What I Tried to Accomplish
I had a Flask and React web application that was missing a critical piece: authentication and authorization. To solve this, I needed a properly configured MongoDB instance with authentication enabled, an admin user, an application-specific user, and a database ready for CRUD operations. Instead of manually going through the usual setup process, I decided to test Antrieb - an AI infrastructure automation tool that generates and executes scripts on real VMs.
My prompt was straightforward: deploy MongoDB with authentication enabled, create an admin user, set up a database with an application user, enable journaling for persistence, and test CRUD operations via the mongo shell. I ran it through Claude Code using Antrieb's MCP integration.
How It Went
Antrieb picked up the task and started working autonomously. It spun up a real VM, installed MongoDB, configured authentication, created the users, and ran through the CRUD tests - all step by step. I could follow everything in real time through the monitoring dashboard, which was honestly my favorite part of the experience. The dashboard gave me clear visibility into what was happening at each stage: what succeeded, what failed, and how the agent adapted.
The whole process was largely hands-off. I did have to nudge the MCP with a couple of follow-up prompts to refine certain steps, but that felt pretty normal - no different from the kind of back-and-forth you'd expect when using any LLM as a coding agent. The self-correction feature worked well; when a step didn't go as planned, the agent analyzed the failure and adjusted without me having to intervene manually.
What Worked Well
The monitoring dashboard stood out. Having real-time insight into what the agent was doing, what passed, and what needed fixing made the whole experience feel transparent and trustworthy. It's one thing for a tool to generate a script - it's another to actually watch it execute and verify on real infrastructure.
The autonomy was impressive too. I hadn't used an infrastructure automation service like this before, and I was surprised by how little hand-holding it needed. The agent explored, adapted, and delivered a working setup with minimal input from me.
What Could Be Better
The only friction was needing to provide a few extra prompts along the way. The MCP occasionally needed a bit more context to get things exactly right. That said, this was minor and felt like a natural part of working with AI-driven tools - not a dealbreaker.
Final Thoughts
Antrieb delivered what it promises: verified infrastructure scripts that actually ran on real machines. For my use case - setting up MongoDB with authentication to support a Flask + React app - it saved me time and gave me confidence that the output was tested, not just generated. If you're working on infrastructure tasks and want something more reliable than copy-pasting from Stack Overflow, it's worth trying.
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