{
    "type": "article",
    "title": "Why I build my own tools",
    "canonical": "https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/writing/why-i-build-my-own-tools",
    "path": "/writing/why-i-build-my-own-tools",
    "url": "https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/writing/why-i-build-my-own-tools",
    "markdown": "https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/writing/why-i-build-my-own-tools.md",
    "json": "https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/writing/why-i-build-my-own-tools.json",
    "summary": "I don’t want my work capped by any one account, plan or vendor. So I build the parts that matter: several accounts on one setup, a job runner that works overnight, and a large coding model on my own laptop.",
    "published": "2026-11-04T08:40:00+00:00",
    "modified": "2026-11-04T08:55:10+00:00",
    "image": {
        "url": "https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/sites/default/files/content/images/posts/why-i-build-my-own-tools/hero.png",
        "alt": "Why I build my own tools. Several accounts on one setup, a job runner that works overnight and checks everything, and a large coding model on my own laptop. The same habit as the tools I already publish."
    },
    "fields": {
        "image_dark": null
    },
    "tags": [
        {
            "name": "AI",
            "url": "https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/writing/tag/ai",
            "json": "https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/writing/tag/ai.json"
        },
        {
            "name": "Mullet",
            "url": "https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/writing/tag/mullet",
            "json": "https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/writing/tag/mullet.json"
        }
    ],
    "projects": [
        {
            "name": "Mullet",
            "url": "https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/projects/mullet",
            "json": "https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/projects/mullet.json"
        }
    ],
    "body": {
        "html": "<p>I use Claude every day and I think it’s very good, especially at design and review. I still don’t want my work to depend on any one account, plan or vendor. If it does, someone else’s decision becomes my limit.</p>\n<p>So I build the parts that matter myself.</p>\n<ul>\n<li>A way to run <a href=\"/writing/several-accounts-one-setup\">several Claude Code accounts at once on one setup</a>, so a session isn’t tied to the account it started on.</li>\n<li>A job runner, <a href=\"/projects/mullet\">Mullet</a>, that <a href=\"/writing/software-that-builds-while-i-sleep\">builds and tests software overnight</a> and lets nothing land without its checks.</li>\n<li>A large coding model on my own laptop’s graphics card, for routine work that doesn’t need to leave the machine.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>None of that is new for me. I build the tools I need and publish the ones I can: <a href=\"/projects/printmd\">a Markdown editor that exports PDF, Word and PowerPoint</a>, <a href=\"/projects/turbopush\">a library for uploading large files in chunks</a> and <a href=\"/projects/scrapepy\">a tool for keeping a copy of a website</a>. The AI setup is the latest of them, and the same habit.</p>\n<p>Owning the tools has a price. I maintain every one of them, and when something breaks it is mine to fix. For now that’s a trade I’m happy with, because it means I can change my setup the day something around it changes.</p>"
    },
    "markdown_text": "---\ntitle: 'Why I build my own tools'\ncanonical: 'https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/writing/why-i-build-my-own-tools'\nurl: 'https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/writing/why-i-build-my-own-tools'\ntype: Post\npublished: '2026-11-04'\nsummary: 'I don’t want my work capped by any one account, plan or vendor. So I build the parts that matter: several accounts on one setup, a job runner that works overnight, and a large coding model on my own laptop.'\n---\n\n# Why I build my own tools\n\nPublished 2026-11-04\n\n![Why I build my own tools. Several accounts on one setup, a job runner that works overnight and checks everything, and a large coding model on my own laptop. The same habit as the tools I already publish.](https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/sites/default/files/styles/almanac_shot_md/public/content/images/posts/why-i-build-my-own-tools/hero.png.webp?itok=kNrsTesH)\n\nI use Claude every day and I think it’s very good, especially at design and review. I still don’t want my work to depend on any one account, plan or vendor. If it does, someone else’s decision becomes my limit.\n\nSo I build the parts that matter myself.\n\n- A way to run [several Claude Code accounts at once on one setup](https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/writing/several-accounts-one-setup.md), so a session isn’t tied to the account it started on.\n- A job runner, [Mullet](https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/projects/mullet.md), that [builds and tests software overnight](https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/writing/software-that-builds-while-i-sleep.md) and lets nothing land without its checks.\n- A large coding model on my own laptop’s graphics card, for routine work that doesn’t need to leave the machine.\n\nNone of that is new for me. I build the tools I need and publish the ones I can: [a Markdown editor that exports PDF, Word and PowerPoint](https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/projects/printmd.md), [a library for uploading large files in chunks](https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/projects/turbopush.md) and [a tool for keeping a copy of a website](https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/projects/scrapepy.md). The AI setup is the latest of them, and the same habit.\n\nOwning the tools has a price. I maintain every one of them, and when something breaks it is mine to fix. For now that’s a trade I’m happy with, because it means I can change my setup the day something around it changes.\n\n- **Projects:** [Mullet](https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/projects/mullet.md)\n- **Tags:** [AI](https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/writing/tag/ai.md), [Mullet](https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/writing/tag/mullet.md)\n\n---\n\nIndex of this site: [llms.txt](https://www.dealmobile.co.uk/llms.txt)\n"
}