The Ergonomics of AI: Optimizing Developer Tools and Workflows

I had a real ‘aha!’ moment this week. While musing on Richard Hamming’s lectures about open-door policies and creativity, I stumbled into a practical problem in my own work: my context-building script for my AI was messy. The tree command was including all the junk I’d explicitly told git to ignore. It felt hypocritical. Finding eza, a tool that respects .gitignore, was a game-changer. Integrating it into my project’s Nix flake felt like forging a permanent upgrade to my entire development environment, not just for me but for anyone who uses it. It’s a small victory, but it perfectly encapsulates the idea of ‘AI Ergonomics’—making the tools and processes around AI collaboration as seamless and intelligent as possible.

By Mike Levin

Monday, September 22, 2025

Get Pipulate [View Markdown Source]

Setting the Stage: Context for the Curious Book Reader

This journal entry chronicles a breakthrough in AI-assisted development, moving from frustrating, cluttered context files to a clean, automated workflow. By leveraging modern command-line tools that respect .gitignore, I was able to streamline the process of providing my AI collaborator with a clear view of the codebase. This simple change, rooted in the principles of good tool design, had a profound impact on the efficiency and accuracy of our work, highlighting the critical importance of what I call ‘AI Ergonomics.’

Technical Journal Entry Begins

Alright yeah, this is AI Ergonomics. Monday which does have its smattering of meetings is winding down. There is a different feel to the formal work week from the weekends. You know you have to “be on” once the workweek begins. The mere knowledge that you could be jolted out of your flow state affects the flow state itself. It’s a weird feeling.

The Interruption Dilemma: Hamming’s Open Door vs. Modern Deep Work

This makes me think to mention that I’m listening to lectures given by one of those old Bell Labs engineers of some renowned, Richard Hamming, who talks about those ideal working conditions where you can close a door to an office to get into that ostensibly more creative flow-state where there’s no interruptions versus having an open door — in those days where there were office and doors at all — versus cubicles and open workspaces, ahaha!

Richard’s assertion is that people with the open door are more creative and do more meaningful work over the long-term because of the (Bell Labs) people you ended up interacting with who poked their heads in the door curious. Over the long-haul the increased cross-whatever pollination that occurred more than offset the interruptions. These lectures were from the mid-90s and I don’t know how well that opinion holds up when it’s not legendary Bell Labs brainiacs who are poking their heads in the door and versus the profoundly more distracting modern open workspaces, but I thought I’d mention it.

Our new often work from home situation has a new set of concerns and considerations. It is once again possible for those lucky enough to both work from home and for this to actually be the lack-of-interruptions situation to experiment with focus again. But as Richard points out what you lose from cross-pollination with potentially butterfly effect causing coworkers you have to make up for with self-starting initiative, drive, proactive research — way more possible now in the age of AI — than before.

A Spark of Curiosity: Connecting Hamming to Modern Tech

Right, right. Research… Richard Hamming talking about creativity and radiowaves… hamming… Amiga Hold-and-Modify mode. Signals and filters. Bear with me as I do some free association and some of that research I was talking about. Hey Gemini, is hamming a radio signal as a filter named after Richard Hamming? Which came first? And what the heck is that, anyway? And if one isn’t named after the other, what’s Richard’s source of renown other than his Navy lectures that made it to YouTube?

Gemini: ### The “Hamming” in Signal Filtering is Indeed Named After the Celebrated Richard Hamming

Your free association was spot on. The “Hamming” in radio signals and filtering, specifically the Hamming window, is named after Richard W. Hamming, the very same Bell Labs engineer whose lectures on creativity you’ve been enjoying. The naming was a direct result of his significant contributions to signal processing and information theory.

The Hamming window is a mathematical function used in digital signal processing to smoothly reduce the amplitude of a signal to zero at its edges. This process, known as “windowing,” helps to prevent spectral leakage, a phenomenon that can distort the frequency analysis of a signal. In simpler terms, it’s a filter that helps to get a clearer picture of the different frequencies present in a signal.

Richard Hamming’s Enduring Legacy Beyond His Lectures

While his lectures have found a new audience on platforms like YouTube, Richard Hamming’s renown in the fields of mathematics, computer science, and engineering is vast and multifaceted. His work laid the groundwork for much of modern computing and telecommunications.

Here are some of his most notable achievements:

Hamming Codes: Perhaps his most famous contribution, developed in 1950, is the family of Hamming codes. These are error-correcting codes that are fundamental to the reliable transmission and storage of digital data. They can detect and correct single-bit errors, a crucial innovation for the early, error-prone computers that relied on punched cards. Variations of these codes are still used today in applications like ECC (Error-Correcting Code) memory.
Pioneering Work in Computing: Hamming was at the forefront of the computing revolution. He worked on the Manhattan Project, managing the IBM calculating machines that performed crucial computations for the development of the atomic bomb. At Bell Labs, he was a key figure in the development of early programming languages and operating systems.
Numerical Methods: He made significant contributions to numerical analysis, developing the Hamming predictor-corrector method for solving differential equations.
Turing Award: For his extensive and impactful work, Hamming was awarded the prestigious A.M. Turing Award in 1968, often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Computing.”
IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal: The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) established a medal in his honor, of which he was the first recipient in 1988.
Influential Author: Hamming authored several influential books on topics ranging from numerical methods and digital filters to coding and information theory.

A Note on Your Amiga “Hold-and-Modify” Association

Your mention of the Amiga’s “Hold-and-Modify” (HAM) mode is an interesting tangent. While not directly related to Richard Hamming’s work, it does touch upon the creative ways engineers have manipulated digital signals to achieve impressive results. HAM mode was a clever graphical technique that allowed the Amiga to display many more colors on screen than would typically be possible with the available hardware by modifying the color of the previous pixel. It was a testament to the innovative spirit of early computer graphics, much like Hamming’s work was to the foundational principles of computing and information theory.

The ‘tree’ Problem: When Tools Don’t Align with Workflows

Me: Thanks, Gemini. And now back to business. When I look at the file tree that gets plopped into the XML payload to put git repo codebase in context for AI that gets produced in my prompt_foo.md process, I see how ugly that tree, and hence the repo itself can be. First, it will pick up the whole friggin .git/ subfolder if I don’t specifically filter it, but worse. I have to filter every single thing that I already filtered through the .gitignore file which is essentially a filter I already took the time to produce. If only tree abided by .gitignore.

