What is the best AI for writing complex Python code?

Question

So basically I decided to finally go through my grandpas old digital photo collection. There are like 50,000 files and they are all named weird stuff like DSC001.jpg and I want them sorted by the camera type and the year they were taken. I heard Python is like the magic wand for this kind of stuff but honestly when I look at the code it looks like a different language entirely which I guess it is lol. I tried using the free version of ChatGPT to write a script for me but it gave me all these errors about libraries and dependencies and I have literally no idea what those are or how to fix them so Im kind of stuck and feeling a bit overwhelmed even though Im really pumped to see this project finished!!

Im super excited to get this working because I want to surprise my family with an organized digital album for our big reunion at the end of October so Im on a bit of a time crunch here in my little apartment in Portland. Im willing to pay for a subscription if I have to but since Im just starting out I cant really go over like $20 a month or so. Ive heard people talking about things like Cursor or Claude 3.5 or even something called Github Copilot? Its all very confusing and I just want the one that is the absolute best at handling the complex stuff so I dont have to keep asking it to fix its own mistakes every five seconds because that gets really frustrating.

Like is there one that actually explains what Im supposed to do with the code once it gives it to me? I downloaded this thing called VS Code because a YouTube video told me to but now Im just staring at a blank screen and I dont even know where to paste the stuff the AI gives me. I really want an AI that can basically hold my hand through the whole process and write the code perfectly the first time so I dont accidentally delete all my photos. Which one should I go with if I am a total beginner but need something that can handle really advanced Python scripts?

Dfqrthouh · Accepted Answer

Re: I remember spending a whole weekend sorting my... Unfortunately, I had some issues with the GPT-4o approach for stuff like this. It is not as good as expected because it tends to hallucinate folder paths, which is honestly terrifying when you are handling 50,000 legacy photos. Also, Anaconda is basically total overkill for a beginner and just clutters your hard drive with stuff you wont ever use. You should probably look into Replit Core Monthly Subscription instead. It is right at that $20 limit and it is way more beginner-friendly than staring at a blank VS Code screen.

It runs entirely in your browser so you dont have to install Python locally.

The AI assistant there can actually see your files and help you fix those library errors automatically.

You can just drag and drop a few photos to test the script before running it on the big collection. I tried using Microsoft GitHub Copilot Individual Subscription for a similar project but it is really geared toward professional developers who already know their way around a terminal. Replit is much better if you need someone to basically hold your hand through the setup. Just please make sure you have a backup of those photos on a physical drive before you click run tho... scripts can be unpredictable.

AngleseyIsland · Answer

> I really want an AI that can basically hold my hand through the whole process... so I dont accidentally delete all my photos. Just catching up. You might want to consider Google Gemini 1.5 Pro Subscription for code explanations or Perplexity Pro AI Search Assistant for fixing library errors. Make sure to backup everything to a Samsung T7 Shield 2TB External SSD first. Scripts can glitch and wipe files, so I would suggest testing on a small folder. Gemini is great for logic, while Perplexity finds real-time fixes.

SixNationsRugby · Answer

I remember spending a whole weekend sorting my daughters baby photos using OpenAI GPT-4o. It helped me write a script that uses the Pillow 10.4.0 Python Library to pull dates from metadata. Honestly, the biggest hurdle is just getting the environment set up. I suggest installing Anaconda Individual Edition because it manages those confusing libraries for you. Its a decent option when you dont want to mess with terminal commands.