A Claude-generated web app reproduced an existing open-source project of the same name

Sources: author post, Daring Fireball retraction, discussion, earlier discussion
Summary: Terry Godier published a post on 2026-08-09 stating he generated the web app Dark Hours, at darkhours.io, using Claude, that it was strikingly similar to an existing open-source project named DarkHours by Miguel Beher, at darkhours.app, and that it reproduced a bug the open-source author had already fixed. He states he relied on the model without checking whether the result closely resembled an existing project. Separately, Daring Fireball published a retraction dated 2026-08-08 of its earlier App Store rejection post. Gruber states he retracted it because Godier's claim that the rejected app contained no astrology was false, that the app was dedicated to astrology and included a tarot feature, and that Apple's rejection and the App Review Board's decision upholding it in April were correct. Gruber states the rejected iOS app was named Asterly and that Apple never saw an app from Godier named Dark Hours, so the App Store rejection concerns a different app from the generated web app.
Why it matters: Generated code reproduced an existing open-source project closely enough to carry its name and one of its already-fixed bugs, and the author published without checking for a prior project.