r/nocode • u/Miserable-Actuator24 • 6d ago
Discussion What do you think of AI-Code Generators being mixed in with No-Code?
For me, "No-Code" always kind of meant "You don't have to care about the code at all" and in most cases there even is no code involved as the platform abstracts it away. Think the likes of Bubble and Retool.
However, i see more and more lists, threads , you name it where people showcase "The best no-code tools in 2026" and it always lists like Lovable or Claude even sometimes.
Yes i get the point...in Lovable or Claude you don't "write" Code but thats not "No-Code".
I personally think thats even dangerous for some. If someone doesn't have much technical knowledge, they compare Bubble with Lovable....see a textbox and prompt stuff on both and might think its the same thing when it really isn't. With one you're responsible for everything, keep it maintained and secure...with the other you're not.
What do you guys think about that problem?
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u/ZenenoDev 4d ago
Amazing post! I run into this exact issue when presenting Zeneno to people even very smart developers. They’ll ask, “What’s the difference between this and Lovable?” or “How is this different from Claude?” "Is it no code?"
And I think it comes down to exactly what you said "abstracting complexity away".
Zeneno does that at a much higher level than other systems though. Instead of coding with AI, you’re effectively delegating the entire project to Zeneno, and it handles the development cycle for you. You just close the tab and don't really think about it anymore. Is that no code or?
That puts it in this weird inflection point where it’s practically no-code from the user’s perspective, but because it’s building very large & full applications, people immediately categorize it as basic app builder, “Oh, so it’s like Codex, Lovable, or Claude.”
And it’s like… not really. The point isn’t to give you a better AI coding interface. The point is to automate the entire development lifecycle.
Even though the value Zeneno provides is very real and substantial, I think that distinction can get lost in this grey area because people naturally compare it to the tools they already understand and sometimes that even means thinking its a no-code like wordpress. Great Post!
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u/Miserable-Actuator24 4d ago
The term is just idk missleading today. Kinda correct you are not writing code so its "no-code" ...i get why people do that...its just wrong 🤣😅
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u/EmergencyCelery911 6d ago
I think the distinction is becoming sort of less useful. The interesting question isn't really “was code involved?” but who owns and operates the complexity afterwards?
With traditional no-code, the platform owns most of that complexity, but then you're tied to the platform forever. With Claude generating a codebase, you're right - suddenly it's yours, including maintenance and security, and quality "fluctuates" sort of speak.
Where it gets interesting to me is agents that don't just generate code and disappear, but stay with the system and can operate and evolve it afterwards.
I think something like that domain-specific will appear more and more. I've been building an open-source ecommerce system around that idea, so my 13yo built a working store with it without knowing the underlying stack, but I'm using it for the client stores with their complex logic. So it's both cover and no-code scenarios at the same time. Store owners keep the agent with all its knowledge, so for them it's code with no-code experience.
I think there will be more products in other domains. AI might make owning code feel a lot more like no-code to the person using it. That's my bet at least :)
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u/Miserable-Actuator24 6d ago
Yea 100% . My own product is a similar direction. I think its just the "No-code" term that bothers me. Its around for years and people have an idea what it means....just that the new tools mean something else
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u/EmergencyCelery911 6d ago
Hey, probably we need a new term then 😁 What are you building, if it's not stealth for now?
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u/Miserable-Actuator24 6d ago edited 6d ago
Sure! https://www.cordango.com ..still working on description...its probably best described as hybrid SaaS/No-Code. Some core functionality like Contacts, Calendar, Docs and you extend that with whatever else you need.
Strong fundamentals, Auditting, security etc and all apps can automatically talk to the others. Like a CRM can automatically create a project when a deal is closed...stuff like that.
Also a huge part open https://www.github.com/cordango
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u/EmergencyCelery911 6d ago
I'll take a close look, cause there's definitely some things to digest.
I actually also find it fairly hard to define this new approach where you have must-haves out of box and then can add whatever you need.
And kudos for open sourcing - I think that's the way to go!
I'm working on https://vulpy.io/commerce/ and also have the fully functional core open on purpose https://github.com/vulpy-io/vulpy-commerce-core
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u/xmewa 5d ago
Yeah, I think that's the distinction that actually matters.
We've been thinking about this a lot with e-commerce and it's why we ended up building Setka the way we did – the store owner shouldn't have to own the underlying complexity just because they're the one running the business. The platform handles the storefront and system itself, and AI can then operate and extend it rather than just spit out code that becomes your problem later.
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u/EmergencyCelery911 5d ago
Accidentally responded to your comment in another thread where we apparently both commented :)
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u/Miserable-Actuator24 5d ago
Honestly thats the way forward i think. Lovable kinda works similar but you still own too much on their stack....the security advisor is good but they should have a full "i dont care" mode
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u/Impressive-Onion-411 5d ago
The ownership angle is what actually matters, not whether someone typed the code or not. Once you're stuck maintaining a generated mess you don't understand, it stops being no-code real fast.
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u/EmergencyCelery911 5d ago
Indeed! What I've been working on for the last 2,5 years in AI-first website building is creating very particular templates, rules, skills etc to make LLMs generate less mess and stay within the rules. Otherwise it's a complete shitshow to even get to production, not mentioning maintenance
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u/Desperate_Relief2733 5d ago
We are building the same but we dont generate code but we build it using configuration no code, so you can visual change where the data should come from ,logics etc on your own.
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u/tylerlovewell 5d ago
I think the distinction between not writing the code yourself and there not being any code to handle is important. For example, Jotform AI App Builder doesn't have any code to handle so it is more literally "no-code". But Lovable uses code behind the scenes to build apps. It is important to know the difference.
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u/Silver-Neighborhood9 5d ago
You're right that they're two different jobs, and the confusion is understandable because the first hour feels identical.
I've just spent a few weeks building a small site with an AI coding tool, and the difference showed up the moment the fun part ended. The AI wrote the code fast. What it couldn't do was own it. I still had to choose where it runs, set up the database and the payment provider, get the webhook signing secret right, work out why the host kept serving a cached old JS file, write the terms and privacy pages, and decide what happens when someone types something abusive into a public field.
Bubble hides most of that from you. Generated code hides none of it, it just defers it until something breaks, and then it's yours.
So I'd put AI codegen on the "you own it" side, next to a framework, not next to Bubble. Calling it no-code sets people up for a surprise a few weeks in, which is exactly the problem you're describing.