Solo builders
AI coding tools for solo builders
Building alone changes what an AI coding agent has to be good at. There is no reviewer, so the checks an agent runs on itself are the only checks, and the guardrails have to be structural rather than social: a config file the agent always reads, hooks it cannot skip, tests it must pass.
What actually changes
Nobody catches what you and the agent both miss. That makes the project config file — CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or `.cursor/rules` — the first thing worth writing, because it is the only place your standards exist at all.
It also makes plan mode worth the extra step more often than it would be on a team. A plan you read before any code is written is the review that would otherwise have happened at the pull request.
Recipes for your stack
These are documentation pages, and they come with the subscription.
Which level you are at
Twenty-five questions that place your agentic workflow on the ladder. The ladder runs Level 0 to 5 and the scorecard puts you on 1 to 4, with a 30/60/90-day plan for the next rung. Free, no account.
Frequently asked questions
Which tool should I start with?
The one already included in a subscription you pay for: Claude Code comes with a Claude plan, Codex with eligible ChatGPT plans. If neither applies, start from where you want to work — an editor points to Cursor, a terminal to Claude Code, GitHub or Slack to Codex.
What should I set up first?
The project config file — CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or .cursor/rules depending on the tool. Working alone, it is the only place your standards exist, so it is the one artefact that keeps paying back on every session.