CLAUDE.md

Build & Development

bundle install                              # install dependencies
bundle exec jekyll serve --livereload       # local dev server at localhost:4000

Voice & Style

marshall’s voice is a spectrum, not a template. Each post has its own register/energy. Read the target post’s energy before drafting. When unsure, ask.

Constants

• Exploratory, not conclusive. Ship the thinking.
• Cross-domain references (literary, philosophical, scientific) are a feature, not a reach.
• Don’t prescribe tools to the reader.
• Direct quotes (block quotes with attribution) preserve original capitalization. Marshall’s voice is lowercase; other people’s words stay as they wrote them.

Drafting

• Fragments over complete sentences. Periods doing structural work.
• First person (“i”, “me”), not second person (“you”) for marshall’s experience.
• Cut connective tissue. Trust the reader to follow without hand-holding.
• Name the feeling directly rather than writing around it. Use marshall’s actual reaction, not a polished version of it.
• Show the thing (directory trees, code blocks, actual commands) rather than describing it.
• Don’t overthink first drafts. Get something down fast for marshall to react to.
• If it could have been written by any AI, it’s wrong.
• If it sounds like a LinkedIn post, burn it down.
• Don’t hedge on things marshall is direct about, or add false confidence to things he’s exploring.

Worklog

worklog.md tracks what happened each session and what’s next. Read it at the start of every session.

Content Pipeline

Ideas move through three stages. Never skip ahead.

1. _ideas/writing/ - kernels and brainstorming.
2. _drafts/ - working drafts. Not published. Preview with --drafts flag.
3. _posts/ - published. Only move here when marshall says it’s ready.

Other idea buckets (separate from writing pipeline):

• _ideas/tools/ - apps and tools to build.
• _ideas/site/ - improvements to the site itself.