Developer uses Claude to write 180K-line compatibility layer in 3 weeks
The project involved writing approximately 180,000 lines of code—roughly one-quarter of Paint.NET’s existing 700,000 lines—to reimplement Direct2D, a key Windows graphics library. The result, a prototype for WINE and Linux, launched as Paint.NET 5.2 Alpha and ran on actual Linux machines via Discord participants, though Brewster warned most of the AI-generated code remains unreviewed and is…
Key points
- Developer wrote 180,000 lines of code in 3 weeks using Claude to enable Paint.NET on Linux
- Prototype launched as Paint.NET 5.2 Alpha but has performance issues, crashes, and unchecked code
- AI’s speed helped explore a 20-year compatibility barrier, but human review remains critical
Brewster’s approach isolated the compatibility barrier as a narrow layer, letting Claude iterate rapidly through testing, hypothesis updates, and comparisons against real Direct2D outputs. Humans handled critical decisions like error handling, resource management, and flagging unverified sections. The project demonstrated how AI can accelerate exploratory work but also highlighted a new bottleneck: ensuring code quality as generation scales. Brewster emphasized that human oversight remains essential for safety and correctness, especially in areas like reference management where AI failed to handle COM operations correctly.
Claude crossed a wall that hadn't moved in 20 years in about 3 weeks. But the author couldn't read all 180,000 lines
note.com · 13 October 2026
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