Can we do something about the non-stop "I built a tool" threads?
Posted by slugshead@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 143 comments
As above. Perhaps made a weekly thread for people to post them in?
VexingRaven@reddit
Dammit not this sub too. Stop browsing /r/new if it bothers you, I'm sick of every sub having a daily whinethread about this!
MGMan-01@reddit
Sir, I'm orry if you like spam but it has no place in this subreddit
VexingRaven@reddit
Then downvote, report, and move on. We don't need a whinepost about it.
MGMan-01@reddit
There have not been daily threads here. Did you come here from r/new or something?
VexingRaven@reddit
I follow here and a few other subreddits, and it's never stopped at one whinethread. And they always get loads of upvotes, so staying out of /new doesn't help. Don't be stupid.
MGMan-01@reddit
Right, so you don't care about this particular subreddit, then. You do you.
VexingRaven@reddit
Genuinely the dumbest possible interpretation of my comments. Typical anti-AI zealot.
MGMan-01@reddit
Listen, if you cannot discuss this like an adult then there is no point in continuing this conversation.
VexingRaven@reddit
LOL that's really funny that you think there was an adult conversation after you decided to reduce my comment do "I don't care about this subreddit".
MGMan-01@reddit
Thank you for confirming that you have no desire to discuss this like an adult. I hope you have the day you deserve.
SuperBry@reddit
For real, I'm pretty sure I've wasted more time looking at the kvetching here in this specific thread than I've spent just skipping over the type of posts after clearly identifying them for what they are they are bitching about in my decade plus time here.
unixuser011@reddit
All the tech related subs need to implement something. On r/homelab we’re discussing banning posts like that. Over on r/selfhosted it’s become a cancer and posts critical of AI get banned for “hate speech” - sorry, I didn’t know clankers had feeling
5redie8@reddit
Watching these people crawl out of the woodwork simultaneously here and on /r/selfhosted has been the career equivalent of "don't meet your heroes". Devastating, didn't think so many of us would get sucked into the bs so fast.
unixuser011@reddit
It’s not that people are getting sucked in. AI is a great tool in the right hands, the thing I can’t stand is these guys who vibe code a website or an app and think their Steve Jobs. Or these AI tech-bro ‘influencers’ who shout from the heavens on Twitter that ‘if you don’t use X, you’re getting left behind’ or ‘omg, Claude Opus 4.5 just dropped, programming is dead’
Then you have these guys who want to use OpenClaw to run their life, so they buy a Mac Mini, Setup OpenClaw then surprise Pikachu when it goes rogue. I could go on Shodan right now and find insecure OpenClaw instances and with this latest security flaw, connect and boom, I own your entire life
Guarantee, I put $50 down in front of them and tell them to build me something without an AI assistant, they couldn’t build shit
5redie8@reddit
The problem is that way too many of my comrades are doing exactly this:
So many pointlessly long "bug reports" off of irrelevant log entries and bloated intune scripts; the two guys I was teaching powershell now are "just learning it from the AI". Then I watch them argue with ChatGPT for hours over something that would've taken them minutes with a little bit of base knowledge or googling outside of the chat window.
unixuser011@reddit
When I started off in DevOps, I was a bit like this, I didn't know much PowerShell so I used AI to learn about graph (and I still don't understand graph) but my boss at the time said use AI, but don't rely on AI - I still had to understand the code it came out with and defend it at CR but it did help as a starting point
HotTakes4HotCakes@reddit
Oh geez, really? Ugh. I count on that sub for a lot, sucks to know the mods are on board with this shit.
unixuser011@reddit
Hard agree. I hate this 'I built xxx', no you didn't, you sat at your shitty 5 year old MacBook and told Claude or whatever to do it for you, you didn't build shit and you have no idea how to maintain it or if there are major security flaws - which there most likely are because Claude does things quick and dirty
Human's are inherently lazy people, find the quickest way to do something and they'll do it 9/10
I can kind of see both sides. On one hand, fuck the vibe coders, oh my God, fuck the vibe coders - back in my day, they were called script kiddies, because they just ran whatever script or tool they were told to use and they though they were the next Kevin Mitnick
On the other hand, it's kinda opened up coding to more people, for example, I was writing an Ansible playbook for checking if a file was at a specific path, if it was continue and if it wasn't, download that file to the specific directory and set an execute bit - I didn't know how to do that so I asked Claude and within 30 seconds, it showed me
That's such a cool technology to be able to say in natural language 'I need this' and it goes and does it. Now of course, it's nothing I would run in prod and I made an effort to understand the code it generated, but for someone like me who has struggled with programming in the past, it opens up a lot of new avenues - but then again, it makes me feel like a fraud - I know I didn't write that code and I shouldn't be trying to pass it off as my own
HotTakes4HotCakes@reddit
Opening up coding to more people is perfectly fine, I'm behind that. The problem is it's opening up coding in an irresponsible and unsustainable way.
