TL;DR
The developer of AMP, an offline music player written in Zig, says a four-month manual rewrite removed nearly half of the code while preserving its features and improving robustness. The account describes how an internet blackout, frustration with existing lyric displays and heavy AI-assisted coding shaped the project; AMP’s stated roadmap includes Android and Windows support.
The developer of AMP, an offline music player written in Zig, says nearly half its codebase was removed and rewritten over four months after extensive AI-assisted coding produced software they found difficult to review. In a report titled “How Not to Build a Music Player,” the developer says the rebuilt version kept its existing features and became more robust, while presenting the experience as a warning against letting a hobby project grow beyond its creator’s ability to understand it.
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The developer says AMP began as a response to unreliable internet access and dissatisfaction with available players. After an internet shutdown, they started archiving music and used Strawberry, but disliked that its lyrics were sometimes not synchronized to songs and displayed timestamps. The project’s stated aims were a minimal feature set, no C++ dependencies, integration with the operating system and an interface written by the developer. They chose Zig for the application, including its shaders.
Work was interrupted by another internet blackout that the developer says lasted more than four months. During that period, they downloaded repositories and documentation over a slow connection to continue development. After internet access was largely restored, they tried using a Claude Max subscription for coding and say a substantial portion of AMP was produced with AI assistance over several days.
The developer later decided they could not realistically review tens of thousands of lines of generated code. They report that the rewrite took nearly four months and removed almost half the codebase, while retaining the same features and adding others. The account does not provide comparative code samples or independent tests to substantiate the robustness assessment. The developer says they regret relying on AI for the work, but suggests it can be useful for bounded tasks such as repetitive text or code edits.
Why AMP’s Rewrite Matters
AMP’s account illustrates a practical risk in AI-assisted software development: producing code quickly does not remove the need to understand, review and maintain it. For a solo developer, a large volume of unfamiliar code can turn an experiment into a substantial cleanup task. The reported rewrite is a personal account, not a controlled comparison, but it makes the trade-off concrete: the developer says the project retained its features after a lengthy reduction in code.
The story also ties software design to access to the internet. The developer describes building an offline player after a shutdown cut off online services, then continuing work with limited connectivity during a later blackout. Offline playback can matter to people facing interruptions, though the report does not claim AMP itself has been tested as a solution to every connectivity restriction.
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From Offline Listening to AMP
The developer’s account starts with the Twelve-Day War and an internet shutdown they say made online music players unreliable for their circumstances. They began storing tracks locally and chose Strawberry before deciding to build a player of their own. They also say they had not known about foobar2000 until a friend mentioned it while the report was being written.
A subsequent wave of protests and events the author describes as the tragedy of January 8 and 9 preceded another blackout. The report says unauthorized or informal access options—including personal White SIMs, whitelisted servers and Starlink equipment—were sold through Telegram, with some access costing $5 or more per gigabyte. Those prices and the account of the market are the developer’s description; the report does not provide an independent estimate.
After internet access was mostly restored, the developer tried AI coding using a Claude Max subscription received as a gift from their employer in 2025. They say Anthropic later banned their account after identifying that they lived in Iran. They also cite Codeberg’s announcement of a no-AI policy as a reason they had to choose between removing AI-generated material and moving the repository. They chose to rewrite it.
“I’m mentally incapable of reviewing tens of thousands lines of code.”
— AMP’s developer
What the Rewrite Does Not Show
The report does not provide the earlier version of AMP, before-and-after code samples, independent testing or a detailed feature list. It is therefore not possible from the account alone to verify the size of the reduction or compare reliability across versions. The developer says they cannot provide an example of code they rewrote because there is no pre-rewrite repository history available for that comparison.
AMP’s current distribution, supported platforms and user base are not specified. The report says the project is at version 0.1, but does not give a release schedule for the features on its roadmap. The developer also reports that UDP traffic remained blocked after internet service was mostly restored; the duration and wider effects of that restriction are not explained.
AMP’s Planned Version 1.0
The developer lists a music server, Android and Windows support, and packaging for major Linux distributions as goals for AMP 1.0. These are roadmap items, not confirmed releases, and the report gives no target dates. The project’s next milestones will show whether the pared-back codebase can support those additions without recreating the maintenance burden that prompted the rewrite.
The author ends by inviting suggestions. No further development schedule or details about how the project will handle AI-generated contributions are provided.
Key Questions
What is AMP?
AMP is a music player written in Zig. Its developer describes it as a minimal, offline-focused hobby project and says it was at version 0.1 when the report was published.
Why did the developer rewrite AMP?
The developer says extensive AI-assisted coding produced tens of thousands of lines they could not adequately review. They chose to remove and rewrite much of the code rather than move the repository after Codeberg announced a no-AI policy.
How much of AMP was removed?
The developer says nearly half the codebase was removed during a rewrite that took almost four months. The report does not provide code comparisons or an independent verification.
What features are planned for AMP 1.0?
The stated roadmap includes a music server, Android and Windows support, and packaging for major Linux distributions. No delivery dates are given.
Does the report establish that AI coding made AMP worse?
No. It records the developer’s experience and judgment that the generated code was difficult to review and that the rewrite made AMP more robust. It does not include independent testing or a controlled comparison of the versions.
Source: alichraghi.github.io
