// journal · field notes
Notes on building, shipping, and definitely AI supported
Field notes from a solo builder. AI, product, engineering, and the unglamorous parts that actually move the needle.
// all articles
45 articles
LovableLovable.dev to Next.js Conversion Prompt Guide
Copy-ready prompts for migrating a Lovable.dev export to the Next.js App Router in safe slices: auth, billing, SEO pages, dashboards, checks, and rollback.
6 min readread
LovableLovable to Next.js Conversion Playbook (2026)
A practical decision and sequencing guide for converting a Lovable React app to the Next.js App Router without breaking auth, SEO, billing, or launch redirects.
7 min readread
vibe-codingWhat Is Vibe Coding? (And Why Most Explanations Get It Wrong)
Vibe coding is a real way to build software by letting AI generate most of the code while you steer through prompts, feedback, and taste. Here is what it actually means.
15 min readread
vibe-codingBest Vibe Coding Tools in 2026 (What Practitioners Actually Use)
The best vibe coding tools in 2026 organized by project stage: UI prototypes, existing codebases, planning, zero-friction experiments, and deployment.
11 min readread
cursorCursor vs Windsurf: Which AI Coding Tool Should You Use?
Cursor vs Windsurf is not a permanent identity choice. The honest breakdown: Cursor for existing codebases, Windsurf for greenfield builds. Here is why.
12 min readread
cursorCursor IDE: What It Is, How It Works, and Whether It's Worth It
Cursor IDE is an AI-native code editor built on VS Code. Here is when it genuinely helps, where it falls short, and whether it belongs in your daily workflow.
13 min readread
generalThe Best AI App Builder in 2026: A Practitioner's Honest Take
An engineer who ships production AI apps explains what the best AI app builder means in 2026 -- decision matrix, failure modes, and real pricing.
19 min readread- lovable
Lovable Agency vs Freelance Lovable Expert: Which to Hire in 2026
Decision framework for choosing between a Lovable agency and a freelance Lovable expert, with honest rate comparisons and failure modes.
10 min readread - ai-development
AI Pair Programming in 2026: a Working Practice, Not a Demo
AI pair programming has matured past autocomplete. A practitioner's guide to the four modes, the tools that actually work, the failure modes nobody talks about, and how to keep humans and bots on the same contract.
18 min readread 
generalHow Much Does It Cost to Hire an AI Developer in 2026?
AI developer rates in 2026: £80–£400/hr depending on seniority, geography, and engagement shape. Tables, hidden costs, and honest comparisons.
13 min readread- general
Lovable vs Bolt vs Cursor: A 2026 Practitioner's Comparison
Lovable, Bolt, and Cursor compared by someone who has shipped production apps with all three. Honest trade-offs, exact failure modes, and a decision matrix.
18 min readread 
generalThe Best AI Coding Assistant in 2026: What Actually Ships Code
An engineer shipping with Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot, Windsurf, Aider, and Continue ranks them honestly -- real pricing, comparison table, decision tree.
18 min readread- lovable
How to Rescue a Lovable App That's Stuck in Production
The playbook we use when founders call us with a broken Lovable app in production: the 6 ways they break, a 30-minute audit, and the fix patterns.
10 min readread - general
Lovable Review 2026: the Honest Take After Shipping 20+ Projects
An engineer's honest Lovable review after 20+ production projects. What it nails, where it breaks, real 2026 pricing, and who should and shouldn't use it.
18 min readread - general
From Lovable to Next.js: A Senior Engineer's Migration Playbook
Honest, phase-by-phase guide to migrating a Lovable SPA to Next.js — covering SSR, Supabase SSR auth, SEO, and real time estimates by app size.
15 min readread 
generalHow to Hire an AI Developer: the Honest 2026 Guide
A complete decision framework for hiring an AI developer in 2026 — engagement models, interview questions, red flags, portfolio review, and rate expectations.
17 min readread- lovable
SEO for Lovable Apps: the Real Options in 2026
Lovable builds React SPAs that Googlebot sees as an empty div. Three real ways to fix it: edge worker prerender, Next.js migration, or Prerender.io.
8 min readread - general
Lovable Alternatives: What to Use When Lovable Isn't the Right Fit
Seven honest Lovable alternatives compared by a practitioner who ships with all of them. Covers Bolt, Cursor, v0, Replit, Base44, and when to use none of the above.
18 min readread - lovable
How to Hire a Lovable Developer in 2026
A practitioner's guide to hiring a Lovable developer: skills that matter, where to find them, rates, and red flags.
8 min readread 
agentic engineeringAgentic Engineering: How One Operator Shipped 99 PRs in 24 Hours
A field report on agentic engineering: 99 PRs, 230 commits, 80,000 LoC across 12 production repos in 24 hours — and the seven orchestration patterns that make it possible.
23 min readread- ai developer
AI Developer for Startups: Staffing at Each Stage
Stage-by-stage staffing map: pre-seed freelance, seed founding engineer, Series A platform team — 2026 rates, skills by stage, and the token-cost math that kills AI products.
7 min readread - hire ai developer
How to Hire an AI Developer in 2026 (Playbook + Red Flags)
The filter I use: scoping, skills checklist, sourcing, 5 interview questions with real answers, 2026 rate bands, and the 3 red flags that have burned every client.
