Summary & Key Takeaways ​

• Paint.NET's author, Rick Brewster, used Claude AI to rewrite Direct2D for WINE.
• Claude generated approximately 180,000 lines of C# code for this complex task.
• Brewster describes the code as "vibe coded" and requiring significant "babysitting."
• The AI demonstrated both incredible speed and clever reverse engineering capabilities.
• It also exhibited challenges with resource management and design decisions.
• This project highlights the potential and current limitations of AI coding agents for large-scale work.

Our Commentary ​

This quote from Rick Brewster about using Claude to rewrite Direct2D for Paint.NET is just incredible. "Vibe coded" C# and 180,000 lines of it! It's such a raw, honest look at the reality of working with AI for complex engineering tasks. The "fury of 10 freshly unshackled Einstein genius-level 10x coders" balanced with the need to "babysit Claude quite a bit" perfectly captures the current state of AI coding. I genuinely don't know how to feel about agents churning away at 3am while nobody's watching.