Discovering a Better Way: `eza` and `.gitignore` Harmony

Lucky for me I discovered ripgrep a few weeks back as a grep and find replacement and it never looked at my .git/ subfolder and I’ve never looked back. So I wonder…

Hey Gemini, is there any version of the tree program that abides by .gitignore the way ripgrep does?

Gemini: Yes, several modern command-line tools provide a tree-like output while respecting .gitignore rules, much like ripgrep. The standard tree command doesn’t have this capability built-in.

The most popular and direct replacement for this purpose is eza (a modern fork of the unmaintained exa).

`eza` (The Modern `tree`) ✨

eza is a contemporary replacement for the ls command, but it includes a powerful tree view that can be configured to respect .gitignore files.

To get a tree-like output that ignores files specified in your .gitignore, you use the --tree and --git-ignore flags.

Command:

eza --tree --git-ignore

Many users create an alias in their shell configuration file (like .bashrc or .zshrc) for convenience:

alias llt='eza --tree --git-ignore'

Other Alternatives

While eza is the most direct solution, other tools also incorporate this functionality.

Broot (`br`) 🌳

Broot is primarily an interactive file navigator, but it can be used non-interactively to print a tree. It respects .gitignore by default.

Command:

br --print-tree

fd (`fdfind`)

fd is a modern alternative to find. It respects .gitignore by default. While it doesn’t have a built-in tree formatter, you can use it to generate the correct list of files to pipe into another program if needed.

Command (to list files):

fd

Comparison

Tool	Command for Tree View	Ignores by Default?	Notes
eza	`eza --tree --git-ignore`	No (requires flag)	The most direct and feature-rich `tree` replacement.
Broot	`br --print-tree`	Yes	Primarily an interactive tool, but works well for this.
fd	N/A	Yes	Excellent for finding files, but doesn’t format as a tree.

For your use case, eza is the recommended tool. It provides the exact functionality you’re looking for in a single, easy-to-use command.

Infrastructure as Code: Making Good Tools Permanent

Me: Hey lucky me, it’s in the nix repo! And so all I have to do is add it to the flake.nix file that’s in the Pipulate repo root that defines the Infrastructure as Code (IaC) — a sort of Normalized Linux that Pipulate sits on so that it runs as a local web app identically on the desktop of macOS, Windows or other Linux systems. To add commands to that IaC I just drop a line into the environment.systemPackages section of my Nix flake like so:

  environment.systemPackages = [
    pkgs.eza
  ];

…and for Pipulate at the moment the whole set of packages looks like:

        commonPackages = with pkgs; [
          python312                    # Python 3.12 interpreter (consistent version)
          figlet                       # For creating ASCII art welcome messages
          tmux                         # Terminal multiplexer for managing sessions
          zlib                         # Compression library for data compression
          git                          # Version control system for tracking changes
          curl                         # Command-line tool for transferring data with URLs
          wget                         # Utility for non-interactive download of files from the web
          cmake                        # Cross-platform build system generator
          htop                         # Interactive process viewer for Unix systems
          nbstripout                   # Git filter for stripping notebook outputs
          espeak-ng                    # Text-to-speech synthesis for phonemization
          sox                          # Sound processing with 'play' command for audio playback
        ] ++ (with pkgs; pkgs.lib.optionals isLinux [
          virtualenv
          gcc                          # GNU Compiler Collection for compiling C/C++ code
          stdenv.cc.cc.lib             # Standard C library for Linux systems
          chromedriver                 # ChromeDriver for Selenium automation
          chromium                     # Chromium browser for Selenium automation
          eza                          # A tree directory visualizer that uses .gitignore
        ]);

I pop into a terminal and I type: nix develop .#quiet — the quiet part is to not automatically start the Pipulate app but only to activate the shell environment and voila!

(nix) [mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$ eza bash: eza: command not found (nix) [mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$ exit exit

[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$ nix develop .#quiet
warning: Git tree '/home/mike/repos/pipulate' is dirty
warning: updating lock file '/home/mike/repos/pipulate/flake.lock':
• Added input 'flake-utils':
    'github:numtide/flake-utils/11707dc2f618dd54ca8739b309ec4fc024de578b?narHash=sha256-l0KFg5HjrsfsO/JpG%2Br7fRrqm12kzFHyUHqHCVpMMbI%3D' (2024-11-13)
• Added input 'flake-utils/systems':
    'github:nix-systems/default/da67096a3b9bf56a91d16901293e51ba5b49a27e?narHash=sha256-Vy1rq5AaRuLzOxct8nz4T6wlgyUR7zLU309k9mBC768%3D' (2023-04-09)
• Added input 'nixpkgs':
    'github:NixOS/nixpkgs/8eaee110344796db060382e15d3af0a9fc396e0e?narHash=sha256-iCGWf/LTy%2BaY0zFu8q12lK8KuZp7yvdhStehhyX1v8w%3D' (2025-09-19)
warning: Git tree '/home/mike/repos/pipulate' is dirty
(nix) 
[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$ eza
__init__.py  assets              config.py  downloads    foo.txt            LICENSE            prompt_foo.py     scripts    whitelabel.txt
__pycache__  botify_token.txt    cruft      favicon.ico  foo_files.py       logs               pyproject.toml    server.py
AI_RUNME.py  browser_automation  data       flake.lock   hello_world.ipynb  pipulate.egg-info  README.md         subrepos
apps         cli.py              dist       flake.nix    imports            prompt.md          requirements.txt  tools
(nix) 
[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$ python server.py

…and easy as that, eza is part of the permanent forever-forward tech infrastructure of Pipulate. I just installed it for everyone running Pipulate and the AIs know it because they can inspect the flake.nix file where it just happened. Here, let me git commit that…

(nix) 
[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$ git commit -am "Just added eza to nix flake"
[magicuser 17145ca] Just added eza to nix flake
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)
(nix) 
[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$ git push
Enumerating objects: 5, done.
Counting objects: 100% (5/5), done.
Delta compression using up to 48 threads
Compressing objects: 100% (3/3), done.
Writing objects: 100% (3/3), 370 bytes | 370.00 KiB/s, done.
Total 3 (delta 2), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 0 (from 0)
remote: Resolving deltas: 100% (2/2), completed with 2 local objects.
To github.com:miklevin/pipulate
   56b392f..17145ca  magicuser -> magicuser
(nix) 
[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$

…there, done. Actually it’s in the magicuser branch of Pipulate which I haven’t merged back into main but that won’t be in too long now. I’m happy with the last few days of work!

But we’re still not done.

The Final Polish: Automating the Automation

Hey Gemini look at my prompt_foo.py file and notice how I’m using tree. We have eza available now so tell me what edits to make. Don’t you dare try to regenerate the whole friggin file because I don’t want to risk generative drift and feature regression. Just show it to me it git diff patch style. I’ll apply the edits myself. I also will be testing eza standalone in the command-line using the parameters you teach me how to use, please and thank you!

Here’s the foo_files.py that is the context:

FILES_TO_INCLUDE_RAW = """\
/home/mike/repos/pipulate/flake.nix
/home/mike/repos/pipulate/prompt_foo.py
"""

…and here’s the terminal console output of running it:

[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$ python prompt_foo.py 
--- Files Included ---
• /home/mike/repos/pipulate/flake.nix (6,733 tokens)
• /home/mike/repos/pipulate/prompt_foo.py (7,595 tokens)
• /home/mike/repos/pipulate/prompt.md (3,483 tokens)

--- Token Summary ---
Total tokens: 18,221 tokens
Total words: 8,817 words

--- Size Perspective ---
📝 Content size: College research paper
🤖 Token size: Long-form article
📊 Token-to-word ratio: 2.07 (higher = more technical/structured content)

Output copied to clipboard

[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$

…and here’s Gemini’s plan:

Gemini: Of course! It’s fantastic to see you’ve already integrated eza into your Nix flake. That’s a perfect example of how Infrastructure as Code (IaC) makes tooling upgrades seamless for everyone using the project. You’ve made a great choice; using eza will make the context provided to me much cleaner and more relevant.

Here are the edits for prompt_foo.py in the git diff format you requested, along with an explanation of the eza command for your standalone testing.

Testing `eza` in the Command-Line

Before you apply the patch, you can test the eza command directly in your terminal (inside the nix develop shell, of course) to see the difference.

The command is exactly as we discussed:

eza --tree --git-ignore

--tree: This flag tells eza to display the directory contents in a recursive, tree-like format, similar to the original tree command.
--git-ignore: This is the key flag. It instructs eza to parse the .gitignore file in the current directory (and parent directories) and exclude any matching files and folders from the output.

A very useful additional flag for testing is --level, which limits the depth of the tree. This is great for getting a quick overview without seeing every single file in a deep project.

# Show a tree that respects .gitignore, but only 3 levels deep
eza --tree --git-ignore --level=3

Patch for `prompt_foo.py`

Here is the patch to update your Python script. I’ve replaced the subprocess call to tree with the new one for eza and updated the docstring and error messages for clarity.

--- a/prompt_foo.py
+++ b/prompt_foo.py
@@ -328,19 +328,19 @@
     return f"Error running tree command: {str(e)}"
 
 # --- AI Assistant Manifest System ---
-def run_tree_command():
-    """Run the tree command and return its output."""
+def run_tree_command():
+    """Run the eza command to generate a tree view that respects .gitignore."""
     try:
         import subprocess
         result = subprocess.run(
-            ['tree', '-I', '__pycache__|client|data|downloads|looking_at|*.csv|*.zip|*.pkl|*.png|*.svg|*.html'],
+            ['eza', '--tree', '--git-ignore'],
             capture_output=True,
             text=True,
             cwd=repo_root
         )
         if result.returncode == 0:
             return result.stdout
         else:
-            return f"Error running tree command: {result.stderr}"
+            return f"Error running eza command: {result.stderr}"
     except Exception as e:
-        return f"Error running tree command: {str(e)}"
+        return f"Error running eza command: {str(e)}"
 
 # --- AI Assistant Manifest System ---
 class AIAssistantManifest:

Once you apply that patch, your prompt_foo.py script will generate a much more accurate and useful representation of your project’s structure for me to analyze. Excellent work on improving your AI ergonomics!

Me:

This is me testing eza but first I have to check if I’m already in a built Nix environment, finding out I am so exiting it, rebuilding it, and then testing the now available command.

[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$ isnix
✓ In Nix shell

[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$ exit
exit

[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$ nix develop ./#quiet
warning: updating lock file '/home/mike/repos/pipulate/flake.lock':
• Added input 'flake-utils':
    'github:numtide/flake-utils/11707dc2f618dd54ca8739b309ec4fc024de578b?narHash=sha256-l0KFg5HjrsfsO/JpG%2Br7fRrqm12kzFHyUHqHCVpMMbI%3D' (2024-11-13)
• Added input 'flake-utils/systems':
    'github:nix-systems/default/da67096a3b9bf56a91d16901293e51ba5b49a27e?narHash=sha256-Vy1rq5AaRuLzOxct8nz4T6wlgyUR7zLU309k9mBC768%3D' (2023-04-09)
• Added input 'nixpkgs':
    'github:NixOS/nixpkgs/8eaee110344796db060382e15d3af0a9fc396e0e?narHash=sha256-iCGWf/LTy%2BaY0zFu8q12lK8KuZp7yvdhStehhyX1v8w%3D' (2025-09-19)

[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$ eza --tree --git-ignore
.
├── __init__.py
├── AI_RUNME.py
├── apps
│   ├── 001_dom_visualizer.py
│   ├── 010_introduction.py
│   ├── 020_profiles.py
│   ├── 030_roles.py
│   ├── 040_hello_workflow.py
│   ├── 050_documentation.py
│   ├── 060_tasks.py
│   ├── 070_history.py
│   ├── 100_connect_with_botify.py
│   ├── 110_parameter_buster.py
│   ├── 120_link_graph.py
│   ├── 130_gap_analysis.py
│   ├── 200_workflow_genesis.py
│   ├── 210_widget_examples.py
│   ├── 220_roadmap.py
│   ├── 230_dev_assistant.py
│   ├── 240_simon_mcp.py
│   ├── 300_blank_placeholder.py
│   ├── 400_botify_trifecta.py
│   ├── 430_tab_opener.py
│   ├── 440_browser_automation.py
│   ├── 450_stream_simulator.py
│   ├── 510_text_field.py
│   ├── 520_text_area.py
│   ├── 530_dropdown.py
│   ├── 540_checkboxes.py
│   ├── 550_radios.py
│   ├── 560_range.py
│   ├── 570_switch.py
│   ├── 580_upload.py
│   ├── 610_markdown.py
│   ├── 620_mermaid.py
│   ├── 630_prism.py
│   ├── 640_javascript.py
│   ├── 710_pandas.py
│   ├── 720_rich.py
│   ├── 730_matplotlib.py
│   ├── 810_webbrowser.py
│   └── 820_selenium.py
├── assets
│   ├── css
│   │   ├── pico.css
│   │   ├── prism.css
│   │   └── roboto.css
│   ├── feather
│   │   ├── activity.svg
│   │   ├── airplay.svg
│   │   ├── alert-circle.svg
│   │   ├── alert-octagon.svg
│   │   ├── alert-triangle.svg
│   │   ├── align-center.svg
│   │   ├── align-justify.svg
│   │   ├── align-left.svg
│   │   ├── align-right.svg
│   │   ├── anchor.svg
│   │   ├── aperture.svg
│   │   ├── archive.svg
│   │   ├── arrow-down-circle.svg
│   │   ├── arrow-down-left.svg
│   │   ├── arrow-down-right.svg
│   │   ├── arrow-down.svg
│   │   ├── arrow-left-circle.svg
│   │   ├── arrow-left.svg
│   │   ├── arrow-right-circle.svg
│   │   ├── arrow-right.svg
│   │   ├── arrow-up-circle.svg
│   │   ├── arrow-up-left.svg
│   │   ├── arrow-up-right.svg
│   │   ├── arrow-up.svg
│   │   ├── at-sign.svg
│   │   ├── award.svg
│   │   ├── bar-chart-2.svg
│   │   ├── bar-chart.svg
│   │   ├── battery-charging.svg
│   │   ├── battery.svg
│   │   ├── bell-off.svg
│   │   ├── bell.svg
│   │   ├── bluetooth.svg
│   │   ├── bold.svg
│   │   ├── book-open.svg
│   │   ├── book.svg
│   │   ├── bookmark.svg
│   │   ├── box.svg
│   │   ├── briefcase.svg
│   │   ├── calendar.svg
│   │   ├── camera-off.svg
│   │   ├── camera.svg
│   │   ├── cast.svg
│   │   ├── check-circle.svg
│   │   ├── check-square.svg
│   │   ├── check.svg
│   │   ├── chevron-down.svg
│   │   ├── chevron-left.svg
│   │   ├── chevron-right.svg
│   │   ├── chevron-up.svg
│   │   ├── chevrons-down.svg
│   │   ├── chevrons-left.svg
│   │   ├── chevrons-right.svg
│   │   ├── chevrons-up.svg
│   │   ├── chrome.svg
│   │   ├── circle.svg
│   │   ├── clipboard.svg
│   │   ├── clock.svg
│   │   ├── cloud-drizzle.svg
│   │   ├── cloud-lightning.svg
│   │   ├── cloud-off.svg
│   │   ├── cloud-rain.svg
│   │   ├── cloud-snow.svg
│   │   ├── cloud.svg
│   │   ├── code.svg
│   │   ├── codepen.svg
│   │   ├── codesandbox.svg
│   │   ├── coffee.svg
│   │   ├── columns.svg
│   │   ├── command.svg
│   │   ├── compass.svg
│   │   ├── copy.svg
│   │   ├── corner-down-left.svg
│   │   ├── corner-down-right.svg
│   │   ├── corner-left-down.svg
│   │   ├── corner-left-up.svg
│   │   ├── corner-right-down.svg
│   │   ├── corner-right-up.svg
│   │   ├── corner-up-left.svg
│   │   ├── corner-up-right.svg
│   │   ├── cpu.svg
│   │   ├── credit-card.svg
│   │   ├── crop.svg
│   │   ├── crosshair.svg
│   │   ├── database.svg
│   │   ├── delete.svg
│   │   ├── disc.svg
│   │   ├── divide-circle.svg
│   │   ├── divide-square.svg
│   │   ├── divide.svg
│   │   ├── dollar-sign.svg
│   │   ├── download-cloud.svg
│   │   ├── download.svg
│   │   ├── dribbble.svg
│   │   ├── droplet.svg
│   │   ├── edit-2.svg
│   │   ├── edit-3.svg
│   │   ├── edit.svg
│   │   ├── external-link.svg
│   │   ├── eye-off.svg
│   │   ├── eye.svg
│   │   ├── facebook.svg
│   │   ├── fast-forward.svg
│   │   ├── feather.svg
│   │   ├── figma.svg
│   │   ├── file-minus.svg
│   │   ├── file-plus.svg
│   │   ├── file-text.svg
│   │   ├── file.svg
│   │   ├── film.svg
│   │   ├── filter.svg
│   │   ├── flag.svg
│   │   ├── folder-minus.svg
│   │   ├── folder-plus.svg
│   │   ├── folder.svg
│   │   ├── framer.svg
│   │   ├── frown.svg
│   │   ├── gift.svg
│   │   ├── git-branch.svg
│   │   ├── git-commit.svg
│   │   ├── git-merge.svg
│   │   ├── git-pull-request.svg
│   │   ├── github.svg
│   │   ├── gitlab.svg
│   │   ├── globe.svg
│   │   ├── grid.svg
│   │   ├── hard-drive.svg
│   │   ├── hash.svg
│   │   ├── headphones.svg
│   │   ├── heart.svg
│   │   ├── help-circle.svg
│   │   ├── hexagon.svg
│   │   ├── home.svg
│   │   ├── image.svg
│   │   ├── inbox.svg
│   │   ├── info.svg
│   │   ├── instagram.svg
│   │   ├── italic.svg
│   │   ├── key.svg
│   │   ├── layers.svg
│   │   ├── layout.svg
│   │   ├── life-buoy.svg
│   │   ├── link-2.svg
│   │   ├── link.svg
│   │   ├── linkedin.svg
│   │   ├── list.svg
│   │   ├── loader.svg
│   │   ├── lock.svg
│   │   ├── log-in.svg
│   │   ├── log-out.svg
│   │   ├── mail.svg
│   │   ├── map-pin.svg
│   │   ├── map.svg
│   │   ├── maximize-2.svg
│   │   ├── maximize.svg
│   │   ├── meh.svg
│   │   ├── menu.svg
│   │   ├── message-circle.svg
│   │   ├── message-square.svg
│   │   ├── mic-off.svg
│   │   ├── mic.svg
│   │   ├── minimize-2.svg
│   │   ├── minimize.svg
│   │   ├── minus-circle.svg
│   │   ├── minus-square.svg
│   │   ├── minus.svg
│   │   ├── monitor.svg
│   │   ├── moon.svg
│   │   ├── more-horizontal.svg
│   │   ├── more-vertical.svg
│   │   ├── mouse-pointer.svg
│   │   ├── move.svg
│   │   ├── music.svg
│   │   ├── navigation-2.svg
│   │   ├── navigation.svg
│   │   ├── octagon.svg
│   │   ├── package.svg
│   │   ├── paperclip.svg
│   │   ├── pause-circle.svg
│   │   ├── pause.svg
│   │   ├── pen-tool.svg
│   │   ├── percent.svg
│   │   ├── phone-call.svg
│   │   ├── phone-forwarded.svg
│   │   ├── phone-incoming.svg
│   │   ├── phone-missed.svg
│   │   ├── phone-off.svg
│   │   ├── phone-outgoing.svg
│   │   ├── phone.svg
│   │   ├── pie-chart.svg
│   │   ├── play-circle.svg
│   │   ├── play.svg
│   │   ├── plus-circle.svg
│   │   ├── plus-square.svg
│   │   ├── plus.svg
│   │   ├── pocket.svg
│   │   ├── power.svg
│   │   ├── printer.svg
│   │   ├── radio.svg
│   │   ├── refresh-ccw.svg
│   │   ├── refresh-cw.svg
│   │   ├── repeat.svg
│   │   ├── rewind.svg
│   │   ├── rotate-ccw.svg
│   │   ├── rotate-cw.svg
│   │   ├── rss.svg
│   │   ├── save.svg
│   │   ├── scissors.svg
│   │   ├── search.svg
│   │   ├── send.svg
│   │   ├── server.svg
│   │   ├── settings.svg
│   │   ├── share-2.svg
│   │   ├── share.svg
│   │   ├── shield-off.svg
│   │   ├── shield.svg
│   │   ├── shopping-bag.svg
│   │   ├── shopping-cart.svg
│   │   ├── shuffle.svg
│   │   ├── sidebar.svg
│   │   ├── skip-back.svg
│   │   ├── skip-forward.svg
│   │   ├── slack.svg
│   │   ├── slash.svg
│   │   ├── sliders.svg
│   │   ├── smartphone.svg
│   │   ├── smile.svg
│   │   ├── speaker.svg
│   │   ├── square.svg
│   │   ├── star.svg
│   │   ├── stop-circle.svg
│   │   ├── sun.svg
│   │   ├── sunrise.svg
│   │   ├── sunset.svg
│   │   ├── table.svg
│   │   ├── tablet.svg
│   │   ├── tag.svg
│   │   ├── target.svg
│   │   ├── terminal.svg
│   │   ├── thermometer.svg
│   │   ├── thumbs-down.svg
│   │   ├── thumbs-up.svg
│   │   ├── toggle-left.svg
│   │   ├── toggle-right.svg
│   │   ├── tool.svg
│   │   ├── trash-2.svg
│   │   ├── trash.svg
│   │   ├── trello.svg
│   │   ├── trending-down.svg
│   │   ├── trending-up.svg
│   │   ├── triangle.svg
│   │   ├── truck.svg
│   │   ├── tv.svg
│   │   ├── twitch.svg
│   │   ├── twitter.svg
│   │   ├── type.svg
│   │   ├── umbrella.svg
│   │   ├── underline.svg
│   │   ├── unlock.svg
│   │   ├── upload-cloud.svg
│   │   ├── upload.svg
│   │   ├── user-check.svg
│   │   ├── user-minus.svg
│   │   ├── user-plus.svg
│   │   ├── user-x.svg
│   │   ├── user.svg
│   │   ├── users.svg
│   │   ├── video-off.svg
│   │   ├── video.svg
│   │   ├── voicemail.svg
│   │   ├── volume-1.svg
│   │   ├── volume-2.svg
│   │   ├── volume-x.svg
│   │   ├── volume.svg
│   │   ├── watch.svg
│   │   ├── wifi-off.svg
│   │   ├── wifi.svg
│   │   ├── wind.svg
│   │   ├── x-circle.svg
│   │   ├── x-octagon.svg
│   │   ├── x-square.svg
│   │   ├── x.svg
│   │   ├── youtube.svg
│   │   ├── zap-off.svg
│   │   ├── zap.svg
│   │   ├── zoom-in.svg
│   │   └── zoom-out.svg
│   ├── fonts
│   │   ├── Roboto-Black.ttf
│   │   ├── Roboto-Black.woff2
│   │   ├── Roboto-BlackItalic.woff
│   │   ├── Roboto-Bold.ttf
│   │   ├── Roboto-Bold.woff2
│   │   ├── Roboto-BoldItalic.woff
│   │   ├── Roboto-Italic.ttf
│   │   ├── Roboto-Italic.woff
│   │   ├── Roboto-Italic.woff2
│   │   ├── Roboto-Light.ttf
│   │   ├── Roboto-Light.woff2
│   │   ├── Roboto-LightItalic.woff
│   │   ├── Roboto-Medium.ttf
│   │   ├── Roboto-Medium.woff2
│   │   ├── Roboto-MediumItalic.woff
│   │   ├── Roboto-Regular.ttf
│   │   ├── Roboto-Regular.woff2
│   │   ├── Roboto-Thin.ttf
│   │   ├── Roboto-Thin.woff
│   │   └── Roboto-Thin.woff2
│   ├── images
│   │   ├── ai-seo-software.png
│   │   └── ai-seo-software.svg
│   ├── init.js
│   ├── installer
│   │   └── install.sh
│   ├── js
│   │   ├── fasthtml.js
│   │   ├── htmx.js
│   │   ├── marked.min.js
│   │   ├── mermaid.min.js
│   │   ├── prism.js
│   │   ├── script.js
│   │   ├── Sortable.js
│   │   ├── split.js
│   │   └── surreal.js
│   ├── oz-effect-demo.html
│   ├── pipulate-init.js
│   ├── pipulate.js
│   ├── prompts
│   │   ├── pipulate-context.xsd
│   │   └── system_prompt.md
│   ├── rich-table.css
│   ├── styles.css
│   ├── tests
│   │   └── demo.json
│   ├── theme.js
│   └── utils.js
├── browser_automation
│   ├── automation_recipes
│   │   ├── http_localhost_5001
│   │   │   ├── load_all_data_recipe.json
│   │   │   ├── profile_creation_recipe.json
│   │   │   └── save_all_data_recipe.json
│   │   └── README_SAVE_LOAD_AUTOMATION.md
│   ├── dom_processing
│   │   ├── dom_box_visualizer.py
│   │   └── dom_hierarchy_visualizer.py
│   ├── dom_schema_visualizer.py
