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Build a cross-platform file transfer app in Rust with Claude Code

WorkedEvidence: Described by posterPosted Last checked

David built ShuttleSCP, a 22,000-line Rust file transfer app with 149 tests, using Claude Code, and still caught real bugs by hand.

How to use this

  1. Tap Copy prompt.
  2. Open the tool the case used (or a similar one) and paste the prompt; results may differ from the original.
  3. Paste it into the message box.
  4. Send it, then read the answer before acting on it.
New to this? What's a prompt?

A prompt is the message you send to the AI tool. Copy the one on this page, put your own details where it asks, and read the answer before you act on it.

Prompt

Recreated prompt

The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote one from what it describes. The result shown is the source's, not ours.

What the prompt labels mean

The person didn't share their exact words, so we wrote this from what they described. We haven't tested it, and they didn't use this exact version.

I want a free, open-source file transfer app for Linux, macOS and Windows that works like WinSCP: my files on the left, the server's files on the right, and drag a file across to copy it. Build it in Rust with GTK 4, support SFTP, SCP and FTP/FTPS, and set up tests and releases as we go.

Try this in:

ChatGPT Gemini Grok Claude

Sends the Recreated prompt shown above. ChatGPT and Grok open with it filled in, and ChatGPT may send it straight away. Gemini and Claude open empty, so we copy the prompt for you to paste. Every button also copies it.

The source used Claude Code, which can take actions on your computer or in a browser. These are general chat tools, so results may differ, and a normal chat may only give you a plan.

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These links are only a shortcut. We're not affiliated with OpenAI, Google, Anthropic or xAI, and your results may not match the source.

Optional stronger version

Our rewrite with extra checks. The poster didn't test it.

Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about the details below and wait for my answers. Once I've answered, confirm the plan in one line and run the whole task start to finish.

Goal: Build and ship a small cross-platform desktop app with tests, signed releases and safe password storage.

Questions to ask me first:
- What should the app do in one sentence, and which existing tool is it like?
- Which platforms and which language or UI toolkit do you want?
- How much of the code will you review yourself?

Inputs (fill in or confirm):
- App goal and must-have features: [FEATURES]
- Platforms: [LINUX / MACOS / WINDOWS]
- Language and toolkit: [LANGUAGE / TOOLKIT]
- Repository and CI service: [REPO / CI]

Rules:
- Work in small steps and explain what each change does and why before I merge it.
- Add automated tests with every feature, and run them in CI on each pull request.
- Store passwords in the system keychain, never in a plain file.
- Sign release files and have the updater verify the signature and checksum.
- Check what's already released before reusing a version number, and confirm a CI job's real result, not just its status label.

Checkpoint: After the first working build, stop and let me try it before adding more features.

If you get stuck: If a library or platform API doesn't do what we need, tell me and suggest options instead of working around it silently.

Verify before you finish: Run the full test suite and a manual smoke test on each platform before tagging a release.

Output: Code changes with a short summary, test results and release notes.

Done when: The app installs and updates on each platform, the tests pass and I've used every feature myself.

AI tool

Claude Code

Outcome

David, writing on DEV Community, missed the WinSCP-style layout of local files on the left and server files on the right after moving from Windows to Linux, so David built ShuttleSCP with Claude Code. It's a free, open-source SFTP, SCP and FTP/FTPS client for Linux, macOS and Windows, written in Rust with GTK 4, now in public beta at version 0.13.0. The app has about 22,000 lines of Rust, 149 automated tests and eight public beta releases. Claude Code also set up the engineering a hobby project usually skips: tested pull requests on GitHub Actions, signed self-updates checked with an Ed25519 key and SHA-256, and saved passwords stored in each system's keychain. David didn't read every line of Rust and caught the real bugs by using the app. Claude also once said it was waiting on a CI job that had already finished, and a version number had to be bumped after it was reused.

Evidence: Described by posterThe person describes what happened in words, without screenshots or video.

Source

Posted
by David (DEV Community)
Last checked
Method:
How we verify

https://dev.to/dsalvado/what-i-learned-building-a-real-app-with-claude-code-1af

Context: ShuttleSCP is still in public beta. David says the README and web page disclose that an AI built it.

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