Reads files, writes code, runs tools, tests, debugs, and ships.
Hayden asked about Make. Wrong category.
If the site still
isn’t beautiful,
stop blaming the tool.
Codex is an operator-grade AI coding agent. In plain English: it reads your codebase, edits files, runs terminal commands, opens a real browser, debugs failures, and ships production updates.
3 weeks flat means one 21-day sprint. Xander used Codex daily in that sprint to ship live sites, app/backend systems, automation workflows, decks, reports, and a Roku remote. This page took about 20 minutes and 3 to 4 prompts; the domain login took longer. Pricing check: $20 per month for Codex versus about 4 months and $90k for a typical multi-role dev cycle.
21 days of daily execution and real deliverables.
3 to 4 prompts for the page itself
Domain login drama took longer than building the page.
Receipt of the moment
11:27 AM
Xander plus Codex: 21-day output, 20-minute page build, 3 to 4 prompts, and longer domain-login fumbling than site creation.
Setvado MVP shipped shape
setvado.com went live
STL Party Animals got a redesign
AutoMate got phone control + runtime guardrails
QueryLock became a real iPhone app
Roku keyboard remote built on command
Happy Birthday Carter Bone
What actually got done
What Xander shipped with Codex in 3 weeks.
No vapor claims. Just shipped projects, systems, and documents with real names and timestamps.
App + backend
01
Setvado MVP
Expo mobile app, shared package, Supabase schema, edge functions, Twilio-powered messaging, scheduling logic, admin/runtime tooling.
- Capacity-aware appointment scheduling
- Door Logger style-lab iteration work
- Reminder hardening and locked SMS flows
- Public site and admin app unification
Live site
02
setvado.com
Real public site with consent, privacy, terms, FAQ, contact flow, and Netlify-ready deployment notes. Not mockups. Live pages.
Landing page
03
STL Party Animals
Static one-page redesign with gallery system, motion, content structure, and booking behavior. Beauty with actual implementation.
Automation stack
04
AutoMate
Python orchestrator plus Swift control plane, phone command intake, model routing, approval flows, daily summaries, soak logs, launchd scripts, and runtime guardrails.
- Inbound iPhone commands via Messages
- Local/cloud model split with budget controls
- Approval queue hygiene and backpressure
- Persistent runtime with observability
iPhone app
05
QueryLock
Safari content blocker app on iPhone for blocking targeted search terms across Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo.
Built during the text thread
06
Roku Remote
Keyboard-controlled Roku remote, custom launcher app, direct device troubleshooting, and a websocket protocol pivot when the TV blocked the normal API path.
Also not just software
Decks, proposals, reports, training assets. Same stretch.
Pretty websites are not the only flex. The machine also kept spitting out polished business material.
Blue Ladder interview + rep training set
Slideshows, prep guides, compensation overview, and onboarding-style material that looks like an operation, not a brainstorm.
Fox Creek Cabinets growth proposal
Proposal deck and growth report work that reads client-facing, not “internal rough draft, sorry.”
Inspection acquisition model suite
Styled handouts, companion report, intuitive versions, and concise slide cuts. Strategy turned into deliverables.
The normal dev math is ugly too
What happened in 3 weeks flat: Xander + Codex vs the usual process.
Context for Hayden: Codex is the tool, Xander ran the playbook. In one 21-day sprint he shipped cross-stack work that most teams split across months, roles, and invoices.
3 weeks with Codex
Xander shipped sites, app/backend work, automation, docs, and weird tools for $20 a month. This page took about 20 minutes from 3 to 4 prompts.
Still not there
Great at moving JSON between apps. Not built for design taste, end-to-end coding, QA, and launch-level polish.
4 months / $90k
Once design, frontend, backend, PM, revisions, polish, and back-and-forth all start billing at the same time.
Building this actual site
20 minutes, 3 to 4 prompts
Domain login fumbling took longer
"Xander needs a beautiful site right now."
Codex handles it
Typical process starts with discovery calls and timeline caveats
Roku remote weirdness mid-thread
Diagnosed live, fixed live
Ticket, queue, later maybe
Apps, backend, decks, docs, automation
All shipped by Xander in the same 3 weeks
Usually broken across separate freelancers or teams
Respectfully, Make got cooked
Make automates steps. Codex executes strategy.
Sophisticated version of the joke: Make is an orchestra pit for webhooks. Codex is the conductor, arranger, and closing-night crew. One tool wires steps. The other owns the whole job: design, implementation, debugging, browser testing, deployment, and weird device or DNS failures nobody planned for. Hayden has one move left: throw that crap out and go to Codex.
Looks configurable.
Useful for automation plumbing. Weak on authorship, design quality, and finish-line accountability.
Looks intentional.
Advanced capability across design system, copy, code, QA, polish, deployment, and edge-case recovery while the text thread is still warm.
Happy Birthday Carter Bone.
Hope the year is profitable, the design taste stays sharp, and the ugly site discourse gets resolved in your favor.
Final answer
This is what Xander did with Codex in 3 weeks.
haydenmakesucks.com can go live with something that looks expensive, moves clean, and comes with actual receipts behind it. That was the assignment. In one 21-day sprint, Xander used Codex to outrun what Make could never do and what most dev teams would happily turn into four months and ninety grand.