. Deploy to Vercel: Import the GitHub repo on Vercel, paste the same env variables, click deploy. You get a live URL in ~2 minutes.

    7. Iterate: Go back to Claude Code and say "add a page that does X" — it edits the code, you push, Vercel redeploys automatically.

    Free-tier reality check

    • Vercel free: plenty for hobby/small apps, ~100GB bandwidth/month

    • Supabase free: 500MB database, 50K monthly active users, paused after 1 week of inactivity (just hit "unpause")

    • You can run a real app on this stack with zero monthly cost until you have meaningful traffic

    FridayLaunch

    First Claude app: Family Council is live

    I actually built this app twice: First with Lovable and then with Claude. You can find both via these links: - Lovable: https://family-council.lovable.app/ - Claude: https://family-council-gamma.vercel.app/ I created a poll, so please let me know which one you like more.

    Read the full week →
  12. Week 05Kids● Shipped

    Gargoyles: Clan of the Night

    They were carved a thousand years ago to protect a castle on a cliff. Tonight they wake on a glass tower above Manhattan — and the city already has enemies.

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building Gargoyles: Clan of the Night

    They were carved a thousand years ago to protect a castle on a cliff. Tonight they wake on a glass tower above Manhattan — and the city already has enemies.

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    Use Plans in Lovable to think about what to build next

    If you don't know what to build next, just ask Lovable in plan mode. I did this after first version was built. This was the reply:

    Plan

    A review of what's built and a menu of 6 improvement directions the user can pick from.

    Questions answered

    Which direction should I build next?

    Plan

    You've built a surprisingly complete tactical clan-management game. Here's what's already solid, followed by six directions you could go next.

    What's already working

    • Title screen, hub navigation, clan roster with day assignments

    • Full hex-grid tactical combat with 6 story missions, abilities, cooldowns, guard stance, dawn/shelter mechanic

    • Cutscene system with branching choices that affect loyalty and unlock codex entries

    • 10-gargoyle roster with egg brooding, hatching, and naming

    • 4 stronghold buildings with gameplay benefits

    • 9 random night events between days

    • Codex/lore gallery with locked undiscovered gargoyles

    • Cloud saves, auth (email + Google), profile settings with avatar upload

    • Donation page

    Six directions to go next

    1. Sound & atmosphere

    The plan mentions ambient loops and combat SFX but nothing is wired yet.

    • Ambient wind/city drone on hub and title screen

    • Combat attack sounds, hit reactions, ability stingers

    • UI click/hover sounds

    • Optional: a short musical theme for the title

    2. Side missions & replayability

    Right now the only missions are the 6 story chapters. You could add:

    • Patrol missions: shorter 3–5 turn skirmishes against random enemy mixes, available from the mission list between chapters

    • Escort or "survive N turns" win conditions (mentioned in the plan but all current missions are "defeat all")

    • New Game+ after chapter 6: harder enemies, retained roster, a score tally

    3. Combat depth

    The combat works but the AI is basic and abilities are under-utilised:

    • Smarter enemy AI: flanking, retreating to cover, prioritising low-HP targets

    • Terrain effects: elevated hexes giving +ATK, rubble slowing movement

    • Combo abilities: two gargoyles adjacent trigger bonus damage

    • Stone-form timer UI: a clearer countdown to dawn with tension audio

    • Damage numbers floating on hexes when units are struck

    4. Loyalty & character systems

    Loyalty is tracked but has no gameplay effect yet:

    • Low-loyalty gargoyles might refuse assignments or flee combat at low HP

    • High-loyalty gargoyles gain bonus XP or a "inspired" combat buff

    • Personal side-quests triggered by loyalty thresholds (e.g. Brooklyn's restless arc, Hudson's honour)

    • Injury history page per gargoyle showing scars and recoveries

    5. More content variety

    • 10–15 more night events (currently 9; repeats get noticeable quickly)

    • 3–4 more enemy types: Quarrymen (from the plan), a boss-tier Steel Clan unit, a fast scout

    • Cutscene art stills: one per chapter, generated or sourced, shown behind the dialogue

    • Character detail page at /character/$id with full stats, injury log, and loyalty graph

    6. UX polish & onboarding

    • First-time tutorial overlay on the first mission explaining move, attack, and abilities

    • Combat tooltips: hover a hex to see if it's in enemy threat range

    • Better mobile combat controls (the plan says desktop-first, but basic touch friendliness helps)

    • Mission replay summary: stats screen after victory showing damage dealt, turns taken, gargoyles injured

    • Settings page game options: volume sliders, toggle combat animations speed

    My recommendation

    If you want the biggest player-experience lift for the least scope, combine 1 (sound) with 6 (UX polish). If you want more game to play, start with 3 (combat depth) or 2 (side missions).

