Leonard Austin

I Vibe Coded a Full-Stack Kubernetes App in 21 Days

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 18:00:00 +0000

tl;dr — I built a full-stack Kubernetes desktop application — Go backend, React/TypeScript frontend, brochure website — in 21 days using AI-assisted “vibe coding.” 74,675 lines of source code. 461 commits. 129 pull requests. 100% merge rate. I never read a single line of the source code. Here’s exactly how it worked, what I actually typed, and what I learned.

What I Built

Clusterfudge is a native macOS desktop app for managing Kubernetes clusters. Think of it as a Lens competitor: cluster overview, pod management, log streaming, exec terminals, Helm chart management, YAML editing, resource wizards, a troubleshooting page, and an AI debugging terminal that calls Claude Code to diagnose live pods. Plus a brochure website.

2025 Reflections and 2026 Predictions

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0000

tl;dr — The year of the voice interface and job losses.

Claude Code Changed Everything

I’d been hearing about everyone moving over to Claude Code since around November, and I finally started trying it on the 18th of December. Wow. Genuine game changer. It’s not that it’s a single step change in capability, more that we’ve reached a tipping point — Claude Opus 4.5 can handle longer running tasks over much larger codebases, and it all just works.

Iddio

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Iddio — Co-founder

Iddio is a zero-trust command proxy for AI agents accessing production infrastructure. It classifies every command in real-time through a tiered access architecture — auto-allowing read operations while requiring human-in-the-loop approval for write operations.

The platform provides privileged access management purpose-built for the agentic era. Every command issued by an AI agent is intercepted, classified into one of four tiers (Observe, Operate, Modify, or Break-Glass), and enforced against agent-specific RBAC policies before reaching target infrastructure.

2024 Reflections and 2025 Predictions

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 10:11:19 +0100

tl;dr — AI is coming for your job. No doubt about it.

It Feels Like a Superpower

I’m a backend engineer. Databases, APIs, server-side logic — that’s my world. I’m not proficient with frontend code. React, TypeScript, modern CSS — I muddle through, but it’s slow and painful.

AI changes that overnight. I now build full-stack applications across platforms I never touch otherwise. It genuinely feels like a superpower. The gap between “I know what I want to build” and “it’s built” shrinks to almost nothing.

About Leonard Austin

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 10:38:23 +0100

Leonard co-founded Ravelin, serving as Chief Technology Officer and leading the development of its advanced machine learning-driven fraud prevention platform through to its successful acquisition by Worldpay. He is also the creator of AppliedAI, a London-based community connecting over a thousand machine learning specialists. Currently, Leonard leads his latest venture, clusterfudge.com — a platform for AI Labs.

A technology entrepreneur at heart, Leonard’s work is grounded in science, holding a Physics BSc (1st Class) from the University of Leicester and a Nanotechnology in Medicine MSc (Distinction) from the University of Oxford. His deep experience in designing and engineering complex software solutions is matched by a leadership style centred on empowerment, leading by example, and collaborative, multi-disciplinary thinking.

Clusterfudge

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 10:37:52 +0100

Clusterfudge — Co-founder

Clusterfudge provides a platform specifically designed for AI labs to manage infrastructure complexity and streamline research operations. Its suite of tools (including Run, Evals, Reports, and Sandboxes) enables teams to run and evaluate experiments, monitor clusters and GPU utilization, generate reports, and create secure compute environments for AI agents.

clusterfudge.com

Etiquette for Tech Teams

Sat, 10 Mar 2018 10:25:40 +0100

For a Happy Workplace

This article attempts to offer some of the rules for a productive, cohesive and enjoyable working environment for tech teams. It is a semi-working article that I will add to over time.

Meetings

Always include an Agenda and Objective to meeting invites. It helps invitees decide whether the meeting is relevant to them.
Long blocks of uninterrupted time is when the magic happens, for most engineers. Be mindful of this when scheduling meetings. The “best” time will differ depending on who you are inviting to the meeting.
Default meeting duration is 30 minutes. Meetings longer than 1 hour tend to become unproductive: avoid them.
Keep in mind everyone in the meeting, avoid tangents that are not applicable to the majority of the room. Stick to the agenda! Some conversations should just go into a ticket or google doc.
At any point, excuse yourself from a meeting if it is not relevant to you.
Announcing the meeting in #meetings slack channel. Don’t invite the whole company to every meeting, but allow people to invite themselves to things that are of interest to them.
If you need a room make sure you book a room, so you’re not taking it from anybody else.
Feel free to use your laptops in meetings unless the host specifically states otherwise.

Engineering Team Core Values

Mon, 15 Jan 2018 10:17:14 +0100

Simple Code is Elegant

Tidy, readable, simple code is paramount. It makes reviewing PR easier, it makes coming back to the code after 18 months easier, it makes your peers like you more.

Anti-Gossip

Constructive conversations over background criticism. Call it out when you see it (even if in other parts of the company). If you feel the need to complain, make a difference and give feedback instead.

