we are a community of non-developers building personal automation solutions using claude code (paid) in the evenings and on weekends around our work commitments

you're in the right place if you've done the math on where your corporate job will be in five years - and you'd rather build your ai skills and a small side hustle now, while you've still got a steady paycheck

we help in 3 ways:

1. slingshot start .. the biggest barrier to ai-assisted automation is setup. we automate your one-time and per-project setups in line with the philosophy described below. we pre-choose technologies, provision cloud hosting (using your gmail free credits) and copy a template app. we even deploy it for you, so you don't have to fumble around in the dark
2. ai guiderails .. claude will deliver way better outcomes because we provide a bunch of common preset code templates for claude to build the things you need to do most often - plus we give claude specific guidance on what to do (and what not to do)
3. camaraderie .. being amongst like-minded builders who love solving real-world problems with tech solutions means you're no longer alone - and we offer in-person training courses (ah, the irony) if you want an initial boost

our security philosophy

andrew trusts anthropic's "public benefit corporation" status, but he understands that most people feel uneasy about ai security in general

the best results for building with claude's assistance come from working in "yolo" mode, where it has the "god" privileges to consider and do more things on our behalf

the catch: claude could damage our junk, deliberately or otherwise

luckily there's a fix - keep our personal stuff totally separate from the ai sandbox. pretty simple, if we:

• create a dedicated gmail account for your initial learning journey with claude. this avoids the gnarly worry when you want to give your app access to a calendar or gmail but feel uncomfortable giving carte-blanche to your personal data. this way claude has (and you have) free rein in an empty account
• create a dedicated mac user (without admin rights) on your local machine, so claude can't see any of your personal data. nothing claude or your apps do can leak out of the sandbox or touch the rest of your machine

you'll need a mac

sorry. if you only have windows at home then you'll need to consider a second hand mac (apple silicon). the good news is you will be fine with low spec. andrew uses a 2023 macbook air M2 with 16gb ram and it's never been slow

before you start

important .. the setup script relies on these dependencies

it's best to load this page into incognito before you start.
open links from there, it saves multi-gmail-account pain

1. sign up for a new gmail account
   • important .. don't reuse your personal account
   • you'll feel less restricted to play with automations around email and calendars in particular, if it's a dedicated, separate account
   • plus - you'll get new ~ AUD $400 free credits for google cloud
     .. not that you'll need them
   • google limits how many accounts you can create per phone number, so if it refuses yours, just borrow a friend's - it's only used for one-time signup, not future auth. or grab a one-time $15 sim if you'd rather not ask
2. accept google cloud terms & activate free trial
   

   if you have opted to re-use an old gmail account, you'll have to muddle through the process of accepting terms and enabling billing in google cloud instead of these steps. don't worry, you're not going to be incurring significant costs if you stick to the "personal automations" brief

   • use an incognito window with no google accounts signed in
   • go here: console.cloud.google.com
   • set up 2fa if prompted
   • accept terms
   • fill in contact & payment method
     .. credit card isn't auto-charged post trial
   • "start free"
   • "close" on the welcome prompt - and you're done
     .. leave the window open for your next step
3. accept firebase terms
   • use the same incognito window from above
   • go here: console.firebase.google.com
   • get started / create new
   • accept terms
   • call it anything you want, we'll be deleting it in a sec
   • leave all switches/choices off (dev program, gemini, analytics)
   • when that's done delete the project
     (top-left) settings -> general -> delete project (bottom)
4. on your mac create a new (standard) user called "if"
   • important .. later setup won't work without this
   • system settings -> users & groups -> add user
   • type: standard, account name: if
   • optional: system settings -> menu bar -> fast user switching
     .. make it easy to swap back/forth
   • then switch to the new users
     .. skip all the first-time stuff, leave siri, icloud etc off
     .. open this page again once you're there
   • optional: set fast user switching again, reverse direction
   • resist tweaking/installing stuff until after setup runs

let's go!

logged into the new "if" user on your mac:

• applications -> utilities -> terminal
• for the next step, make sure the terminal is visible at all times, especially when chrome pops up to authenticate you. otherwise you'll wonder why it's stopped (it waits for input after you log into your gmail account)
• copy/paste: curl -fsSL https://almostawake.com/n | bash copy
  .. hit return. you're on your way

if you freak out at any point, just quit the terminal app, swap back to your main mac user and delete the "if" user .. no harm done. you can always re-create it another time when you're feeling brave ;)

what now?

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we're putting together the next steps. check back soon, or drop andrew a line below if you want to be pinged when there's more

questions? andrew@almostawake.com