NatLangSWE

A Natural Language Software Developer — Best practices for AI-assisted development to prevent vibe coding

What is NatLangSWE?

NatLangSWE stands for Natural Language Software Engineer — a discipline for writing software through structured communication with AI coding assistants.

Natural Language Software Development is the practice of directing AI assistants like Claude Code using explicit, well-defined guidelines rather than ad-hoc prompts. This repository teaches the best practices for this emerging development paradigm.

Why NatLangSWE?

The Problem: Vibe Coding

"Vibe coding" happens when developers prompt AI assistants without clear constraints or standards, resulting in:

• Inconsistent code quality
• Security vulnerabilities
• Poor architectural decisions
• Code that "works" but violates best practices
• Technical debt that compounds with each generation

The Solution: Structured Natural Language Development

Instead of vague prompts like "write me a web server", Natural Language Software Development provides explicit rules that AI assistants follow. By adding these guidelines to your AI's context, you get code that adheres to proven standards — whether that's NASA's safety-critical rules, idiomatic language patterns, or framework-specific conventions.

How to Use with Claude Code

1. Clone natlangswe into your project (or as a sibling directory):

   cd your-project
   git clone https://github.com/NatLangSWE/natlangswe.git natlangswe

2. Delete what you don't need — Remove the files and folders that aren't relevant to your stack (e.g., delete frameworks/pytorch/ if you're not using PyTorch)
3. Create a CLAUDE.md in your project root
4. Reference the remaining files in your CLAUDE.md so Claude Code reads them before writing code

Example CLAUDE.md

For a SvelteKit + TypeScript + Bun + PostgreSQL project:

# Coding Standards

Read the relevant natlangswe/ files before writing code.

## Reference Files

- natlangswe/languages/typescript/POWER_OF_10.md
- natlangswe/frameworks/sveltekit/POWER_OF_10.md
- natlangswe/frameworks/svelte5-runes/POWER_OF_10.md
- natlangswe/frameworks/tailwindcss/POWER_OF_10.md
- natlangswe/databases/postgresql/POWER_OF_10.md
- natlangswe/toolchains/bun/POWER_OF_10.md
- natlangswe/frameworks/sveltekit/PREFERENCES.md
- natlangswe/patterns/COMMENTS.md
- natlangswe/patterns/MINIMAL_DEPENDENCIES.md
- natlangswe/patterns/FEATURE_SLICED_DESIGN.md

See stacks/svelteship/CLAUDE.md for a full working example.

Repository Structure

NatLangSWE/
├── languages/
│   ├── rust/       # Rust guidelines
│   ├── python/     # Python guidelines
│   └── typescript/ # TypeScript guidelines
├── frameworks/
│   ├── nextjs/         # NextJS (TSX) guidelines
│   ├── sveltekit/      # SvelteKit (TypeScript) guidelines
│   ├── svelte5-runes/  # Svelte 5 Runes (reactivity) guidelines
│   ├── react/          # React (TSX) guidelines
│   ├── tailwindcss/    # TailwindCSS guidelines
│   ├── axum/           # Rust Axum guidelines
│   ├── electron/       # Electron (TypeScript) guidelines
│   ├── fastapi/        # FastAPI (Python) guidelines
│   └── pytorch/        # PyTorch (Python) guidelines
├── databases/
│   └── postgresql/     # PostgreSQL guidelines
├── toolchains/
│   ├── uv/             # UV (Python toolchain) guidelines
│   ├── bun/            # Bun (TypeScript toolchain) guidelines
│   └── cargo-rustup/   # Cargo + Rustup (Rust toolchain) guidelines
├── patterns/       # Cross-language design patterns
├── stacks/         # Recommended tech stacks

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Guidelines

Power of 10 Rules

NASA JPL's safety-critical coding rules adapted for modern development.

Language	Guidelines
Rust	POWER_OF_10.md
Python	POWER_OF_10.md
TypeScript	POWER_OF_10.md

Framework	Guidelines
React	POWER_OF_10.md
NextJS	POWER_OF_10.md ・ PREFERENCES.md
SvelteKit	POWER_OF_10.md ・ PREFERENCES.md
Svelte 5 Runes	POWER_OF_10.md
TailwindCSS	POWER_OF_10.md
Electron	POWER_OF_10.md
Axum	POWER_OF_10.md
FastAPI	POWER_OF_10.md
PyTorch	POWER_OF_10.md

Database	Guidelines
PostgreSQL	POWER_OF_10.md

Toolchain	Guidelines
UV	POWER_OF_10.md
Bun	POWER_OF_10.md
Cargo + Rustup	POWER_OF_10.md

Patterns

• Feature-Sliced Design — Monorepo architecture with strict layers
• Minimal Dependencies — When to use vs. avoid libraries
• Code Comments — Inline, concise commenting guidelines

Stacks

• FastMVP — Vercel + NextJS + Convex/Supabase + Clerk + Stripe
• SvelteShip — Vercel + SvelteKit + Supabase + Stripe

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Contributing

Contributions welcome! Feel free to submit guidelines for additional languages or improvements to existing ones.

License

CC0 1.0 Universal — Public Domain