Approachable

During busy times, when you are deep in code and stress is mounting, it is easy to forget to Treat Others as You Would Expect to be Treated and be “approachable”. Others should not be worried about talking to you. Definitely no jerks, even if they are geniuses. Adjust your technical language when speaking to non-technical staff.

My Three Favourite Business Videos

Sun, 17 Dec 2017 10:05:07 +0100

I’m not sure how many videos related to business I’ve watched (probably hundreds) but only three come to mind when asked to recommend some.

1. How to Start a Movement | Derek Sivers

2. Start With Why | Simon Sinek

3. How To Run A Company With (Almost) No Rules | Ricardo Semler

Ravelin Tech Stack

Tue, 15 Aug 2017 10:46:43 +0100

An Overview of Ravelin’s Technology

I write this post as an overview of each aspect Ravelin’s technology stack; almost not worthy of the hours and days that each component has taken to implement. This overview will not attempt to deep dive into any given topic but, where possible, link out to sources and reference material. The intention is to write more specifically and in far greater detail over the coming months.

Train Every Software Engineer to Be a Penetration Tester

Mon, 31 Jul 2017 11:44:55 +0100

Because security matters

The Idea

External Pen Testers are useful, but only have a limited amount of time to get to know our systems and are not intimately familiar with the Ravelin codebase. On the other hand, engineers and data scientists within Ravelin know the codebase inside out (they wrote it after all), they understand the API and the expected functionality. Why not train all technical staff on Pen Testing? Not only will they gain experience with security awareness, leading to a more secure code but also have a bit of fun during War Games.

Deprecating My Permanent Address

Sat, 29 Apr 2017 10:11:19 +0100

tl;dr

A “permanent address” has become less relevant as society is driven forward by technology. I no longer need (or want) physical post, at best it is an inconvenience and at worst it causes me to miss important information. I’m removing my postbox.

Proof of Address (PoA)?

As I see it, the only reason it seems like we need permanent address is really as PoA for borrowing but banks, pay day loans, credit card companies mostly give out unsecured loans via the phone or internet so it it really that useful? Moreover, they trust credit agencies, who trust electoral registers and other financial institutes to have the right address. When asked to send PoA to whomever, they typically ask for a utility bill or driving licence. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) get proof by posting you the licence and I haven’t received a physical copy of a utility bill in two years. The whole idea of an address is a remnant of a bygone era.

How to Take Your Startup to the Next Level Aaron Patzer From Mint.com

Mon, 26 Dec 2016 11:13:44 +0100

I’m always on the look out for new great “how to” videos or books for setting up and marketing web apps. I’ve always liked the presentations and talks from Aaron Patzer from Mint.com, which he started and sold for $170 Million within 3 years. He’s talks are very open and frank, and I think they make a lot sense.

Just found this great talk from FOWA Miami 2010. Some of the key points Aaron makes are:

Why Did People Vote Brexit

Mon, 18 Jul 2016 11:22:56 +0100

Brexit: A Re-enfranchised Exit?

In this opinion piece, I’m going to attempt to explain why I think 17.4 million people voted Leave, discuss some Remain propaganda and clarify why I’m switching sides to join the Brexiteers.

In writing this post, I have come to the salient thought that it is a shame we still live in a capitalist world; where economics and jobs are so tightly coupled and factors of GDP and economic growth have such influence in important decisions. But very much like Truman, “I’ve accepted the reality of the world with which I am presented”.

Questolon

Sun, 17 Jul 2016 10:02:47 +0100

The Question Mark Combined with a Semi-Colon

Disclaimer

Thu, 07 Jul 2016 09:57:52 +0100

Most politics/economics/religion/philosophy affects others far more than me; I’m a middle class professional who gets paid above the minimum wage, employed in a profession that is in demand and growing. I live in an affluent, multicultural city where immigration has had a clear positive impact. I’m lucky enough to be well traveled and come from a privileged background, where I’ve always been able to find work and have never personally experienced poverty. In short, I am well insulated from the effects of anything, so my views really are pointless.

Ravelin

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 10:37:52 +0100

Ravelin — Co-founder & CTO

Ravelin prevents online fraud through real-time behavioural analysis, graph networks and machine learning. Highly available, low latency, micro-service architecture built with Go, using technologies including Bigtable, NSQ, Bigquery, and Zookeeper, running on both AWS and GCP.

ravelin.com

Hailo

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 10:37:52 +0100

Hailo — Tech Lead

Highly available, low latency, micro-service architecture built with Go, using technologies including RabbitMQ, NSQ, Cassandra, and Zookeeper, running on AWS across three continents.

github.com/hailocab

Welford Media

Wed, 22 Jun 2005 10:37:52 +0100

Welford Media — Co-founder

A digital agency founded in 2004; specialising in building, designing, optimising and promoting websites for hundreds of businesses.

welfordmedia.co.uk