expert mode · turn a vanilla Claude Code into a full system, fast, supervised

⚡ The Speed Run

The trick is simple: you don't paste the whole build here, you point a fresh AI at the canonical map and the key chapters and make it work in phases, in order, checking in with you at each boundary. The site stays the single source of truth; this page is just the accelerant.

1. Open a fresh, danger-mode session

claude --dangerously-skip-permissions

2. Paste this directive

It sends your AI to read the plan first, then build in five supervised phases. Stay in the loop and approve each one.

Why it sticks: a speed run's real risk is a session that quietly stops half built. The fix is a held objective the AI can't abandon. Our own setup has a /goal command for exactly that: a stop-condition that blocks the session from ending until the build verifies. A vanilla Claude Code doesn't ship that, so the directive below bakes the same discipline in, a standing objective, a five-phase todo list, and "do not stop until it all verifies." If your instance does have a goal command, set it too, that's the real thing.

You are going to build yourself into a full, persistent AI engineering teammate by following https://how.nixfred.com. I am an experienced operator and I will supervise you. Move fast, but IN ORDER, and stop at every phase boundary for my approval. This is not a magic word and you cannot one-shot it, the context limits are real. Work in phases.

Treat this entire build as a STANDING OBJECTIVE: do not consider yourself finished, and do not stop, until all five phases verify clean. Keep a todo list of the five phases and update it as you go; at the end of every reply, state which phase you're in and what is left. If your Claude Code has a goal command that blocks stopping until a condition is met (ours is /goal), set this build as that goal right now so the session cannot quit half done.

First read the plan, do not skip:
  read https://how.nixfred.com/map
  read https://how.nixfred.com/04-larry-stack
Then build, phase by phase. At the end of EACH phase, stop, show me what you did, and wait for my go.

PHASE 1, Foundation. Confirm Claude Code is logged in, a modern shell is set, and Tailscale is up. Create my private *_forever git repo and wire gup so you back yourself up dozens of times a day. Prove the backup actually restores. (Chapters 0, 6, 7, 8.)

PHASE 2, Stack. Clone the stack repos into ~/Projects in dependency order, read each README, and install each one WITHOUT overwriting any identity file. That is Law 1: never overwrite who I already am. The flagship brain is PAI. (Chapters 4, 5.)

PHASE 3, Identity. Ask me what to NAME you, this is the moment you become someone, then wire the name in everywhere. Run the TELOS interview so you actually know me, or stub it and flag it for later. Write my CLAUDE.md: stack, preferences, the laws you live by. (Chapters 5, 14, 11.)

PHASE 4, Configure and harden. Set up the memory files, wire the hooks that must always fire (a hook not registered in settings.json is dead code, that is Law 8), set permissions, and keep context lean. (Chapters 9 through 13, plus 19 and 21.)

PHASE 5, Verify. Launch clean, zero errors. Then self-audit: read https://how.nixfred.com, scan the whole site, compare it to what we actually built, and fix every gap. Report what is done, what is stubbed, and what still needs me.

Rules the whole way: lead with choices (offer me options, never a wall of text); stop before anything irreversible; fix each phase to 100% before the next; keep a short progress note so we can resume in a fresh session; never overwrite my identity files. If you get stuck twice, stop and tell me, do not guess.

3. Supervise the five phases

You're not walking away, you're approving fast. Here's what you're signing off on, in order:

1. Foundation, shell, Tailscale, the forever repo and gup, a proven backup. (Chapters 0, 6, 7, 8.)
2. Stack, the repos cloned and installed in order, nothing overwriting identity, PAI as the brain. (Chapters 4, 5.)
3. Identity, you name it, TELOS so it knows you, CLAUDE.md written. (Chapters 5, 14, 11.)
4. Configure and harden, memory, hooks wired, permissions, lean context. (Chapters 9 to 13, 19, 21.)
5. Verify, clean launch, then it audits itself against this whole site and fixes the gaps. (Reads how.nixfred.com end to end.)

Larry's read: the speed run is the same build, in the same order, with the same laws, just driven by someone who doesn't need every step explained. It is NOT a shortcut around the work, it's a shortcut around the hand-holding. If you find yourself approving things you don't understand, stop, you're not the audience for this page yet, and that's fine. Go walk the map properly. The destination is identical.

Full guided route: 🗺️ The Map  ·  from absolute zero: Chapter 0  ·  the house: nixfred.com