--- title: I deleted my source code | daily.dev description: A developer built a proof-of-concept Symfony API where the src/ directory contains no committed code. Instead, plain-language spec files, a SQL schema, and... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/hzij5i3kh twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I deleted my source code | daily.dev og:description: A developer built a proof-of-concept Symfony API where the src/ directory contains no committed code. Instead, plain-language spec files, a SQL schema, and... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/hzij5i3kh og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/hziJ5I3Kh.png og:image:alt: Post cover image og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # I deleted my source code **[PHP Dev](https://daily.dev/sources/phpdev)** · [@damienseguy](https://daily.dev/damienseguy) · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A developer built a proof-of-concept Symfony API where the src/ directory contains no committed code. Instead, plain-language spec files, a SQL schema, and PHPUnit tests serve as the source of truth. A CI pipeline uses an AI agent to generate the full implementation on every build, run the tests, fix failures, and discard the code afterward. The experiment surfaces a key insight: as AI writes more code, the real value shifts from implementation to specification. Debugging becomes about fixing specs and tests rather than code. Non-determinism in generation is acceptable as long as tests pass. The post argues that a precise, complete spec is the new bottleneck and the new measure of developer skill. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Write code not specs](https://daily.dev/posts/write-code-not-specs-dswociw3l) · Software Doug · 3 upvotes · 0 comments - [The AI-Ready Redesign: How Spec-Driven Development Is Changing the Way Teams Build](https://daily.dev/posts/the-ai-ready-redesign-how-spec-driven-development-is-changing-the-way-teams-build-wqgzt63ey) · RUBYLAND · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [From Implementers to Solution Architects](https://daily.dev/posts/from-implementers-to-solution-architects-kqx8z1vba) · agoda · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Keep Your Code Clean with Spec-Driven AI](https://daily.dev/posts/keep-your-code-clean-with-spec-driven-ai-fbguaamdc) · Aviator Blog · 3 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#ai-coding](https://daily.dev/tags/ai-coding), [#architecture](https://daily.dev/tags/architecture), [#spec-driven-development](https://daily.dev/tags/spec-driven-development), [#symfony](https://daily.dev/tags/symfony), [#testing](https://daily.dev/tags/testing) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/hzij5i3kh) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"DiscussionForumPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https://daily.dev/posts/hzij5i3kh","headline":"I deleted my source code","text":"Shared: I deleted my source code","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/hzij5i3kh","datePublished":"2026-03-01T12:15:47.678Z","dateModified":"2026-05-28T02:16:05.717Z","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Damien seguy","url":"https://daily.dev/damienseguy","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--nPbjKqol--/f_auto,q_auto/v1698422671/avatars/avatar_G85JhYcDxAg024Omc8Rlp","description":"PHP developer passionate about deep language knowledge, testing, static analysis, and sustainable it","worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Exakat","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--ibtl6fze--/f_auto/v1749051132/companies/exakat"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"EndorseAction"},"userInteractionCount":38860}},"image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--58gMhC4P--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2012","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"sharedContent":{"@type":"WebPage","url":"https://api.daily.dev/r/rulAONI2S"},"isPartOf":{"@type":"WebPage","url":"https://daily.dev/squads/phpdev","name":"PHP Dev"}} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"PHP Dev","item":"https://daily.dev/squads/phpdev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"I deleted my source code"}]} ```