Writing

Practical notes from building AI features and product surfaces that need to last.

Field notes from building Pean, browser tools, backend systems, AI workflows, and fast product surfaces. The focus is practical judgment: clear UX, durable architecture, context quality, SEO, performance, and shipping decisions.

Showing 1-9 of 19 notes

AI Product EngineeringJun 26, 2026

What an AI-Ready Website Actually Means in 2026

A practical, human look at AI-ready websites in 2026: what still matters for people and search, where llms.txt can help, and why most GEO tricks are less important than clear, crawlable, useful content.

EngineeringJun 10, 2026

How I Actually Use AI Coding Agents on Real Projects (and Where I Still Don’t Trust Them)

A practical, senior-level look at using AI coding agents like Claude Code on production codebases: where they save real time, where I keep full control, and how I structure work so the output is actually shippable.

AI Product EngineeringMay 30, 2026

Context Optimization in AI Products: How to Make AI Features Faster, Cheaper, and More Useful

AI product quality often depends less on the model and more on the context you give it. A practical look at context optimization, cost, latency, source grounding, and real product workflows.

AI Product EngineeringMay 29, 2026

Why AI Summaries Are Not Enough for Long YouTube Videos

AI summaries are useful, but long YouTube videos often need something more: transcript search, timestamped answers, source checking, comment search, and a way to return to the exact moment.

AI Product EngineeringMay 26, 2026

Building Cuelio: Why I’m Designing a Search-First AI Extension for YouTube

A behind-the-scenes look at how I am designing Cuelio, a search-first AI browser extension for YouTube with transcript search, timestamped AI answers, comment search, saved videos, and transcript export.

Product LabMay 22, 2026

Building TableSnap: How I designed a local-first Chrome extension for web table workflows

Why I built TableSnap: a local-first Chrome extension for copying web tables, cleaning messy extracts in preview, and exporting structured data as CSV, TSV, Markdown, HTML, or JSON.

FrontendMay 19, 2026

Next.js API Routes in 2026: Route Handlers, Server Actions, and When to Use Each

A practical guide to API routes in modern Next.js: what changed with the App Router, when to use Route Handlers, when Server Actions are enough, and how to avoid building the wrong abstraction.

Product EngineeringMay 17, 2026

Custom Web App vs No-Code: When to Build Instead of Assemble

A practical guide for founders and small teams on when no-code is enough, when it starts to break down, and when custom web app development becomes the better choice.

Product EngineeringMay 12, 2026

How to Scope a Custom MVP Before Hiring a Developer

A practical guide for founders and small teams on turning a product idea into a focused, buildable MVP scope before starting custom development.