I just don't see the point of denying that. People use LLMs for coding for sure and it is not a bad thing, and no one can automate a full project 100% with LLMs.
What I saw is that you created initial commits one file at a time via GitHub's web UI, with multiple follow-up commits just to remove emojis from your scripts:
Care to share why those emojis were there in the first place? I guess the next step is to say the Rust codes are 100% handwritten but scripts/docs are AI-assisted? ;)
I’m Emilie (Em’ on GitHub: https://github.com/whispem).
My background is in literature and linguistics – I spent most of my pre-2025 life far away from computers.
I really started programming in January 2025 through the Apple Foundation Program, where I learned Swift, UI/UX design, and how to build basic iOS apps—even though everything felt new and visual at first!
That playful intro made me realize I could actually learn to code, so I kept pushing my limits.
Since October 27th, 2025, I’ve been diving deep into Rust and systems development, building projects as a way to understand storage engines, distributed systems, and even the basics like command-line tools.
I was even invited to give a talk about my learning journey and beginner perspective at Epitech Marseille on December 16th, 2025, which was an amazing (and slightly terrifying) experience!
My approach is always “learn by building” – no formal CS background, just a lot of note-taking, self-challenges, reading docs, and sharing code/experience in public.
If you’re curious about how a non-traditional background can be (sometimes!) an advantage for learning technical skills, or if you’re coming to Rust/systems from outside tech, I wrote down my full path and lessons learned here: https://github.com/whispem/minikv/blob/main/LEARNING.md
Always happy to connect, share tips for nontraditional learners, or just chat about the joys and headaches of learning Rust and low-level systems from scratch.
You can find everything (good and bad!) on my GitHub profile.
minikv implements an S3-compatible API, so you can use S3 clients/tools to PUT and GET objects through its HTTP endpoints—just like a real S3 server.
However, all storage is managed locally (in-memory, RocksDB, or Sled) by minikv. It does not use AWS S3 or any cloud storage as a backend; minikv itself stores your data on local disks.
So: applications can use minikv as if it were S3, but minikv stores data locally (not in S3).
I’m mainly building minikv to learn more about real-world distributed storage and consensus—and to see how far I can take it as a personal project.
Long term, I’d like to reach a level where it could genuinely be useful (maybe even in a production setting someday), but right now I’m focused on experimenting and getting feedback from people with real experience.
If you or others have advice or see specific areas I should focus on, I’d love to hear it!
I think this field is mature, as far as it goes, so you'll be in the weeds by the time you get to the frontier. Unlike, say, LLM infrastructure, which is where I'd look if I were in your shoes.
You’re absolutely right—the distributed KV/object storage space is very mature, and I don’t expect to “out-innovate” the current leaders.
My main goal is to learn by reimplementing challenging systems from (almost) scratch and to deeply understand how these pieces work behind the scenes.
LLM infra is definitely a hot frontier—makes sense that it’s where lots of cutting-edge work is happening.
Maybe someday I’ll try my hand at that too.
For now, I want to really master the fundamentals!
Thanks again for your perspective—it’s helpful to think about where the opportunities (and weeds!) are.
Thanks for the kind words and for the “beginners” encouragement—totally agree, it’s easy to lose sight of that!
I get the point about feature creep.
I started “small,” then kept adding features as a way to learn and push my limits.
My goal is to keep the design modular enough so people can use just the parts they need.
If you (or anyone else) would be interested in a stripped-down mode or a build with fewer features, I’d love to hear what that would look like to you!