    Pick a direction and I'll break it into buildable steps.

    FridayLaunch

    Gargoyles: Clan of the Night is live

    Built a small game with Lovable as a homage to one of my favorite TV series as a kid: Gargoyles

    Read the full week →
  13. Week 04Product Mgmt● Shipped

    Products Arena

    The Arena Where Products Compete to Be #1

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building Products Arena

    The Arena Where Products Compete to Be #1

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    Pricing: What is the right model and tiers?

    Idea of the pricing here is to have free of charge viewer users who can vote comment and provide feedback to products and paying users who can promote their products and send their products to battle. The paying users also get AI recommendations how to improve their products, can create product surveys to ask questions and AI summaries all the provided user feedback.

    I have chosen a 3 months discounted plan for premium users to make the barrier lower.

    I also created a promo code to try it free of charge for the 1st month. Try it out! Promo code is 52apps

    You need to enter the promo code on Stripe before actual paying.

    FridayLaunch

    Products Arena is live

    Now let's have some fun. Idea of this app is to provide a platform to founders or product owners to send their products into battles. There is 1 champion each week. AI and user feedback helps you improving your products.

    Read the full week →
  14. Week 03E-Invoicing● Shipped

    Invoice Mapper to EN16931

    Map your invoice format to EN16931: Upload your invoice file and let AI automatically detect the format and map fields to the European e-invoicing norm.

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building Invoice Mapper to EN16931

    Map your invoice format to EN16931: Upload your invoice file and let AI automatically detect the format and map fields to the European e-invoicing norm.

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    Invoice formats are just another language?

    As AI and LLMs are obviously good in understanding languages, my idea was to let AI figure out the invoice format (just another language?) and map it to the European Norm 16931 to give invoices semantic meaning.

    I would say overall the tool does it quite well, but requires more fine-tuning with more complex data structures.

    I used the attached SAP IDOC XML as an example which is very simple. Give it a try!

    As a user you can still fine-tune the mapping then, save it and export the results in different formats (PDF or JSON).

    FridayLaunch

    Invoice Mapper to EN16931 is live

    Built a prototype to map any invoice format with AI to EN16931 (the European invoice norm). You can use this to document how your e-invoice format complies with the European norm (needed e.g. in Germany if you use another format than the 2 recommended ones: XRechnung or ZUGFeRD). Big disclaimer: This is not a Basware product neither a Basware initiative. I implemented and launched this completely as a personal side project.

    Read the full week →
  15. Week 02Kids● Shipped

    Little Witch Academy

    Small games with AI to learn and have fun

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building Little Witch Academy

    Small games with AI to learn and have fun

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    AI generating games

    Well I used Lovable to generate mini games. Some of them are Ok, but to be honest quite many feel very artificial. So this would require more detailed fine-tuning to improve their quality. At the current stage, I wouldn't let my daughter play these. :D

    FridayLaunch

    Little Witch Academy is live

    Built this for my daughter who loves witches and magic and gets to school this year. Idea is to help her prepare for school with games for her age and skills.

    Read the full week →
  16. Week 01Product Mgmt● Shipped

    App(le)s

    Launching this website

    MondayKickoff

    This week I'm building App(le)s

    Launching this website

    WednesdayBehind the scenes

    How to start

    I always like starting iterating my idea with ChatGPT or Claude. This time, I have chosen Claude. I wanted to build 365 apps a year first, like an apple a day, but then realized with Claude that this is just way too much. Claude also provided me the first prototype (attached HTML file). I used the chat with Claude and the attached HTML as a starting point for Lovable.
    FridayLaunch

    App(le)s is live

    Let's start our journey with this website. I want to launch 52 apps in 52 weeks. This is mainly about the journey itself. I want to learn a lot about launching apps and getting your feedback. Maybe there is 1 or 2 ideas worth exploring further. Let's see!

    Read the full week →