EducationCAN I VIBECODE
Duolingo Super?
BUILD FIRST
- A non-sensitive or read-only version of the core experience
- A manual review step wherever correctness or trust matters
- A narrow companion tool that removes a real piece of work
LEAVE FOR LATER
- Regulated decisions, payments, or irreversible actions
- Claims of correctness, compliance, or uptime that the MVP cannot support
- Sensitive integrations until security, support, and auditability are ready
RESEARCH NOTES
What this tool actually does.
Super Duolingo is the premium subscription tier of Duolingo, a language-learning app. Subscribers keep all free lesson content but gain: no ads, Unlimited Hearts (mistakes don't cost hearts or stop progress), Personalized Practice (a dedicated lesson generated after mistakes), unlimited attempts at Legendary challenges per unit, and free challenge entry. A Practice Hub gives a daily-changing set of review activities plus a dedicated place to review past mistakes. Subscription is auto-renewing and cancelable anytime, and does not affect learning progress or streak. Plans include individual, Family (up to 6 accounts), gifting (e.g., year-long gift codes), and bulk employee plans via Duolingo for Business. Super replaced the previous Duolingo Plus brand at the same price; free users can start a trial. Super subscriptions help fund free education; Duolingo states the lesson content itself is
RESEARCHED BUILD PROMPT
Give this to your coding agent.
Build a focused web app that re-creates the core Super Duolingo workflow: a language-lesson app with a free tier limited by 'hearts' (lives) and a paid 'Super' tier that grants Unlimited Hearts, no ads, personalized mistake-review practice, and unlimited Legendary challenge attempts per unit. Do NOT copy Duolingo's brand, mascot, name, or UI visuals; design a clean, original, accessible interface.
Workflow: user picks a language and completes short gamified lessons teaching vocabulary/grammar via translation, multiple-choice, and typing exercises. Correct answers earn XP; wrong answers cost a heart. When hearts run out, free users must wait or complete a practice session to refill; Super subscribers can keep going. After lessons, a Practice Hub shows 'Mistakes Review' (exercises drawn from the user's past errors) and daily 'Legendary' challenges — harder versions of completed units where Super users get unlimited attempts.
User-facing requirements: signup/login, language selection, unit-based lesson progression, XP and streak tracking, heart system with wait/refill mechanics, an upgrade gate for the Super subscription, no ads for paid users, mistake logging, personalized practice generation from those mistakes, daily rotating practice challenges, and a progress dashboard.
Technical requirements: React or Vue frontend (or plain Node/MVC); backend in Node/Express or Python/FastAPI with SQLite/Postgres; data model for users, languages, lessons, exercises, mistakes, and subscription status; exercises as JSON seed data (not runtime AI); local auth or a lightweight provider like Auth.js; subscription enforcement as a middleware flag checking a valid subscription record.
Implementation approach: REST API with seed data served to a single-page app; a mock 'upgrade to Super' flow that flips a subscription flag, with README notes on wiring real billing (Stripe/Paddle). Use a component library (MUI or Tailwind) for speed, but do not reproduce Duolingo's visual identity.
Out of scope: real third-party curriculum, speech recognition, mass-scale leaderboards, native iOS/Android apps, push notifications, full localization, and actual payment processor integration.
Deliverable: a working app plus a README with setup steps, seed instructions, environment variables, and clearly stated limitations (single-language seed data, mocked billing, no official curriculum accuracy).