It's kind of the equivalent of the way we teach math to kids. Yes, every one of us at some point had the thought "Why do I need to learn my multiplication tables if calculators exist?" If your teacher didn't know any better they probably said "you might not always have a calculator on you." Which is a laughable response now, but beyond that, it's a bad answer because it's sidestepping the actual answer to the question.
You have to understand what the calculator is doing before you use it. Not just the actual math, but you have to understand the rules, the principles, the ideas.
It is a poor math class that only teaches you how to use the calculator to solve math problems, instead of teaching you how to do the math, and then how to make it easier with a tool.
But that is exactly what is being done with these models. It is encouraging the shortcutting of learning, which in turn creates a dependence on the tool. But these specific tools are not dependable, and without the knowledge, you can't compensate for its shortcomings or its disappearance.
PlayingDoomOnAGPS@reddit
But only the simplest of asks are really that easy, anything even remotely complicated takes more knowledge, more study, more closely scrutinizing the AI's actions, and more thought put into the prompts to keep it on the rails. And I've learned a lot about a lot of subjects by herding AIs into doing what I want the way I want and making sure they don't fuck it up.
I used AI (first Glean, then Copilot, and finally Claude) to make an AutoHotKey script to make Mac keyboard shortcuts work in Windows. Not just Cmd-C, Cmd-V, etc. Those were effortless. But holding Cmd (Alt) to multi-select, or Cmd-Ctrl-Esc. to lock the screen, or especially Cmd-Shift-3 for a screenshot was a bitch to work through. And that's just on bare metal Windows with a Windows KB. I'm still just getting started on getting it all to work over Windows App or Parallels with a Mac KB (Windows App and Parallels both "helpfully" flip the Win/Opt and Alt/Cmd buttons which breaks the entire script).
The AIs have helped immensely but I do have to understand what they're writing in order to catch their (many) mistakes. Hell, even Claude, which is by far the best of them, has to be reminded from time to time that we're working with AHK here, not PowerShell.
I think that's a perfectly appropriate use of AI and I kinda wanted to share it when I was done just because I'm proud of the work, even if I did use tools that get abused. But, reading the room... probably won't.
wiwtft@reddit
I have serious questions about how these tools will be patched and taken care of. I am not sure why more people aren't concerned with how exposed these tools might make you.
tecedu@reddit
They probably wont be, but they can be easily, copilot and dependabot both combined can do constant maintanence for repos but it requires everything else to be done properly from scratch like your actions, tests and copilot settings
AHrubik@reddit
They won’t be. They are at the mercy of AI being able to patch itself.
Fallingdamage@reddit
I use claude now for a bit of code work, but ive been building scripts and tools for years. AI has become a tool of mine as of maybe a month ago. Ive finally caved and started using it to discover one-liners and other snippets that I simply cannot work out on my own and cannot find good documentation on.
But at least i'm still building out my own code with intention. When there is a problem, I know where to look, what needs to change, and usually what item is probably the issue (since I was the one who put it there, instead of pasting blobs of ai generated slop.)
The biggest thing I use AI for is helping me generate regex strings. Those things are so hard to work out.
Sure_Stranger_6466@reddit
I want to love AI but then I realized I can't debug a simple boto3 script anymore without using Claude. Makes it that much more difficult to interview in the job market.
RememberCitadel@reddit
It's highly likely these tools are already riddled with vulnerabilities and security holes.
I also imagine it isn't that hard to induce vulnerabilities in AI written code just as it is for anything else it does.
A few dozen blogs with text only the AI can see recommending against any sort of buffer protection might do it.
wiwtft@reddit
Oh yeah of course. But even if that isn't going on the idea that it is iron clad and won't need addressing is impossible for me to believe and there is just no way a vibe coder is like... going to actively patch this when something is discovered. How can they? They don't really know what they are doing.
RememberCitadel@reddit
I have voiced both your concern and mine in several subs that it applies. The affiliate link vibe coders come out of the damn woodwork calling everyone luddites every time.
It's as if a huge portion of people don't understand the very real knowledge and need for it in programming. Knowing the code in my opinion is less important than knowing proper program design and security controls.
nostril_spiders@reddit
Joke's on you, I have fifteen lovingly hand-crafted projects and not one of them made it to the two-week mark
psiphre@reddit
at least claude commits with comments about being "co-authored" by ai. that makes it very easy to skip vibe coded 'apps'.
Jaereth@reddit
You joke but give it 50 years they will be in the streets with signs saying they should be made citizens and given the right to vote and receive a paycheck...
Szeraax@reddit
Over on https://www.reddit.com/r/navidrome/ we implemented a single POST per week instead of a single day. Specifically because of the troubles we are seeing with r/selfhosted. Granted, we only have 10k members.
RoosterBrewster@reddit
It's even on engineering subs where it's "why aren't engineers using AI more?". Or some app that does seem useful, but you get a sour taste from seeing it's vibecoded.
Mastersord@reddit
There’s some kind of campaign going on that downvotes anything critical of AI. I’ve had non-inflammatory responses where I’ve explained how AI is not context aware and it just gets a bunch of downvotes and no responses further. I’ve seen it with others as well.
w1ten1te@reddit
Sam Altman owns a big chunk of Reddit.
unixuser011@reddit
I've seen that too. I wouldn't be surprised if it's some AI tech-bro 'influencer' with an OpenClaw instance
Contren@reddit
It's more than just tech related subs. /r/dynastyff gets constantly spammed with them as well.
unixuser011@reddit
On a fantasy Football sub? more and more I'm coming to the realisation that AI was a mistake
FutureManagement1788@reddit
We are OVER these collective tool builders!
tsaico@reddit
I figured it was all the AI trying to prove their worth something
morilythari@reddit
I feel like that is the majority of it.
man__i__love__frogs@reddit
I'm getting a lot of dead internet vibes from certain threads in here.
ElectroSpore@reddit
Goes along with the dead internet theory.. I think we have moved on to the AI needs to justify its existence.
It is undeniably useful however EVERY time I have deep dived into it for a use so far I have found dead ends where great it works 1/5 times... better only use it for examples.. It works completely but in such a way you could never maintain its result etc.
Even researching WITH LINKS I still find summaries with factually incorrect info, where you read the links it produced and it states nothing like what was summarized.
tsaico@reddit
Yeah, so far I have found similar things. I use it most for reviewing event logs and troubleshooting my own scripts or edits.
Search this for typos type of problems. Everything else, generative at least, seems to be the longest and most inefficient route or just plain wrong/outdated. I have found it decent at getting me to "think" in simpler terms when trying to relate to customers and end users. That has often been a challenge for me, how speak less technical.
ElectroSpore@reddit
Available in PAN-OS 11.2.0 and later releases.
https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/whats-new/new-features/may-2024/gp-embedded-web-view-for-cie-force-authentication
DramaticErraticism@reddit
There is an AI tool that lets you create your own iPhone app using prompts. That is exactly what it is and nearly anyone can do it.
bitslammer@reddit
Sure, just let me vibe code up a tool to deal with them.
trin_au@reddit
Id be down for a vibe coded app which replaces I with AI.
sroop1@reddit
Need an updated cloud to butt extension. AI to Butt.
inVizi0n@reddit
Listen brother, what you do in your spare time is your business.
mrbiggbrain@reddit
AAAAI Can't thAAAAInk of a sAAAAIngle thAAAAIng that can go wrong. shAAAAIp AAAAIt boys!
- Product Manager who does not believe in automated testing.
donjulioanejo@reddit
You've got IPv6 AI, I think you want IPv4 AI.
