The fastest-rising repo on GitHub is a free tool that lets you make your own copy of existing software.
I got a lot of pushback when I featured it on last week's GitHub show because copying software might be a terms of service violation…and maybe it's “just wrong.”
But let me show you some business use cases, and YOU tell me what you think.
First, let's look at how it works.
The tool is called REA—Reverse Engineer Anything. It gives your coding agent tools to inspect an app and figure out how its features work. Then you can ask the agent to build your own version.
Open your coding agent and give it this:
Install REA using npx rea-agents@latest setup. Connect it to this agent, show me the configuration changes before applying them, then check that this agent can connect to REA.
You can also run this directly in Terminal:
npx rea-agents@latest setup
Installing REA with one command.
Next, let’s see apps people copied
Me reviewing the REA demos.
On Monday I published a YouTube video which showed 6 examples of how people use REA, including…
Custom version of Apple’s QuickTime
Mark Kashef uses QuickTime to review his YouTube videos before publishing. He likes its simplicity, but wanted more precise control over playback speed.
So he copied QuickTime but added a speed slider, an audio waveform, and pitch controls.
You can see the controls right under the video:
QuickTime with better playback controls.
He says about 80% worked from the first prompt. A few more prompts changed the fonts, appearance, and export options.
Removing paywalls
AI Andy had a more questionable use case.
He straight up copied TickTick, the popular task app — with a shocking addition:
While the official TickTick app asks users to pay to access the calendar view, his copy had that feature included for FREE.
On TikTik, when you try to see the calendar view, you’re asked to upgrade.
The original app 👆 charges for the calendar feature.
In his copy 👇 there’s a working calendar — no need to pay to get that.
Andy’s copy includes the calendar for free.
The most interesting part of his creation was how many little mistakes his agent made in the first version of the copy it made. Little things like multi-paragraph descriptions were missing. But overall he got the copy he wanted.
A better Wispr Flow
Eric Tech used Wispr Flow as the reference for a dictation app called Utter.
Eric’s app transcribes ON HIS Mac, so it’s faster.
He asked for a copy with improvements, so his version transcribes on his computer, instead of sending the audio to the cloud. That’s much faster and more private.
Finding bugs
AI LABS showed a use case I never heard of before: finding bugs in your own software.
They asked the agent to test the site without changing it or reading its code. It worked through scenarios and compared the billing page with the pricing rules.
Two accounts saw a different price from what they were charged. The line items, discount, and tax were correct; adding up the displayed total was where things went wrong.
Correct charges. Wrong total.
Just the features you need
Mehal Kumar said he was copying CapCut, but I disagree.
He asked for a version of CapCut that had a such a limited set of features, that it was a whole new video editing app.
Mehal video app is easier to use than CapCut — which he “copied.”
He got the ability to split video files, add captions etc, but none of the heavy-handed features that make CapCut confusing and distracting for new users.
This is one of the best uses of AI development. You can get customized software that fits your unique needs.
Want to see how to use it yourself?
I created a video with the best use cases. It’s on my YouTube channel.
Is this stealing?
The big question about REA is whether this is considered theft.
Now that you've seen some examples of how people use it, what do you think? Am I being cavalier? Is it the end of all software sales?
Andrew Warner
P.S. I hired Ben to grow the business side of The Next New Thing. The channel’s been growing well, and it’s time to turn it into a real business.
