# the-stack

The real 19Keys tool stack — forensically inventoried straight off the machine (brew formulae, brew casks, `/Applications`, npm globals, Claude skills, cloned external repos, MCP servers, Ollama models). Not a listicle of "tools I heard about." This is what is actually installed and actually gets used.

The philosophy underneath it: **build, don't spend.** Own the machine. Self-host what you can. Reach for an open-source or local tool before a subscription. Where a paid or hosted service is genuinely the right call (Vercel, Supabase, Cloudflare), it's here too — sovereignty means choosing your dependencies on purpose, not avoiding them on principle.

Every entry below links to the tool's official site or canonical repo. Install commands are given where there's a real one-liner.

---

## Terminal & CLI power tools

Installed via [Homebrew](https://brew.sh). Pure library dependencies (brotli, cairo, giflib, ca-certificates, etc.) are skipped — this is the user-facing layer only.

| Tool | What it is | Install |
|---|---|---|
| **[bat](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat)** | `cat` clone with syntax highlighting and git integration | `brew install bat` |
| **[btop](https://github.com/aristocratos/btop)** | Resource monitor (CPU/mem/disk/net) with a terminal UI | `brew install btop` |
| **[bun](https://bun.sh)** | Fast all-in-one JavaScript runtime, bundler, and package manager | `brew install bun` |
| **[eza](https://github.com/eza-community/eza)** | Modern replacement for `ls`, with git status and icons | `brew install eza` |
| **[fd](https://github.com/sharkdp/fd)** | Fast, friendly alternative to `find` | `brew install fd` |
| **[ffmpeg](https://ffmpeg.org)** / **ffmpeg-full** | The video/audio conversion and processing engine everything else is built on | `brew install ffmpeg` |
| **[fzf](https://github.com/junegunn/fzf)** | Command-line fuzzy finder for files, history, and processes | `brew install fzf` |
| **[gh](https://cli.github.com)** | Official GitHub CLI — PRs, issues, releases from the terminal | `brew install gh` |
| **[cloudflared](https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared)** | Cloudflare Tunnel client — expose a local server without opening ports | `brew install cloudflared` |
| **[flyctl](https://fly.io/docs/flyctl/)** | CLI for deploying apps to [Fly.io](https://fly.io) | `brew install flyctl` |
| **[gnupg](https://gnupg.org)** | GPG — encryption and signing (commit signing, secrets) | `brew install gnupg` |
| **[claude-squad](https://github.com/smtg-ai/claude-squad)** | Terminal app for running multiple AI coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, etc.) in parallel isolated sessions | `brew install claude-squad` |
| **[engram](https://github.com/Gentleman-Programming/engram)** | Persistent memory layer for AI coding agents — SQLite-backed recall across sessions, MCP server included | `brew install engram` |
| **[lazygit](https://github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit)** | Terminal UI for git — stage, commit, branch, rebase without leaving the keyboard | `brew install lazygit` |
| **[neovim](https://neovim.io)** | Extensible, terminal-based text editor | `brew install neovim` |
| **[ripgrep](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep)** | Extremely fast recursive text search (`rg`) | `brew install ripgrep` |
| **[starship](https://starship.rs)** | Fast, customizable shell prompt | `brew install starship` |
| **[tmux](https://github.com/tmux/tmux)** | Terminal multiplexer — persistent sessions, split panes | `brew install tmux` |
| **[tree-sitter](https://github.com/tree-sitter/tree-sitter)** | Incremental parsing library used for code-aware syntax highlighting and tooling | `brew install tree-sitter` |
| **[zoxide](https://github.com/ajeetdsouza/zoxide)** | Smarter `cd` that learns your most-used directories | `brew install zoxide` |
| **[shellcheck](https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck)** | Static analysis / linter for shell scripts | `brew install shellcheck` |
| **[tesseract](https://github.com/tesseract-ocr/tesseract)** | OCR engine — pull text out of images and scanned documents | `brew install tesseract` |
| **[httrack](https://www.httrack.com)** | Website copier — mirror a site to disk for offline study | `brew install httrack` |
| **[supabase (CLI)](https://github.com/supabase/cli)** | Local dev, migrations, and project management for [Supabase](https://supabase.com) | `brew install supabase/tap/supabase` |
| **[terminal-notifier](https://github.com/julienXX/terminal-notifier)** | Send macOS notifications from the command line (used to flag when a long job finishes) | `brew install terminal-notifier` |
| **[zsh-autosuggestions](https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions)** | Fish-style command autosuggestions for zsh | `brew install zsh-autosuggestions` |
| **[zsh-syntax-highlighting](https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting)** | Real-time syntax highlighting for zsh commands as you type | `brew install zsh-syntax-highlighting` |

## Apps

The GUI layer. Installed from the App Store or a direct download.

