Hey DEV Community! š
Iām Harun, a 12-year-old developer building entirely on a $150 Android phone.
I recently launched KODA, a 142KB, mobile-first AI code mentor with live voice chat and study rooms. No bloat, no heavy frameworks, just pure constraint-driven engineering designed for spotty 3G connections and budget devices.
Current Status:
- Users: 23 (The Founding 23 š)
- Goal by Nov 11: 100 Users
- Newsletter Goal: 50 Subs for "Off Radar"
- Codebase: š Locked for a month. I am going 100% pure distribution.
Why I locked the code
Most indie developers fall into the trap of constantly tweaking features. I realized I was using "coding" as a way to avoid the hard part of building a business: distribution.
So, I made a rule. No new features for 30 days. My only job is to get KODA in front of developers who actually need it.
Iām not using paid ads. Iām relying on community, transparent building, and ruthless optimization.
The "Constraint-Driven" Philosophy
Building on a $150 phone with limited storage and spotty internet taught me something crucial: Bloat is the enemy.
If an app takes 10 seconds to load on a 3G connection, the user is gone. KODA is 142KB. It uses lean WebSockets for study rooms and native browser APIs whenever possible. Itās built for the developers who are often ignored by Silicon Valley: those coding on budget devices in developing nations, or just anyone who hates bloated, 50MB web apps.
How you can help me hit 100
If you code on a budget device, or know someone who does, I would be incredibly grateful if you tried it out and roasted my UX. Every single user gets me closer to the goal.
š Try KODA here: https://koda-aicodementor.netlify.app/
Off Radar š”
Iām also building a tiny, constraint-driven newsletter called Off Radar for devs building powerful tools on a budget. If you want to see how a 12-year-old navigates the indie hacker world, Iād be honored to have you:
š Subscribe to Off Radar: https://offradar.netlify.app/
Letās get to 100! šÆ