Tools: Neighbour help app

The Community ## What I Built ## How I Built It DEV Weekend Challenge: Community This is a submission for the DEV Weekend Challenge: Community ​​I live in an apartment building with a unique demographic: a mix of retirees (65+) and young professionals in their thirties. While the vibe is generally friendly, there is a bit of an individualistic culture where people mostly keep to themselves. I realized there is a massive, untapped potential for intergenerational support :) The seniors have time and wisdom, while the 30-somethings have tech skills and mobility. I wanted to build something to bridge that gap. BurenBand is a private neighbourhood help platform for residents of an apartment complex. The core idea: neighbours helping neighbours (asking for a hand with groceries, offering tech support, or arranging help with moving) within a trusted, resident-only community. The app is a full-stack Progressive Web App built on Next.js 15 and Firebase. Resident gate: only people who live in the complex can join, enforced both on the frontend and in Firestore security rules. Two-way posts: residents can post a Help Wanted or Offer Help request; each type has its own interaction flow Real-time chat: when someone responds to a post, both parties get a private in-app conversation to arrange the details, with quick-reply suggestions. Trust & reputation: every post card shows the author's trust badge, built from their history of completed help actions. Notifications: a Firestore-backed bell icon shows unread responses; confetti fires for the right person at the right moment Admin panel: residents can report posts; admins can review and close reports -Language: Dutch and English, switchable at runtime, persisted per user Accessibility — senior mode with larger text and wider buttons; three colour themes Installable PWA — works on Android (Chrome) and iOS (Safari) as a home screen app, with a service worker for offline resilience. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wk4x12niyjdsmJ4xlUV8Bt-1PqQDvizv/view?usp=drivesdk https://github.com/ProgramTjan/burenband ​This project was built during a focused sprint in close collaboration with Claude Sonnet 4.6 using Claude Code (CLI). ​The AI Pair-Programming Workflow I acted as the architect and tester while Claude handled the implementation. ​The Loop: I described features in plain language (often Dutch) → Claude edited the files directly via CLI → I tested the runtime behavior and reported bugs → Claude traced the root cause and fixed it. ​Key Technical Decisions ​Auth & State: Implemented a Screen state machine to manage complex branching between Google Login, email signup, and onboarding without UI glitches. ​Smart Database Rules: Iterated on Firestore security rules to handle edge cases, such as making profile fields optional to prevent "save-fails" during the initial onboarding gate. ​Custom i18n & UI: Built a lightweight translation system using React Context (no external libs) and used useRef to ensure "success confetti" only fires for the correct user. ​PWA Ready: Automated the generation of splash screens and icons at build time using ImageMagick. Framework: Next.js 15.2 (App Router), React 19 Backend: Firebase (Firestore + Auth) Styling: Tailwind CSS & Lucide Icons AI Tooling: Claude Sonnet 4.6 via Claude Code CLI Templates let you quickly answer FAQs or store snippets for re-use. Are you sure you want to hide this comment? It will become hidden in your post, but will still be visible via the comment's permalink. Hide child comments as well For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse - Resident gate: only people who live in the complex can join, enforced both on the frontend and in Firestore security rules. - Two-way posts: residents can post a Help Wanted or Offer Help request; each type has its own interaction flow - Real-time chat: when someone responds to a post, both parties get a private in-app conversation to arrange the details, with quick-reply suggestions. - Trust & reputation: every post card shows the author's trust badge, built from their history of completed help actions. - Notifications: a Firestore-backed bell icon shows unread responses; confetti fires for the right person at the right moment - Admin panel: residents can report posts; admins can review and close reports - Accessibility — senior mode with larger text and wider buttons; three colour themes - Installable PWA — works on Android (Chrome) and iOS (Safari) as a home screen app, with a service worker for offline resilience.