I tried to save $1,200 by vibe coding for free - and quickly regretted it

A ZDNET writer evaluates a free local AI coding stack—Goose with Ollama and Qwen3-coder—by attempting to build an iPad version of an existing app, but encounters repeated planning missteps (iOS vs iPadOS, NFC support), inability to modify Xcode project files, cumbersome error handling without screenshots, and progressively worse code despite repeated “complete” claims; the author concludes the stack isn’t ready for larger projects and that paid tools like Claude Code or Codex provide better reliability and productivity.