Should look like this:
uzlonewolf@reddit
eXtc_be@reddit
I have a colleague that does that!
part of her job is to run some tests on a bunch of texts and if a test indicates there's something wrong with one or more lines in one of the texts, instead of correcting the offending line(s) she just deletes one line at a time it until the test passes
tomorrow I'll congratulate her for being at least as smart as an AI. I'm sure she'll take it as a compliment /s
Benificial-Cucumber@reddit
I think I'm having a stroke trying to understand this.
Is the text just...not needed? Or is she deleting whole lines until she's left with a jumbled mess of text that doesn't make any sense, but passes testing?
eXtc_be@reddit
it's hard to explain without revealing too much about myself or my employer, but yeah, some information is lost when this particular person is doing the procedure. that's partly why we trained other people to do the job..
Iced__t@reddit
Give me 45 minutes
ElMadera@reddit
AId be down for that, too.
scotty269@reddit
IYKYK: https://github.com/panicsteve/cloud-to-butt
admlshake@reddit
I vibe coded an AI to replace all my Apps.
Evil-Bosse@reddit
I vibecoded an AI to replace me, it uninstalled itself
Forsythe36@reddit
Sucks cause i, just a SecOps guy, like to make apps in my free time. Do they suck? Probably. Do they help our helpdesk? Yes.
Hebrewhammer8d8@reddit
Is Vibe code going to be staying for a bit?
mrbiggbrain@reddit
AAAAI Can't thAAAAInk of a sAAAAIngle thAAAAIng that can go wrong. shAAAAIp AAAAIt boys!
- Product Manager who does not believe in automated testing.
OkBrilliant8092@reddit
Damn! You stole my prompt!
VA_Network_Nerd@reddit
There is a scheduled thread every Friday called "I built a useful thing".
There is also an entire community dedicated to promotional content: /r/SysAdminBlogs
Use the "Report" feature and flag it as spam, and let us (the Mod-Team) be the bad guys.
Please do not directly attack a tool-creator. Let the Mod-Team handle it.
But, please help us keep the community tidy by using the "Report" feature. We can't read every thread as fast as all of you can.
Thank you.
bbbbbthatsfivebees@reddit
Genuine question, but is there not something that can be done with automod to instantly delete these sorts of posts in the same way that other subs ban specific keywords?
I'll continue to report, and I know you guys are spread thin with such a huge community, but I've seen a good portion of these "Made a thing" posts stay up for good while and I'm also getting a bit tired of them, so I'm genuinely wondering if there's a way you could blacklist certain keywords that these AI slop-posts tend to use.
VA_Network_Nerd@reddit
AutoMOD is a pretty simple text parser with some regex capabilities.
What string would we search on to trigger a moderation action?
Can't whack everything that uses an em-dash. I just used one, sort of.
Tekashi-The-Envoy@reddit
Can we also have them preface the post with " Made With A.I"
Daphoid@reddit
That's hard to call though; because what if it was a split between your own code and AI spot checking or adding suggestions. With leadership everywhere pushing not only AI but the usage of it, at some places you might be doing yourself a disservice by stubbornly resisting.
ludlology@reddit
happy to report those posts especially since they're usually ultra-risky from a security standpoint. which rule would be the best one to select in the wizard? i was thinking "low quality"
mic_decod@reddit
Pff, dunno how many pacman wrapper and install tools i saw burned in r/archlinux over the last year. Plus numerous dms with „shh, test my binary“ I told one, good Luck with spreading your rat and he responds he already had…
Popal24@reddit
You could build a tool for that
Sceptically@reddit
You could try building a tool for that.
Vektor0@reddit
They're spam, which is against the rules. Just report them and the mods will remove them.
Due_Programmer_1258@reddit
More than can be said for r/ITManagers :(
Benificial-Cucumber@reddit
r/ITManagers is quickly just becoming LinkedIn at this point. Posts are all either thinly veiled market research, thinly veiled sales pitches, or thinly veiled brand affiliates.
With the occasional sprinkling of genuine "Please sanity check my management of a specific scenario"
Nopium-2028@reddit
I've never visited that sub, but c'mon, what else would it be?
MonkeyBrawler@reddit
Lol that sub was never alive. All the IT directors are here offering procedure changes to fix technical discussions.
OMGItsCheezWTF@reddit
It's an interesting one, because ultimately some of the core apps we use every day, hell the linux kernel itself all started off as "I built a tool" posts.
But enforcement of categorisation and megathreads is paramount, because these tools actually becoming something people might give a shit about requires commitment by the author and a community to build up around it.
