RIP Low-Code 2014-2025

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

AI vs Low‑Code: Replacement or Merger?

  • Some argue LLMs make hand‑coded internal apps so fast and cheap that many low‑code tools (Retool, n8n, Budibase, etc.) are no longer worth using. Several posters report already replacing low‑code dashboards and CRUD tools with AI‑generated code.
  • Others see the opposite: AI and low‑code are complementary. Low‑code’s data models, DSLs, and visual workflows give LLMs a constrained, predictable substrate—LLMs generate/modify flows instead of raw code.
  • A recurring view: generic “app builder” low‑code may suffer most, while domain‑specific / vertical low‑code and orchestration tools could be strengthened by agents.

Deployment, Maintenance, and Guardrails

  • Multiple comments push back on “cost of shipping code approaches zero.” Writing code is cheaper; operating, securing, monitoring, upgrading, and auditing are not.
  • Low‑code platforms still win on: auth/RBAC, compliance, hosting, upgrades, and runtime stability. AI can spin up many internal tools, but who maintains them when APIs change or requirements drift?
  • Guardrails and predictability are cited as major advantages: you know what a Retool‑style app can and can’t do, whereas LLM‑generated “vibe code” can be opaque and fragile.

Who Benefits: Developers vs Non‑Developers

  • For professional developers, frameworks (Rails, Django, ABP, etc.) already act as “low‑code” by handling boilerplate; paired with LLMs, custom code can beat low‑code in speed and flexibility.
  • For non‑developers, low‑code’s visual introspection and WYSIWYG UIs remain key. Several expect future workflows where non‑technical users talk to agents, which then manipulate low‑code platforms under the hood.
  • A common theme: frictionless deployment (one‑click publish vs learning AWS/npm/bash) is still a major moat for low‑code in the “citizen developer” market.

Historical Context and Lock‑In

  • Many compare current tools to older low‑code systems: MS Access, Visual Basic, Delphi, PowerBuilder, Oracle Forms. Some praise how quickly those enabled LOB apps; others recall scalability, corruption, and governance nightmares.
  • There is criticism that modern low‑code often combines the worst of both worlds: proprietary lock‑in, limited extensibility, high per‑seat cost, and poor ecosystems.
  • Several predict “low‑code as a product category” may shrink, even if the underlying ideas—abstraction, DSLs, visual flows—persist inside AI‑first and open‑source stacks.