Let a network engineer who hates coding build an app with AI and MCP
A network engineer who disliked programming learned to connect an AI agent to NetBox, his network's source of truth, through MCP so his team could ask questions like how many circuits are in a data center. Seven months later he built a full app.
Source
@John_Capobianco on X · 2026-10-18
Written in our own words. Credit to the original author. Link checked 2026-10-22.
What they did
A network engineer who disliked programming learned to connect an AI agent to NetBox, his network's source of truth, through MCP so his team could ask questions like how many circuits are in a data center. Seven months later he built a full app.
Result (as claimed)
His app is heading to the App Store.
Tools they used
Cost: Pricing depends on the tools you pick; check each official pricing page.
Set it up
Pick a contained repo or task
Start on a branch or side project where mistakes are cheap.
Install and configure
Set up MCP, NetBox, iOS. Read what it can run on your machine and limit permissions where possible.
Run it on a real task
Give it a well-scoped issue and let it work. Review the diff like any pull request.
Add guardrails
Keep tests and CI in the loop, and never let an agent push to main or touch production secrets unattended.
Copy the full setup prompt
Paste into your agent and it will walk you through the setup, asking before anything that sends, posts or spends.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Claude Code. Goal: Let a network engineer who hates coding build an app with AI and MCP What the original author did: A network engineer who disliked programming learned to connect an AI agent to NetBox, his network's source of truth, through MCP so his team could ask questions like how many circuits are in a data center. Seven months later he built a full app. Reported result (as claimed by the author): His app is heading to the App Store. Source: https://x.com/John_Capobianco/status/2111857168097935721 Tools they used: MCP, NetBox, iOS Category: Dev & ops Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Codex. Goal: Let a network engineer who hates coding build an app with AI and MCP What the original author did: A network engineer who disliked programming learned to connect an AI agent to NetBox, his network's source of truth, through MCP so his team could ask questions like how many circuits are in a data center. Seven months later he built a full app. Reported result (as claimed by the author): His app is heading to the App Store. Source: https://x.com/John_Capobianco/status/2111857168097935721 Tools they used: MCP, NetBox, iOS Category: Dev & ops Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Grok Bot. Goal: Let a network engineer who hates coding build an app with AI and MCP What the original author did: A network engineer who disliked programming learned to connect an AI agent to NetBox, his network's source of truth, through MCP so his team could ask questions like how many circuits are in a data center. Seven months later he built a full app. Reported result (as claimed by the author): His app is heading to the App Store. Source: https://x.com/John_Capobianco/status/2111857168097935721 Tools they used: MCP, NetBox, iOS Category: Dev & ops Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
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