The Library

Field notes from a working studio.

Setup guides, terminal workflows, and Claude Code technique — written from the system we run every day, with the real configs included. Each article comes out of a free Academy lesson.

Setup

The account, the installs, the decisions that come before any code.

6 min read

Claude Pro vs Max: the actual math for Claude Code

Pro is $20/mo, Max 5x is $100, Max 20x is $200 — same models on every tier. What the bigger number buys, when the API is cheaper, and the one upgrade signal.

Setup

5 min read

How to install Ghostty on macOS (and why it beats Terminal.app)

How to install Ghostty on macOS with Homebrew — version 1.3.1, the config file location, the Cmd+Shift+, live reload, and why it beats Terminal.app.

Setup

5 min read

How to install Claude Code on macOS

Install Claude Code with one npm command, log in with your Pro or Max subscription (not an API key), and make a first real request. Verified on 2.1.175.

Setup

Terminal

Ghostty, Zellij, and the text interface everything else stands on.

6 min read

What a terminal actually is (a plain-English guide for Mac)

The terminal is the second face your Mac has always had. What the shell is, the first four commands to type, and why AI coding tools live in a text window.

Terminal

5 min read

A 12-line Ghostty config you can copy (and what each line does)

A Ghostty config tutorial built on a real 12-line file: theme, font, padding, copy-on-select — and the three load-bearing lines you should never delete.

Terminal

5 min read

Zellij vs tmux: which terminal multiplexer in 2026

Zellij vs tmux, honestly: what a multiplexer actually solves, a three-row comparison, and the rule — Zellij on your machine, tmux where it's already installed.

Terminal

5 min read

Your first Zellij session: install, name it, keep it

A ten-minute Zellij tutorial: brew install zellij, start a named session, split a pane, close the window mid-task on purpose, and reattach with nothing lost.

Terminal

6 min read

Zellij keybindings: the Alt layer that doesn't fight your shell

Stock Zellij keybindings hide a dozen actions behind modes. One clear-defaults block replaces 520 lines with 35: Alt+hjkl focus, Alt+d splits, Alt+q detach.

Terminal

5 min read

Zellij detach and reattach: sessions that survive a crash

Alt+q detaches a Zellij session; zellij attach picks it up — same panes, same running processes, even after quitting the terminal app entirely.

Terminal

Claude Code

Settings, permissions, memory files, and the session rituals.

5 min read

Claude Code settings.json: the six lines that matter

A real ~/.claude/settings.json read key by key — permissions, model, plugins, thinking — plus the six-line starter and the cascade that decides which file wins.

Claude Code

5 min read

Claude Code permission modes, explained as a ladder

All six Claude Code permission modes — plan, default, acceptEdits, auto, bypassPermissions, dontAsk — as an autonomy ladder, with one rule for picking a rung.

Claude Code

5 min read

CLAUDE.md guide: the global file is an inventory, not rules

Claude Code loads ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md into every session. A guide to writing it as an inventory of what's installed, not rules — with skeleton and audit prompt.

Claude Code

5 min read

The six-line project CLAUDE.md (with the real file)

A real project CLAUDE.md example: six lines — stack lock, package manager, test gate, style rule, ban, tone — plus proof they change Claude's answers.

Claude Code

5 min read

Claude Code plan mode: make it look before it touches

Claude Code plan mode locks edits while Claude reads and proposes. Shift+Tab twice, a four-slot kickoff prompt, and the three-point card for reading plans.

Claude Code

5 min read

When Claude Code asks you a question, don't waste it

Claude Code's AskUserQuestion tool turns vague briefs into multiple-choice decisions. Answer with a decision plus a boundary — three patterns cover the rest.

Claude Code

5 min read

Verify the diff: the wrap-up ritual for AI-written code

How to review AI-generated code changes: check the plan, pick an approval rung, supervise edits, then verify the diff with git against what the plan promised.

Claude Code

Workflow

Layouts, launchers, and worktrees — the studio loop end to end.

6 min read

The 2×2 terminal layout for working with Claude Code

A terminal layout for AI coding: a single pane by default, and a 2×2 Zellij grid — Claude, dev server, scratch shell, yazi — built in four keystrokes.

Workflow

5 min read

Yazi in a terminal pane: a file manager Claude can share

A yazi file manager tutorial: brew install, three-column previews in the terminal, the eight keys that cover most use, and the y wrapper that cds on quit.

Workflow

6 min read

One command to open any project with Claude running

An fzf project picker for zsh: type dev, fuzzy-pick a project, and land in a named Zellij session with Claude Code already running in the right directory.

Workflow

6 min read

A git worktree workflow for AI agents that can't break main

A git worktree workflow for AI agents: mint a disposable {project}@{branch} checkout where full autonomy is safe, then merge and clean up with one command.

Workflow