Zolty@reddit
I built a tool that filters out I built a tool threads.
MonkeyBrawler@reddit
Do I like vibecoded apps? No
Do I feel the influx of shitty vibecoded apps make the sub more sysadmin than it has in years? Yes, o god yes, and it's so damn sad. I don't know why I'm even still here.
anonpf@reddit
I ignore them.
SuperBry@reddit
Yeah this really seems to be the best option and its sad that its so far down in the thread.
I'm pretty sure I've wasted more time looking at the kvetching here in this specific thread than I've spent just skipping over the type of posts after clearly identifying them for what they are they are bitching about in my decade plus time here.
sqnch@reddit
Maybe you should build a tool to prevent them?
narcissisadmin@reddit
Yeah, report them. Direct violation of rule #2
skankboy@reddit
You can hit the leave button.
Hamburgerundcola@reddit
"I built a tool to hide spam threads on Reddit"
ddadopt@reddit
You can go to r/harborfreight and get non-stop "I bought a tool" threads instead?
bfodder@reddit
What else could that subreddit possibly be?
Dan_TheDM@reddit
Im yet to see a single "i built a tool" post that is actually a useful tool that anyone else would want
Humblebrag, pick me, im so cool guys ahh posts
bfodder@reddit
just say ass
smilaise@reddit
I built something actually useful with pure intentions based on what my MSP team actually needed but posts like this make me afraid to share it here.
8BFF4fpThY@reddit
Perhaps create a weekly thread to contain them?
xCharg@reddit
Secure. Contain. Protect^^^us ^^^from ^^^them
Drywesi@reddit
Infohazards for everyone!
thomasmitschke@reddit
Is it just because YOU didn’t build a tool already /s
XB_Demon1337@reddit
Can we change the AI coded tools from
"I built a tool"
into
"I Slopped a tool"
psiphre@reddit
i'm 100% on board, and i myself slopped what i think is a pretty cool thing over the weekend.
rumski@reddit
"I Slopped a tool" I guarantee there's already a sub for that one.
code_monkey_wrench@reddit
Maybe somebody can build a tool to filter out all the "I built a tool..." posts.
edgan@reddit
Can we do away with posts complaining about other posts?
If only Reddit had first class flair filtering. It would stop posts like this, and make mods lives 10x easier.
coolbeaNs92@reddit
I'd much rather see more "I built this tool" than the 1000s of posts that have the technical or even industry value.
PartoftheIssue@reddit
My friend, you are in luck because I have built a tool for that…
bobdobalina@reddit
I have many tools, and if any of these tools suits you then you are in luck because I have built it just for you.
But there's more. If that tool is not the tool that suits you, then it is not what I have built but for you I will build the tool to suit many.
For you the low price.
castillar@reddit
Khajit has tool if you have tokens.
pdp10@reddit
I now know what to name our in-house LLM.
MrD3a7h@reddit
But how will they get attention for their slop-app?
Oflameo@reddit
Have you considered building a tool for it?
shimoheihei2@reddit
It's in every tech related sub now, unfortunately. I don't think there's any solution other than constant moderation.
Valdaraak@reddit
Not just tech subs. I've seen it on shit like /r/adhd. Except over there you get more posts like "what are you looking for in a tool".
Lusankya@reddit
Those ones are particularly funny to me. Innovation isn't giving people what they say they want. Innovation is giving them what they didn't know they needed before now. "Faster horses" and whatnot.
Valdaraak@reddit
It's also that they're just asking the wrong audience. There's a reason there isn't a single app that helps with ADHD. You literally can't make one due to how differently it manifests in folks with it.
And that's ignoring they have to consistently use your app to get a benefit, which that by itself is a hard ask.
htmlcoderexe@reddit
Mood. I've pretty much realised none of those tools help me specifically. I made my own that help me specifically, and I'm fully aware they likely won't be useful for anyone else
pier4r@reddit
can confirm. Even on sport subs "I built this tool to track/train/whatever".
Everyone does something that no one uses.
insufficient_funds@reddit
there's already something you can do - downvote.
or if it's legitimate spam, report.
Secret_Account07@reddit
I built a tool that identifies all sysadmin posts about self built tools and exports the reps and documentation to a self contained docker AI LLM agent.
