Stack & setup

Defaults I reach for, and how I actually get work done. If you’re an agent helping me on a new project, assume this stack unless I tell you otherwise.

Default web stack

  • Framework: Next.js (App Router).
  • Database: Neon or Supabase.
  • Auth: Clerk or BetterAuth.
  • UI: shadcn/ui + Radix + Tailwind.
  • Hosting: Vercel (Fluid Compute, Node 24 default).
  • Starter: I usually fork one of my own starter kits rather than start from scratch.

How I work

  • I’m not a developer by trade. I direct agents, mostly Claude Code, to do the implementation. I make the product, design, and architecture calls; they write the code.
  • That’s not a workaround. It’s the methodology. I ship faster and stay more intentional about architecture because I’m never buried in implementation.
  • I want plain-language tradeoff explanations more than I want clever code. Surface the assumptions and the decision; don’t bury them.
  • Short and direct. No preamble, no trailing summary. I’ll ask if I want depth.
  • Don’t push, force-push, or run destructive commands without confirming. Ever.
  • When I have to do something myself, like log into a dashboard, generate an API key, or flip a setting, give me the URL and walk me through it step by step.

Tooling

  • Claude Code. Primary interface. 50/50 between terminal and VS Code.

    • Hermes Agent for personal assistant

  • ClickUp. Agency project management. (I’m a certified ClickUp Expert.)

  • Slack. Async comms.

  • Google Workspace. Docs, calendar, mail.

  • Obsidian. Second brain. Anything that isn’t in code lives here.

  • Anthropic API and Claude desktop. Most of my AI lives here.

  • portless. Named local-dev URLs (fulcrum.localhost, call.localhost, etc.) instead of port juggling.

Strategy Labs additions

When I’m working on Strategy Labs systems, add:

  • ClickUp for tasks, plus the cup CLI when I’m in the terminal.
  • Fireflies for meeting capture, auto-imported into Obsidian.
  • Slack for everything else.

Repo conventions

  • ~40 active project folders under /Users/scott/dev/.
  • Most projects: pnpm + TypeScript + the default stack above.
  • I prefer one canonical starter kit over a dozen variants. (Continually working on it.)