Testing Claude Code: Building a Simple Web App with AI Assistance

3 March 2025
Artificial Intelligence, Blog

Introduction

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing how developers create applications, and Claude Code is one of the latest AI-powered tools aimed at making coding more efficient. In this blog, we take a hands-on approach to testing Claude Code by building a simple web app.

The goal? To create an app that allows users to enter a keyword, submit it to a webhook, process it using an AI-generated response, and then display the result on a second page. This experiment not only explores Claude Code’s capabilities but also highlights the future of AI-assisted coding.

What is Claude Code?

Claude Code is a new AI-powered development assistant designed to streamline coding tasks. It helps developers by:
✅ Generating code snippets automatically.
✅ Fixing common coding errors.
✅ Assisting in setting up complete projects.
✅ Debugging and improving code quality.

Unlike traditional coding environments, Claude Code works directly within the terminal, making it an easy-to-integrate tool for developers working on various projects.

Project Overview: Building a Simple Web App

The goal of this project was to test Claude Code by building a basic web app with the following features:

  • Page 1: User enters a keyword and submits it.
  • API Integration: The keyword is sent to a webhook for processing.
  • Page 2: Displays the AI-generated response in a user-friendly interface.

We also wanted to test how Claude Code handles debugging, formatting, and optimizing the development workflow.

Step-by-Step Development Process

1. Generating the Code with Claude Code

Since we didn’t specify a programming language, Claude Code automatically chose React to build the web app. It generated the required components and created a structure for handling user input, API requests, and response rendering.

2. Setting Up the Project Directory

We created a new directory for the web app:

mkdir web-app-test
cd web-app-test

Once inside, we downloaded and saved the generated files before running the app.

3. Installing and Setting Up Claude Code

Claude Code comes as an installable tool. To get started:

npm install -g claude-code

This step ensures that Claude Code can run efficiently within the development environment.

After installation, we initialized Claude Code:

claude init

This created a claude.md file that stores important project information.

Running the Web App

Once the setup was complete, we ran the app using:

npm run dev

This command started the local development server, making the web app accessible on localhost.

After entering a keyword and clicking “Submit,” we expected the app to process the request and return a response. However, we encountered a few issues along the way.

Debugging and Refinements

Issue #1: Import Errors

Initially, the app had missing router imports, causing errors in React. Fortunately, Claude Code automatically detected and fixed these issues by suggesting the correct dependencies.

Issue #2: JSON Formatting Issues

The AI-generated response was being displayed as raw JSON data instead of a properly formatted text. To fix this, we asked Claude Code:
“Ensure the output is displayed as text instead of JSON.”

Within seconds, Claude Code modified the response handling logic, correctly rendering the output in a readable format.

Issue #3: Webhook Connectivity

The webhook integration initially failed, but after troubleshooting, we updated the request settings to properly send and receive data.

Final Fix:

fetch('WEBHOOK_URL', {
method: 'POST',
headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
body: JSON.stringify({ keyword })
})
.then(response => response.json())
.then(data => setResult(data.result));

With this fix, the app successfully processed requests and displayed AI-generated responses.

Final Thoughts: Is Claude Code Worth It?

Pros:

✅ Quick Code Generation: Claude Code efficiently created a fully functional web app.
✅ Automated Debugging: It identified and fixed errors, reducing manual troubleshooting.
✅ Time-Saving: The tool significantly sped up the development process.

Cons:

❌ Still Requires Human Oversight: While Claude Code is powerful, developers must verify results and refine outputs.
❌ Limited Stack Support: It defaults to certain frameworks unless explicitly specified.

Overall Rating: 9/10

Claude Code is a game-changer for AI-assisted coding. It’s perfect for developers looking to accelerate projects, debug code effortlessly, and integrate AI-driven workflows.

FAQs

1. What is Claude Code used for?

Claude Code is an AI-powered coding assistant that helps developers generate, debug, and improve their code within a terminal-based environment.

2. Can Claude Code fix coding errors automatically?

Yes, Claude Code can detect common coding errors and provide real-time fixes to help improve efficiency.

3. What languages does Claude Code support?

While it primarily works with JavaScript, Python, and React, it can also handle other programming languages based on user input.

4. Is Claude Code free to use?

Claude Code currently offers a free research preview, but future pricing may evolve based on usage and API costs.

5. How does Claude Code compare to GitHub Copilot?

While both tools assist in AI-powered coding, Claude Code is designed to work within the terminal, making it ideal for real-time debugging and workflow automation.

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