VagaBonded

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  Let someone know where you are going

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  Set up a check-in to alert a trusted friend if something goes wrong

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  Can extend it if needed, or cancel out when you get back

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  News feed with posts and hosted activities to join

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  Rack up achievements as you explore

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  Dating features

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  Map views to see who else is around, with privacy control

Inspiration

I was inspired by Quin's brief and specifically her mention of safety. I thought about the story from 127 hours, and what that hiker had to go through, and what if he had only let people know where he was going ahead of time... people that would check on him and know that he didn't come back when expected... people that could have gone to find him.

What it does

The idea is to have lots of great social networking features for nomadic van-lifers, but with this safety ingrained throughout. Whenever going to meet up, or going on a hike, it will suggest to set one of these check-ins up. The user gives an estimate of how long they will be, gives some information about where they are going, and then who to contact if something goes wrong. If they come back in time, they can cancel it and no one will know that even happened, but if needed it could make a big difference.

How we built it

I have been building apps with Claude Code, and started to build some reusable modules for things, and this was my first attempt to make use of those. I basically talk with Claude to build up a PRD, then paste that in to Claude Code and have it make a plan and run with it. Lots can be done very quickly, and with modules and structured architecture (MVVM, Repositories, etc), it helps keep the code from turning into a giant mess.

Challenges we ran into

Mostly time management, and the google play app setup kinds of stuff are always a challenge. I got a core set of things working, life happened and I left it for a bit, and then tried to stuff too much in at too late a time. So even now there is more that is there, but not quite ready that will be unlocked (hardcoded feature flags are underrated).

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I wasn't aware of competitors with this "dead man switch" kind of mechanism, but I think that is a perfect feature for a lot of situations. Also, the achievements section was a fun addition.

What we learned

The modular structure worked pretty well.

What's next for VagaBonded

Need to finish up the in progress but turned off features (stickers and sticker shop, customizable van avatars and accessories), and get the iOS parts ready.

Built With

• claudecode
• compose
• firebase
• kmp
• kotlin
• revenuecat