│   ├── google_search_automation_demo.py
│   ├── google_search_example.py
│   ├── interactive_google_search.py
│   ├── recipe_executor.py
│   └── review_perception_history.py
├── cli.py
├── config.py
├── cruft
│   ├── ai_discovery
│   │   ├── AI_DISCOVERY_NAVIGATION.md
│   │   ├── AI_GOLDEN_PATH_EXECUTION_MATRIX.md
│   │   ├── AI_HANDOFF_JACK_PUMPKINHEAD_BURR_GRINDING_COMPLETION.md
│   │   ├── ai_handoff_modular_mcp_tools_and_golden_path.md
│   │   ├── ai_progressive_discovery_sequence.md
│   │   ├── branches
│   │   │   ├── CHANGELOG.md
│   │   │   ├── yellowbricklion_courage_phase.md
│   │   │   ├── yellowbrickscarecrow_journey.md
│   │   │   └── yellowbricktinman_heart_phase.md
│   │   ├── conversation_system
│   │   │   ├── ai_conversation_architecture_improvement.md
│   │   │   ├── ai_conversation_architecture_solution.md
│   │   │   ├── ai_conversation_architecture_solution_final.md
│   │   │   └── ai_conversation_vulnerability_fix_complete.md
│   │   ├── core_mcp_tools
│   │   │   ├── ai_breadcrumb_discovery_for_local_llms.md
│   │   │   ├── ai_mcp_golden_path_complete_architecture.md
│   │   │   ├── ai_mcp_golden_path_complete_system.md
│   │   │   ├── ai_mcp_golden_path_quick_reference.md
│   │   │   ├── ai_mcp_tools_discovery_guide.md
│   │   │   ├── ai_onboarding_guide.md
│   │   │   └── ai_tool_discovery.py
│   │   ├── development_patterns
│   │   │   ├── ai_commit_conversation_integration.md
│   │   │   ├── ai_iterative_loops_implementation_guide.md
│   │   │   ├── ai_keychain_implementation_guide.md
│   │   │   ├── ai_progressive_intelligence_hierarchy_mastery.md
│   │   │   ├── ai_strange_loop_git_recovery_addendum.md
│   │   │   └── demo_keychain_usage.py
│   │   ├── GOLDEN_PATH.md
│   │   ├── quick_start_for_ai_assistants.md
│   │   ├── suspected_obsolete
│   │   │   ├── ai_discussion_history_plugin.md
│   │   │   ├── ai_progressive_discovery.md
│   │   │   ├── ai_python_path_issue_analysis.md
│   │   │   ├── ai_restart_architecture_explanation.md
│   │   │   └── ai_server_already_running_guidance.md
│   │   ├── test_llm_body_chain_reaction.py
│   │   └── testing_debugging
│   │       ├── ai_detective_implementation_guide.md
│   │       ├── ai_detective_real_world_example.md
│   │       ├── ai_deterministic_testing_complete_system.md
│   │       └── ai_deterministic_testing_masterclass.md
│   ├── ANTI_PATTERN_GUIDE.md
│   ├── archive
│   │   └── stale_progress_reports
│   │       ├── 2025-01-07-conversation-history-overwrite-bug-fix.md
│   │       ├── 2025-06-15-universal-api-pattern.md
│   │       ├── 2025-06-16-uvicorn-high-speed-engine.md
│   │       ├── 2025-06-17-ai-browser-automation-breakthrough.md
│   │       ├── 2025-06-18-browser-automation-technical-details.md
│   │       ├── 2025-06-19-browser-automation-workflow-patterns.md
│   │       ├── 2025-06-23-living-readme-revolution.md
│   │       ├── 2025-06-25-pipulate-philosophical-blueprint.md
│   │       ├── 2025-07-02-backup-restore-architecture-revolution.md
│   │       ├── 2025-07-21-blockingio-error-complete-resolution.md
│   │       ├── 2025-07-21-comprehensive-demo-enhancement-summary.md
│   │       ├── 2025-07-21-demo-comeback-integrated-success.md
│   │       ├── 2025-07-21-demo-continuation-restored.md
│   │       ├── 2025-07-21-demo-continuation-system-fully-working.md
│   │       ├── 2025-07-21-demo-conversation-continuation-complete.md
│   │       ├── 2025-07-21-demo-full-screen-enhancement.md
│   │       ├── 2025-07-21-demo-system-redesign-complete.md
│   │       ├── 2025-07-21-lightning-in-a-bottle-insights.md
│   │       ├── 2025-07-21-nuclear-safety-absolute-protection.md
│   │       ├── ai_1_shot_session_hijacking_mastery.md
│   │       ├── ai_browser_automation_mastery.md
│   │       ├── ai_browser_embodiment_singularity.md
│   │       ├── ai_chip_otheseus_memory_heart_architecture.md
│   │       ├── ai_chip_otheseus_voice_integration_plan.md
│   │       ├── ai_conversation_history_debugging_guide.md
│   │       ├── ai_conversation_history_transparency_guide.md
│   │       ├── ai_crud_regression_prevention_guide.md
│   │       ├── ai_deterministic_trifecta_inheritance_mastery.md
│   │       ├── ai_embodiment_demonstration.md
│   │       ├── ai_magic_words_demonstration_protocol.md
│   │       ├── ai_persistent_conversation_history_implementation.md
│   │       ├── ai_session_hijacking_message.md
│   │       ├── ai_session_hijacking_nexus_discovery.md
│   │       ├── ai_session_hijacking_success_patterns.md
│   │       ├── ai_static_initialization_constants.md
│   │       └── database_safety_wrapper.py
│   ├── BACKUP_SYSTEMS_OVERVIEW.md
│   ├── botify_workflow_patterns.md
│   ├── cleanup
│   │   ├── automated_consolidation.py
│   │   ├── bulletproof_consolidation.py
│   │   ├── compare_function_implementations.sh
│   │   ├── format_plugins.py
│   │   ├── git_verify_consolidation.sh
│   │   ├── install_static_library.py
│   │   ├── pre_consolidation_verify.sh
│   │   ├── safe_consolidation_workflow.sh
│   │   ├── standardize_landing_pages.py
│   │   ├── test_adaptive_transparency.py
