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 ? It will become hidden in your post, but will still be visible via the comment's permalink. as well , this person and/or - 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.