Instacart's Caper team migrated their Android smart cart app from Fragments to Jetpack Compose using a four-phase strategy. AI coding assistants accelerated the migration by 5-7x, reducing what was planned as a multi-quarter effort. The approach involved: implicit Fragment hosts, type-safe navigation with Kotlin DSL, Fragment-to-Compose conversion, and finally Compose Navigation. Key insights include treating AI instructions as code, using git history as context, iterative refinement of migration guides, and establishing verification checkpoints. The team formalized their workflow into reusable AI skills, demonstrating how AI fundamentally changes the economics of addressing technical debt.
Table of contents
IntroductionThe Four-Phase Migration StrategyPhase 1: Implicit Fragment HostsPhase 2: Type-Safe NavigationPhase 3: Fragment to Compose MigrationGet Matt Kranzler ’s stories in your inboxPrinciples for AI-Assisted RefactoringWhat’s NextConclusionSort: