Vibe Coding as a Senior Dev

Written By Drew White

In the early hours of a sleepless night, I built Hyperdirmic — a minimalist macOS menu bar utility that automatically organizes your ~/Downloads folder in real time. What started as a simple terminal command turned into a fully packaged macOS .app, complete with branding, Homebrew installation, and native folder icons — all written in a language I don’t typically reach for: Python.

The entire build took less than 4 hours. This wasn’t a polished roadmap execution. It was an experiment.

What is Hyperdirmic?

Hyperdirmic is a background utility that watches your Downloads folder for new files and moves them into categorized subfolders based on their MIME type: Images/, Documents/, Videos/, Archives/, and more.

No config. No GUI. Just a silent utility that keeps your digital junk drawer clean.

The Reason for the Build

I needed something lightweight to tame my chaotic Downloads folder. I didn’t want to:

  • Install a bloated cleanup suite

  • Pay a subscription

  • Use a GUI

I wanted to build a native-feeling macOS tool using unfamiliar tooling, with AI support along the way. The goal was to:

  • Explore rapid prototyping in Python

  • Avoid using Swift/Xcode

  • See how well AI could support development in a foreign stack

  • Ship something useful and branded in a single sitting

This wasn’t about speed for speed’s sake — it was a controlled experiment in unfamiliar terrain, aided by a copilot I trust: AI.

Tools Used

  • Language: Python 3.11

  • Tray UI: rumps

  • File Monitoring: watchdog

  • Packaging: py2app

  • Icons: SF Symbols exported to ICNS

  • Automation: Shell scripts in bin/ for build, start, dev, package, seed, logs, etc.

  • AI Assistance: OpenAI (contextual problem-solving, syntax nudges, py2app config quirks)

Build Process

I built and tested Hyperdirmic iteratively:

  1. Built real-time folder monitoring with watchdog

  2. Created a menubar app using rumps

  3. Moved files based on MIME with safe deduplication

  4. Added custom folder icons using AppKit

  5. Packaged .app with py2app

  6. Solved code signing and sandbox issues

  7. Created a zip for distribution

  8. Published on GitHub with a Homebrew tap

How to Install

Install via Homebrew:

bash
    
  brew tap drucial/hyperdirmic
  brew install --cask hyperdirmic

On first launch, right-click → Open (macOS security).

That’s it — it runs silently in the background, organizing your Downloads.

Roadmap?

These are some other areas of exploration I considered:

Functional Enhancements

  •  Start on login with launchd

  •  Preferences panel

  •  Rule-based sorting (e.g. "DMGs → Archives after 24h")

  •  Log viewer

  •  Periodic activity summary

  •  iCloud Downloads support

UX & Branding

  •  Custom menubar icon

  •  Folder branding with .icns

  •  Light/dark mode support

  •  Tray menu improvements

Distribution

  •  .app build with py2app

  •  GitHub Release with zip archive

  •  Homebrew Cask

  •  Auto-updating with Sparkle

AI as an Engineering Partner

AI didn’t build Hyperdirmic for me — but it made building in unfamiliar territory feel like cheating in the best way.

It helped:

  • Validate Python packaging quirks

  • Resolve obscure py2app errors

  • Rewrite functions in idiomatic Python

  • Generate test seed scripts

  • Brainstorm edge-case solutions

This wasn’t about speed alone — it was about precision with a tool that reduces friction, especially when you already know what you’re trying to build.

AI makes me faster not because I don't know how to build — but because I do.

Closing Thoughts

Hyperdirmic is a small, focused app with a narrow goal: make your Downloads folder cleaner, instantly.

It’s a project born of insomnia, curiosity, and a willingness to lean on AI as a thinking partner.

Built by Drew — with a little help from AI — in under 4 hours.

→ View on GitHub
→ Install with Homebrew

Drew White
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