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.
• 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 coding interface, terminal-native.
• Cursor and VS Code. For the bits I want to read and tweak directly.
• 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 (fencr.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. (Working on it.)