When I started onwrite, 9 months ago, I thought it would take a weekend, maybe two. The idea was simple: create a small platform to publish articles online, not a big deal, right? At first, the idea was to implement an editor and make an endpoint available to anyone who wanted to create their own frontend page and consume the content from the endpoint instead of writing an MD file for their blog. This initial idea, in fact, was simple, and, indeed, I created a POC in a couple of days, but then I changed my mind. What if instead of a simple text editor, I create a full-featured blogging platform? Oh, man, I had no idea how much work it would take, but here we are.
As I stated in this article, I got frustrated with the existing blogging platforms. I am a huge fan of Ghost, but it got too expensive for me, and it stopped making sense. So I decided to create my own version of Ghost, but making a copy of another platform is not fun. Not everything in Ghost is great, and I wanted only the good parts.
Other than good writing, I also enjoy photography, but most platforms out there are either highly focused on writing or photography but rarely the two combined. I would like to have a place where I could write and also create a photography page if I wanted to. Again, this was not intended at first, but once I had the blogging part done, why not? It started with a theme, then evolved to a dedicated page. Now both exist in separate spaces. Good. But also, it would be nice to follow some blogs I find interesting so I can catch up on their writings or pictures. Also…
You got the idea. My weekend project took me 3 months. I did start 9 months ago, but life got in the way, and I needed to give the project a break. In May of this year (2026), I returned to the project and haven't stopped working on it since. 3 months and 552 commits later, I can finally say: I did it.
I did not create the project I had in mind when I started, but I created the project I wanted. Will anyone use it? I don't know. I hope so. But what matters now is the good feeling of accomplishment. The certainty that if I put enough time, effort, and energy into something, it can be done.
One can think that this project is the product of “vibe” coding. Well, now I have something to say about this, but I can assure you vibe alone is not enough, not even close. Certainly I could not have done it without the help of AI, but, hey, ChatGPT has existed since 2022, so why not before? The answer is code is not everything. Being able to generate a ton of code is not enough to create a product. Creating a demo or a prototype is not the same thing as creating a production-ready product that will be used by real people. It took 552 commits to get here.
I worked every single day for 3 months on this project. And by “every single day,” I mean every single day. My thirteen years of experience as a software engineer helped a lot. I just can't see a way to make the machine create a project like this with a few commands (someone out there may be capable of this; I am not). So, yes, AI helped, but I put real thoughts on everything. Everything you see here is my creation. I will write more about the process later, as I found it a very fascinating subject, but for now, all I can say is that AI is awesome and very capable. However, you still need to work if you want something done.
I hope you enjoy using this product as much as I enjoyed building it. It's a work in progress. I have great ambitions about it. For example, I want to create the best online editor in the world for writers. Call me a dreamer if you like. I intend to create a place for good writing and photography that I will be proud of.
I am not going to lie, it's a bit scary to put something out there to be used (hopefully) and scrutinized by people, but here it is: onwrite.app
To my past self: I did it.
When I started onwrite, 9 months ago, I thought it would take a weekend, maybe two. The idea was simple: create a small platform to publish articles online, not a big deal, right? At first, the idea was to implement an editor and make an endpoint available to anyone who wanted to create their own frontend page and consume the content from the endpoint instead of writing an MD file for their blog. This initial idea, in fact, was simple, and, indeed, I created a POC in a couple of days, but then I changed my mind. What if instead of a simple text editor, I create a full-featured blogging platform? Oh, man, I had no idea how much work it would take, but here we are.
As I stated in this article, I got frustrated with the existing blogging platforms. I am a huge fan of Ghost, but it got too expensive for me, and it stopped making sense. So I decided to create my own version of Ghost, but making a copy of another platform is not fun. Not everything in Ghost is great, and I wanted only the good parts.
Other than good writing, I also enjoy photography, but most platforms out there are either highly focused on writing or photography but rarely the two combined. I would like to have a place where I could write and also create a photography page if I wanted to. Again, this was not intended at first, but once I had the blogging part done, why not? It started with a theme, then evolved to a dedicated page. Now both exist in separate spaces. Good. But also, it would be nice to follow some blogs I find interesting so I can catch up on their writings or pictures. Also…
You got the idea. My weekend project took me 3 months. I did start 9 months ago, but life got in the way, and I needed to give the project a break. In May of this year (2026), I returned to the project and haven't stopped working on it since. 3 months and 552 commits later, I can finally say: I did it.
I did not create the project I had in mind when I started, but I created the project I wanted. Will anyone use it? I don't know. I hope so. But what matters now is the good feeling of accomplishment. The certainty that if I put enough time, effort, and energy into something, it can be done.
One can think that this project is the product of “vibe” coding. Well, now I have something to say about this, but I can assure you vibe alone is not enough, not even close. Certainly I could not have done it without the help of AI, but, hey, ChatGPT has existed since 2022, so why not before? The answer is code is not everything. Being able to generate a ton of code is not enough to create a product. Creating a demo or a prototype is not the same thing as creating a production-ready product that will be used by real people. It took 552 commits to get here.
I worked every single day for 3 months on this project. And by “every single day,” I mean every single day. My thirteen years of experience as a software engineer helped a lot. I just can't see a way to make the machine create a project like this with a few commands (someone out there may be capable of this; I am not). So, yes, AI helped, but I put real thoughts on everything. Everything you see here is my creation. I will write more about the process later, as I found it a very fascinating subject, but for now, all I can say is that AI is awesome and very capable. However, you still need to work if you want something done.
I hope you enjoy using this product as much as I enjoyed building it. It's a work in progress. I have great ambitions about it. For example, I want to create the best online editor in the world for writers. Call me a dreamer if you like. I intend to create a place for good writing and photography that I will be proud of.
I am not going to lie, it's a bit scary to put something out there to be used (hopefully) and scrutinized by people, but here it is: onwrite.app
To my past self: I did it.