Every developer has stared at a messy codebase — AI-generated or otherwise — and thought "I could do this better." Most never do, because rebuilding feels overwhelming. Where do you start? How do you avoid copying the same mistakes? The answer is simpler than you think: you don't rebuild a project, you rebuild one endpoint. Then another. Then another. No grand architecture sessions, no perfect folder structure on day one — just a blank file, a single route, and the discipline to ship something ugly before you ship something good.
Rule 1 — One Endpoint. Full Stop.
Never touch the next feature until the current one works. No exceptions, no "I'll just set up the folder structure first." Pick a single API endpoint, open a blank file, and write it. This constraint eliminates the biggest killer of side projects: endless setup that never ships.
Rule 2 — Write It Badly on Purpose
Your first version lives entirely in the controller. No services, no abstractions, no clever patterns. Just make it return the right data. Bad code that runs beats elegant code that doesn't exist. This step is not laziness — it's deliberate. You're learning the domain before you design for it.
Rule 3 — Open the Old Code Only After Yours Works
This is the core of the entire method. Once your version is running, then you look at how it was done before. You'll immediately see the decisions differently — not as gospel to copy, but as choices to evaluate. You'll notice what's genuinely smart and what was just the path of least resistance.
Rule 4 — Judge, Don't Copy
Ask three questions about every pattern you find in the old code: Does this solve a real problem? Does it solve MY problem? Would I have reached for this naturally? If the answer to all three is yes, keep it. Otherwise, do it your way. You're the developer now, not a transcriber.
Rule 5 — Close the Old Code and Never Look Back
Once you've made your decision, the old code is dead to you. Don't keep it open as a reference. Don't second-guess yourself mid-feature. Ship the endpoint, commit it, and move to the next one with a clean mind.
The entire method is this: build, compare, judge, move on. Repeat until done.
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