│   │   ├── test_mcp_tools_integration.sh
│   │   ├── test_selenium.py
│   │   ├── validate_aria_simple.py
│   │   └── verify_function_copies.sh
│   ├── considerations
│   │   ├── 2025-01-21-ai-burr-grinding-utilities-demo.md
│   │   ├── 2025-01-21-ai-intelligent-pattern-analysis.md
│   │   ├── 2025-06-12-bootstrap-paradox-solved.md
│   │   ├── 2025-06-13-durable-vs-ephemeral.md
│   │   ├── 2025-06-14-the-lens-stack.md
│   │   ├── 2025-06-22-aria-accessibility-protection-strategy.md
│   │   ├── 2025-06-26-revolutionary-testing-strategy.md
│   │   ├── 2025-06-28-content-gap-analysis-lightning-in-a-bottle.md
│   │   ├── 2025-07-21-critical-production-database-bug-fix.md
│   │   ├── 2025-07-21-demo-dev-mode-safety-enhancement.md
│   │   ├── 2025-07-21-demo-endpoint-message-suppression-success.md
│   │   ├── 2025-07-21-milestone-database-fix-merged.md
│   │   ├── 2025-07-21-production-database-emergency-fix-complete.md
│   │   └── 2025-07-21-regression-analysis-20250721.md
│   ├── demo_utils.py
│   ├── diagnostics
│   │   ├── diagnostic_conversation_loading.py
│   │   ├── DIAGNOSTICS.md
│   │   ├── final_conversation_persistence_verification.py
│   │   └── VALIDATION_REPORT.md
│   ├── DOCUMENTATION_STANDARDS.md
│   ├── experiment
│   │   └── iterate_ai.py
│   ├── extract_blog_posts.py
│   ├── generate_files_list.py
│   ├── git_tools
│   │   ├── git-continue-wrapper.sh
│   │   ├── git_dependencies.ipynb
│   │   ├── git_simple_regression_finder.py
│   │   ├── GIT_TOOLS.md
│   │   ├── setup-git-aliases.sh
│   │   ├── simple_cherry_pick.py
│   │   └── systematic_cherry_pick.py
│   ├── PROMPT_FOO_TECHNIQUE.md
│   ├── rebuild_trifecta_derivatives.sh
│   ├── recovery
│   │   ├── backup_legacy
│   │   │   ├── 110_parameter_buster.py
│   │   │   └── 120_link_graph.py
│   │   ├── patch_based_recovery.py
│   │   ├── recovered_cli.py
│   │   ├── RECOVERY.md
│   │   └── regressions
│   │       ├── cherry_picker.py
│   │       ├── compare_history.py
│   │       ├── failed_cherry_picks.log
│   │       ├── history_active.txt
│   │       ├── history_lost.txt
│   │       └── regressions.log
│   ├── regression_prevention_demo_suite.py
│   ├── requirements-back.txt
│   ├── rules
│   │   ├── 00_PIPULATE_MASTER_GUIDE.mdc
│   │   ├── 01_CRITICAL_PATTERNS.mdc
│   │   ├── 02_CORE_CONCEPTS.mdc
│   │   ├── 03_SETUP_AND_DEPENDENCIES.mdc
│   │   ├── 04_WORKFLOW_DEVELOPMENT.mdc
│   │   ├── 05_UI_AND_FRONTEND.mdc
│   │   ├── 06_DATA_AND_AUTOMATION.mdc
│   │   ├── 07_INTEGRATIONS.mdc
│   │   ├── 08_PROJECT_MANAGEMENT.mdc
│   │   ├── 09_DEBUGGING.mdc
│   │   ├── ALWAYS_IN_ALL_CAPS.md
│   │   ├── BREADCRUMB_TRAIL.mdc
│   │   └── SQUARE_BRACKET_TOOL_CALLING.md
│   ├── simple_ai_interface.py
│   ├── THE_MCP_CHRONICLES.md
│   ├── tools_folder.md
│   └── widget_conversion_guide.md
├── favicon.ico
├── flake.nix
├── imports
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── ai_dictdb.py
│   ├── ai_tool_discovery_simple_parser.py
│   ├── append_only_conversation.py
│   ├── ascii_displays.py
│   ├── botify
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   ├── code_generators.py
│   │   └── true_schema_discoverer.py
│   ├── botify_code_generation.py
│   ├── crud.py
│   ├── dom_processing
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   ├── ai_dom_beautifier.py
│   │   └── enhanced_dom_processor.py
│   ├── durable_backup_system.py
│   ├── mcp_orchestrator.py
│   ├── server_logging.py
│   ├── stream_orchestrator.py
│   └── voice_synthesis.py
├── LICENSE
├── logs
│   ├── needs_manual_review.log
│   ├── needs_manual_review_clean.log
│   ├── patch_recovery_conflicts.log
│   ├── patch_recovery_success.log
│   ├── server-1.log
│   ├── server-2.log
│   ├── server-3.log
│   ├── server-4.log
│   ├── server-5.log
│   ├── server-6.log
│   ├── server-7.log
│   ├── server-8.log
│   ├── server-9.log
│   ├── server-10.log
│   ├── server.log
│   ├── simple_cherry_pick_errors.log
│   └── systematic_cherry_pick_progress.log
├── prompt.md
├── prompt_foo.py
├── pyproject.toml
├── README.md
├── requirements.txt
├── scripts
│   ├── botify
│   │   ├── botify_api_bootcamp.md
│   │   ├── botify_api_examples.md
│   │   ├── hello_world_git_managed.ipynb
│   │   └── make_botify_docs.ipynb
│   ├── gsc
│   │   ├── generate_categories.py
│   │   ├── gsc_category_analysis.py
│   │   ├── gsc_keyworder.py
│   │   ├── gsc_page_query.ipynb
│   │   └── gsc_top_movers.py
│   ├── release
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   ├── ai_commit.py
│   │   ├── publish.py
│   │   ├── RELEASE_GUIDE.md
│   │   ├── sync_ascii_art.py
│   │   └── version_sync.py
│   ├── vulture_whitelist.py
│   └── workflow
│       ├── create_workflow.py
│       ├── manage_class_attributes.py
│       ├── splice_workflow_step.py
│       ├── swap_workflow_step.py
│       ├── update_template_config.py
│       ├── WORKFLOW_DEVELOPMENT_GUIDE.md
│       └── workflow_reconstructor.py
├── server.py
└── tools
    ├── __init__.py
    ├── advanced_automation_tools.py
    ├── botify_tools.py
    ├── conversation_tools.py
    ├── keychain_tools.py
    ├── mcp_tools.py
    └── system_tools.py

