The Missing Essentials: Change Password & Forgot Password
Naturally, the two features that should never be last‑minute additions were… last‑minute additions.
- Change Password — Codex added it to the UI and API with minimal fuss.
- Forgot Password — this one was trickier, because in my quest for anonymity I avoided collecting email addresses. I am now questioning my sanity.
Still, Codex managed to build the flow. Mostly. And then things got interesting.
The Rabbit Warren of Doom
At some point, Codex’s code failed on FIDO. Then a simple “use the latest Stripe NuGet package” broke that too. This is where vibe‑coding shows its limits.
Codex wrote the original code. Codex broke the original code. Codex now expected me to unpick the code it wrote so it could fix the code it broke.
This is a very different experience from “I wrote it, I understand it.” You may laugh at my innocence. I certainly did.
Why I’m Comfortable Sharing This
An SPA is inherently transparent. Anyone can hit F12 and see the .html and .js. The only thing hidden is the API code.
And my USP isn’t “Dave builds web‑apps.” Codex can do that. My value is the genealogy knowledge, the GEDCOM expertise, and the ability to apply an LLM meaningfully in this domain.
What This All Proved
- Average developers needs to up their game or pick from alternate occupations.
- AI still needs experienced guidance — for now — but with it, it’s a game‑changer.
If Codex had existed in its current form when I started my Fintech, my five months of 17‑hour days would have been reduced to one month of normal hours. That’s both disturbing and exhilarating.
We’re entering an era where if you can think it and describe it, you don’t need to be a coder.
But before anyone panics, remember: LLMs can only do this because brilliant engineers have already done it before. They’re parroting patterns, not inventing new ones. They’re not truly creative — not yet.
When that day arrives, all bets are off. Imagine an AI rewriting itself better, then repeating. Without creativity, gains are incremental. With creativity… well, let’s not think too hard about that.
A huge shout‑out to the incredible engineers who made LLMs and agents possible. They’ve changed the landscape forever.
Back to the AI
Now that the web UI is where I want it, it’s time to return to the heart of the project — making the AI itself equally awesome in Generative AI for Genealogy – Part XII.
