GD Nerds!
Do you have a messy computer? I do. My work PC is a mess of folders and files. Organization does not come naturally to me, especially on my Mac.
Earlier this year I watched a video on YouTube about how to use Gemini CLI inside Terminal on Mac to clean up and organize files and folders.
I didn't know you could do that.
Then I went down the rabbit hole, and found out the way most people use AI (myself included) was about 0.5% of its potential. To unlock it fully, you need to run it inside Terminal or an IDE, with all your files and projects hooked in.
That's when the magic happens.
Why Claude Code Is A Must-Have
I tried Gemini CLI and CODEX but after listening to people far smarter than me about this sort of thing I eventually settled with Claude and Claude Code.
Now, Claude Code sounds like its built specifically for developers, and it is. Kind of. But here’s the secret: you don’t need to use it to code a single app or line of software.
For years, I used AI like a digital carrier pigeon, copy-pasting text between a browser and my documents. Moving things from one tool to another. Messing around with HTTP requests, setting up APIs and tokens.
It was clunky and detached from where my actual work happened.
Now? I run my entire day-to-day from a terminal inside VS Code.
You install Claude Code via your Terminal in about ten seconds, and suddenly, you have the full reasoning power of Claude sitting inside your file system, ready to do your bidding.
It’s the “Smart Janitor” for your Files
My computer used to be a graveyard of “Final_v2_USE_THIS.mp4” files and disorganized downloads.
Because Claude Code has bash access (it can run system commands), it can perform “file gymnastics” that would take you an hour of clicking.
I can point it at a mess and say:
“Group all these images by month, move them to a ‘2026_Media’ folder, and delete any empty subdirectories.”
Done. It’s the ultimate tool for the organizationally challenged.
Super-App Status via MCP
This is the “Holy Grail.” Claude Code uses MCP (Model Context Protocol), which lets it talk to your other apps.
Instead of jumping between 10 tabs, I stay in VS Code and tell it:
“Search my Slack for the latest feedback and summarize it into a todo list.”
“Pull the data from this Google Doc and update my project tracker.” It turns your terminal into mission control for your entire digital life.
For me, MCP is the thing that really made AI make sense. Once you get it out of the browser and hooked up to the tools you use, its real power becomes obvious.
Killing “Boring Tasks” with Python
We all have “boring” tasks, converting 50 PDFs to CSVs, scraping data, or formatting spreadsheets.
In the old days (meaning just 18 months ago), you’d have to write and debug that script yourself.
With Claude Code, you delegate it.
“Write a Python tool that watches my Desktop for receipts and logs them into a spreadsheet.”
Claude creates the environment, installs the libraries, runs the script, and fixes its own bugs.
You just get the finished result.
Don't be put off by the code or having to use Terminal. You'll get the hang of it quick enough. I did, and I'm an idiot.
This time last year, I didn't know what VS Code was and I had no idea how to use Terminal on Mac.
Today, I use VS Code to do 90% of everything in my day-to-day work life.
And if you need a great tutorial on getting started with Claude Code, this is the one that finally got it making sense to me.
My Current Tool Stack 🛠️
You don’t need a hundred tools to run a successful project, just the right ones.
Here's what I currently use in my day-to-day tech stack:
✅ ConvertKit (Kit): This is my go-to email marketing platform. I use it on all my major projects (including this one).
✅ Unbounce: For landing pages and converting social media traffic into email subscribers. It's cost effective and easy to use.
✅ Manychat: Automates lead-gen with DMs on Instagram, FB and TikTok. Not essential, but very powerful.
✅ Squarespace: Great for quick website builds when Wordpress isn't necessary. Comes with built-in e-commerce and newsletter functionality too.
That's all for the core stuff, you can find a complete list of all the tools I recommend here.
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