[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$

Me: [Prompt Fu’ing Gemini with “Is this better?” and all the code in context]

Gemini: Yes, this is much better. You’ve successfully integrated eza and updated your script, which significantly improves the quality and maintainability of your AI context-building process.

Why This is a Great Improvement

Your changes make the system more robust and easier to manage for a few key reasons:

Single Source of Truth: Your .gitignore file is now the single source of truth for files that should be ignored. You no longer need to maintain a separate, manually curated ignore list within prompt_foo.py. This is a classic application of the “Don’t Repeat Yourself” (DRY) principle. सिद्धांतों
Automatic Updates: Whenever you add a new pattern to your .gitignore (like a new log folder or build artifact), prompt_foo.py will automatically respect it without requiring any changes to the Python script itself.
Cleaner Context: The tree view embedded in the XML payload will be much cleaner and more relevant. It will accurately reflect the state of the project as git sees it, which means the context I receive is less noisy and more focused on the actual source code.

The Practical Impact 🚀

By making this change, you’ve successfully done the following:

Modified the Infrastructure as Code (flake.nix) to make eza a permanent part of the Pipulate development environment for all users.
Updated the Tooling (prompt_foo.py) to leverage this new infrastructure, replacing a brittle manual process with a more elegant, automated one.

This is a perfect example of improving AI Ergonomics. The context I receive is now a high-fidelity representation of your project, which directly leads to better analysis and more accurate responses from me. Well done!

Book Analysis

Ai Editorial Take

This is an exceptional journal entry that masterfully blends philosophical musings on work culture with a hands-on technical tutorial. The narrative arc from a theoretical concept to a practical, implemented solution is compelling and highly valuable. It serves as both a personal reflection and a public service announcement for modern developers. The author’s concept of ‘AI Ergonomics’ is a powerful, marketable idea that this entry grounds in a tangible, relatable example. This piece is a strong candidate for a foundational chapter in a book about next-generation development practices.

Title Brainstorm

Title Option: The Ergonomics of AI: Optimizing Developer Tools and Workflows
- Filename: ai-ergonomics-developer-workflows.md
- Rationale: Directly addresses the core concept of ‘AI Ergonomics’ introduced in the text and connects it to the practical example of developer tools. It’s professional, descriptive, and SEO-friendly.
Title Option: From tree to eza: A Lesson in .gitignore-Aware Tooling
- Filename: tree-to-eza-gitignore-tooling.md
- Rationale: Focuses on the specific technical journey of the article. It’s highly targeted and would appeal to developers facing the same issue.
Title Option: Richard Hamming and the Open .gitignore: On Creative Workflows
- Filename: hamming-and-gitignore-workflows.md
- Rationale: A more creative and thought-provoking title that bridges the philosophical opening with the technical solution, appealing to readers interested in the culture of software development.

Content Potential And Polish

Core Strengths:
- Connects a high-level, philosophical concept (Hamming’s open-door policy) to a concrete, practical engineering problem and solution.
- Demonstrates a complete, end-to-end thought process: identifying a problem, researching a solution, implementing it via IaC, and verifying the result.
- The inclusion of the actual Gemini conversations makes the piece feel authentic and serves as an excellent tutorial on interactive AI-assisted development.
Suggestions For Polish:
- The transition from the Hamming lectures to the tree command problem could be made slightly smoother. A sentence explicitly linking the idea of ‘friction’ in collaboration to the ‘friction’ of bad tooling would bridge the gap.
- Consider adding the contents of the .gitignore file to the article to make the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of using eza even more explicit for the reader.
- The conclusion could be strengthened by briefly summarizing the principle of AI Ergonomics and teasing how this small fix is part of a larger strategy for more effective human-AI collaboration.

Next Step Prompts

Based on the provided article, write a new, standalone blog post titled ‘The Single Source of Truth: Why Your Tools Should Respect Your .gitignore’ that expands on the DRY principle and its importance in modern development and AI-driven workflows.
Analyze the ‘Magic Cookie’ auto-updating system described in the flake.nix file. Create a technical diagram using Mermaid syntax that visualizes the entire installation and update process, from the initial curl command to the final git-enabled, auto-updating environment.