8 min readread - mcp server
How to Use MCP Servers in Cursor (2026 Setup Guide)
The actual working config for ~/.cursor/mcp.json — two transports, env-var secrets, the 5-minute setup flow, and the debugging loop for the red dot.
7 min readread - mcp server
MCP Server vs REST API: When to Use Which (Honest Take)
MCP is not a REST replacement. Decision table, real code from both, side-by-side comparison across 10 dimensions, and the hybrid pattern that ships in production.
8 min readread - mcp server
12 Real MCP Server Examples You Can Actually Use (2026)
Not a list of cool MCPs to try — the 12 I actually run in Cursor every day, with the real mcp.json config for each and notes on which transport to pick.
7 min readread - freelance ai developer
Freelance AI Developer vs Agency: Cost, Speed, Risk Compared
For 80% of AI projects under $150k, a vetted freelance senior ships faster and cheaper. Honest 2026 rates, the hybrid model that beats both, and a decision checklist.
7 min readread - mcp server
MCP Server Architecture: How Production MCP Servers Are Actually Built
Four layers every production MCP server needs — transport, JSON-RPC shape, tool definitions, and guardrails. With real code for rate limiting, circuit breakers, and structured errors.
8 min readread - AI costs
The Brevity Rule: Cut AI Costs ~10% With One Config Change
Six lines of instructions, zero information loss, and nearly 10% off my AI bill. The exact rule, the numbers behind it, and why verbose responses bleed budget twice.
3 min readread - AI productivity
AI Won't Replace You. Mediocrity Will.
Everyone's worried about being replaced by machines. The real threat is complacency. AI is a power tool — dangerous in lazy hands, unstoppable in skilled ones.
2 min readread - vs code extension
Building Our Own VS Code Extensions: Custom Workflow Solutions That Actually Work
Discover how we transformed our VS Code experience with custom extensions tailored to our workflow frustrations.
2 min readread - cursor rules
Streamline Your Development Workflow with Reusable Cursor Skills
Transform repetitive development tasks into reusable, one-command automations using Cursor skills, saving time and ensuring consistency across your projects.
3 min readread - git hooks
Ship It: The Safer, Faster Way to Commit and Push Code Without Breaking Things
Automate your pre-push workflow with Ship It for seamless code quality and consistency. Experience faster, safer deployments in JavaScript/TypeScript projects.
4 min readread - ai coding assistant
CaptureContext: Empowering AI Bots with Front-End Insight
Discover how CaptureContext bridges the gap in AI front-end development by providing AI bots with essential visual context, improving bug diagnosis and resolution.
4 min readread - websocket nodejs
Building Stable Web-to-Desktop Real-Time Connections
Exploring how we built a production-stable real-time sync between a web app and a desktop app using WebSocket. Key takeaways include dual-channel architecture, handling reconnection, and ensuring stability.
12 min readread - infisical
How We Migrated from Local Env Chaos to Infisical—AI-Led, MCP-Powered
Our journey from scattered secrets across various environments to a unified Infisical setup, with AI-driven migrations and MCPs.
5 min readread - mcp server
How I Fixed AI Tool Chaos with Web App and Auto-Updating MCP Workflows
Struggling with scattered MCP configs, agent modes, and tool workflows, I centralized everything into a versioned foundation repository with auto-updates and visibility dashboards. This transformed a fragile, six-location mess into a predictable, auto-synced system that cuts setup time from 45 minutes to zero and surfaces real tool health instead of silent failures.
2 min readread - core web vitals
Extreme Performance: Getting to Lighthouse 100 on Real Apps
Practical techniques for achieving perfect Lighthouse scores in production. No tricks, just engineering.
2 min readread - multi agent systems
Building Multi-Agent Systems That Actually Work in Production
Learn how to design, test, and deploy reliable multi-agent systems that scale. Practical patterns from real production deployments.
2 min readread - supabase deployment
Fly.io + Supabase: The Reliability Stack That Scales
How to build rock-solid applications with Fly.io and Supabase. Architecture patterns, deployment strategies, and common pitfalls.
2 min readread - product design
Design Is Decisions, Not Decoration
Good design isn't about making things pretty. It's about making hard choices — what to cut, what to keep, and what to make impossible to ignore.
2 min readread - solo founder stack
The Solo Founder Stack I Use to Ship at Scale
No team. No meetings. No excuses. The exact toolkit — from IDE to deploy pipeline — that lets one person ship production apps in under a week.
2 min readread - selling outcomes
Your Clients Don't Want Code. They Want Outcomes.
Developers who pitch architecture lose deals. Developers who pitch outcomes win them. How to reframe your work in the metrics clients actually care about.
2 min readread - shipping
Stop Perfecting. Start Shipping.
The graveyard of great ideas is full of perfect plans that never launched. Why velocity beats polish, and how to rewire your brain for output over overthinking.
2 min readread - CI/CD pipeline
How We Made Our CI/CD Pipeline 10x Faster (From 62 Minutes to 6)
The four boring changes — parallel tests, Docker layer caching, Terraform, live metrics — that cut our CI/CD pipeline from over an hour to six minutes.
3 min readread
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