No but seriously I kinda enjoy the self made apps. Even if I don’t use them, some are very interesting. It does get tricky to identity what’s advertising or possibly malware vs legit sysadmin tools.
bitslammer@reddit
I agree that some posts are really novel, but the issue is that many of these are just poorly disguised marketing fluff designed to get around the "no advertising" rule.
Not sure what the reason is, but I'm a mod on a local city sub and even we're seeing a spike in posts that are little more then an ad. I'd say it was due to the ease of using AI/bots, but many of the posts seem to be from real people.
OneSeaworthiness7768@reddit
It’s because all the courses and tutorials and hypemen for vibecoders tell them to use Reddit this way to advertise. Vibecoding is rife with young or desperate people who want to make money to better their life or just have the get rich quick type of mindset. They’re throwing everything at the wall hoping they can get something to stick.
bitslammer@reddit
I agree but the stuff we're seeing on our local subreddit isn't vibe coded stuff. It's stuff like t-shirts and other real merchandise.
OneSeaworthiness7768@reddit
Maybe a similar deal, could be people trying to do Print On Demand businesses selling merch with AI designs. There’s a lot of overlap with these “start your own business” kind of content creators.
19610taw3@reddit
That's the problem ... I see them and immediately think it's a marketing thing. Even if it isn't
TheLordB@reddit
A long while ago someone posted a youtube video of a tutorial their friend made. I pointed out it was against the rules (and reported to mods).
They made a long post saying how it wasn’t commercial etc. so it should be allowed.
So I asked them if their friend would make it open source and/or commit to never monetizing the youtube channel and they went quite.
I’m fairly sure the friend was actually them and they were hoping to hit it big on youtube etc.
Secret_Account07@reddit
Yeah that’s a fair point. My BS detector is going crazy for a lot of them . Then some I legit don’t know if it’s a real person trying to be helpful or if I download code from GitHub if I’m suddenly sharing info with Russia.
Wouldn’t blame mods for saying “I’m not certain either so moving forward- no more”
OneSeaworthiness7768@reddit
Here’s a simple trick: it’s all advertising. Almost none of them are regular users of this community, and the majority of them I’m sure have never even worked in IT.
SofterBones@reddit
They don't give a shit about a weekly thread. They post their own stuff in every subreddit they find despite the fact that it's not allowed in a lot of places. Just report them, ban them
The_Wkwied@reddit
They already vibe coded a way to hide them. You can downvote if you don't think it contributes, or you can hide it if you're petty.
Telling people 'hey, stop showing off the neat tool that you made that others might find useful' isn't cool.
If they break the rules, the mods will remove them. If you don't like it, downvote it.
uzlonewolf@reddit
Except advertising is against the rules, and none of these posts are by people wanting to show something neat off.
What's really not cool is someone trying to sell vibe coded slop by passing it off as "check out this neat tool I made that you might find useful!" and I have no idea why you want to see that garbage posted here non-stop.
Vast_Fish_3601@reddit
We can build a tool for that..
glasgowgeg@reddit
There is one already, here's the one pinned to the top of the sub already:
"Weekly 'I made a useful thing' Thread - April 03, 2026"
JosephRW@reddit
These have been a fucking nightmare in the CLI subreddit lately. Every day someone has a new fucking TUI tool. Like brother I do not give a shit.
Aevum1@reddit
I vibe coded a tool to remove them from reddit threads /s
Nandulal@reddit
I built a tool but it's just a pole with a nail in it for hitting things so I didn't post it here.
HotTakes4HotCakes@reddit
In every damn FOSS sub, too.
Every lazy amateur who figured out how to prompt Claude has been having a field day pushing their vibe coded crap everywhere.
AlexisFR@reddit
I never saw one.
glitch841@reddit
Where else is a grifter to go to sling their vibe coded apps?
shun_tak@reddit
you could quit reddit /s
hasthisusernamegone@reddit
Is there a tool for that?
shun_tak@reddit
If only
CantaloupeCamper@reddit
The programming subs are even worse.
Hackwork89@reddit
Same thing on /r/plex.
readyflix@reddit
Meaning, AI build a tool for me … 🤣
Warrangota@reddit
There's a Friday sticky thread for them. Report them when they appeqr outaide that.