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Mike Clarke
Mike Clarke

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I built a coding app where your skills become a city you can see grow

Most people don't quit learning to code because it's too hard. They quit around week 3 — the moment progress stops feeling like progress. You solve problems and... nothing visible happens.

I spent a long time on that problem, and the fix I landed on was simple: make progress something you can see.

So I built CodeCity. Every coding challenge you solve adds a building to your city. Solve 100 challenges, you've got 100 buildings — a literal, visual portfolio of your skills instead of a certificate that says "trust me."

What's in it right now:

  • 1,334 real coding challenges
  • 10 languages (Python, JavaScript, Bash, and more)
  • An AI mentor, ARIA, for the "I'm stuck and about to quit" moments
  • Free

It just launched on the iOS App Store. I'm a solo builder, so I'm sharing it here partly to show what I made and partly to ask: does visible, cumulative progress actually keep you going when you're learning — or is it a gimmick? I genuinely want both takes.

If you want to try it: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6761598036

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