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From problem to shipped link

Seven short guides, in the order I wish someone had given me. Read straight through, or jump to the one that matches where you are stuck.

If you read one first, make it this

Name the person you want to help and the chore that slows them down. Everything else — tools, keys, hosting — follows from that.

The seven guides in order

1
LLMs, Coding Assistants, and Tokens
What a model does, what the assistant around it adds, and why long chats cost more.
2
Don't Start with AI, Start with a Problem
Name the person, the chore, and the current workaround — before touching any tool.
3
Picking the Right AI Tool
Browser chat, research notebook, or terminal coder: pick the lightest one that fits.
4
Project Files That Matter
The five files that matter, and how .gitignore keeps keys off GitHub.
5
Front End, Back End, and Keeping Keys Safe
Browser code is public. Server code is private. Keys live in the second.
6
Shipping Your App: Hosting and CI/CD
From git push to live URL on Vercel or Zeabur.
7
Local Models vs. Cloud APIs
Why I pay per token instead of buying a GPU and heating my flat.

Ten apps built with this exact path — four you can open now.