| Tool | What it is | Install |
|---|---|---|
| **[Obsidian](https://obsidian.md)** + **[Obsidian Web Clipper](https://obsidian.md/clipper)** | Local-first markdown knowledge base; the clipper saves web pages straight into the vault | Download from site |
| **[Notion](https://www.notion.so)** | Docs, wikis, and databases in one workspace | Download from site |
| **[Bear](https://bear.app)** | Fast native macOS/iOS markdown notes app | App Store |
| **[Docker](https://www.docker.com)** | Container runtime — packages and runs services in isolated environments | Download from site |
| **[DaVinci Resolve](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve)** | Professional color grading, editing, and audio post — free tier is genuinely pro-grade | Download from site |
| **[Descript](https://www.descript.com)** | Edit video/audio by editing the transcript; screen recording and podcast tools | Download from site |
| **[OBS](https://obsproject.com)** | Free, open-source screen recording and live streaming | `brew install --cask obs` |
| **[Tailscale](https://tailscale.com)** | Zero-config mesh VPN — private network between all your machines | Download from site |
| **[Telegram](https://telegram.org)** | Messaging app; also the transport for several bot integrations in this stack | Download from site |
| **[Claude](https://claude.ai/download)** | Anthropic's desktop app for Claude | Download from site |
| **[ChatGPT](https://chatgpt.com/download)** | OpenAI's desktop app for ChatGPT | Download from site |
| **[Proton Mail Bridge](https://proton.me/mail/bridge)** | Lets standard mail clients talk to end-to-end encrypted Proton Mail | Download from site |
| **[Pixelmator Pro](https://www.pixelmator.com/pro/)** | Native macOS image editor — a real Photoshop alternative | App Store |

## Local AI

Runs on-machine, no API key required, no data leaving the laptop.

| Tool | What it is | Install |
|---|---|---|
| **[Ollama](https://ollama.com)** | Runs open LLMs locally; simplest way to self-host inference | `brew install ollama` |
| — **llama3.2:3b** | Small general-purpose chat/completion model, pulled via Ollama | `ollama pull llama3.2:3b` |
| — **[nomic-embed-text](https://ollama.com/library/nomic-embed-text)** | Text embedding model for local semantic search / RAG | `ollama pull nomic-embed-text` |
| **[whisper.cpp](https://github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp)** | C++ port of OpenAI Whisper — fast local speech-to-text, no cloud call | `brew install whisper-cpp` |
| **[Chatterbox](https://github.com/resemble-ai/chatterbox)** | Open-source text-to-speech / voice cloning by Resemble AI, runs locally | See repo for setup |
| **[mlx-audio](https://github.com/Blaizzy/mlx-audio)** | Audio generation and TTS on Apple Silicon via Apple's [MLX](https://github.com/ml-explore/mlx) framework | `pip install mlx-audio` |
| **[LM Studio](https://lmstudio.ai)** | GUI for downloading and running local LLMs — an option alongside Ollama | Download from site |

## MCP servers & agent infrastructure

[MCP (Model Context Protocol)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) is the open standard that lets an AI agent call out to external tools and data sources — it's how Claude Code (or any MCP-compatible client) gets hands on a filesystem, a database, a design tool, or a browser instead of just talking.

| Server | What it connects the agent to |
|---|---|
| **[Desktop Commander](https://github.com/wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP)** | Filesystem, process, and terminal control on the local machine |
| **Engram memory** — see [engram](https://github.com/Gentleman-Programming/engram) above | Persistent memory across agent sessions |
| **[Figma MCP](https://www.figma.com)** | Reads design files, components, and variables directly from Figma |
| **[Supabase MCP](https://github.com/supabase-community/supabase-mcp)** | Runs migrations, queries, and project admin against a Supabase project |
| **[ElevenLabs](https://elevenlabs.io)** | Text-to-speech, voice cloning, sound effects generation |
| **[Shopify](https://shopify.dev)** | Store, product, and order operations against a Shopify shop |
| **[Gamma](https://gamma.app)** | Generates and edits slide decks and documents |
| **[Webflow](https://developers.webflow.com)** | Reads and edits Webflow site structure, CMS, and styles |
| **Playwright-based browser tools** — see **[Playwright](https://playwright.dev)** | Drives a real browser: navigate, click, read page content, screenshot |

## Open-source repos studied or adopted

Cloned locally for reference, forking, or direct reuse.

| Repo | What it is |
|---|---|
| **[gbrain](https://github.com/garrytan/gbrain)** by Garry Tan | Self-wiring knowledge-graph memory layer for AI agents |
| **[palmier-pro](https://github.com/palmier-io/palmier-pro)** | Open-source AI-native macOS video editor |
| **[clipsai](https://github.com/ClipsAI/clipsai)** | Python library that automatically turns long video into short clips |
| **[colly](https://github.com/gocolly/colly)** | Go web-scraping and crawling framework |
| **[taste-skill](https://github.com/leonxlnx/taste-skill)** | Skill files that push AI-generated frontends away from generic "AI slop" toward real design taste |
| **[system.css](https://github.com/sakofchit/system.css)** | CSS design system for retro classic-Mac-style interfaces |
| **[AI-Youtube-Shorts-Generator](https://github.com/SamurAIGPT/AI-Youtube-Shorts-Generator)** | Open-source long-form-to-shorts pipeline: highlight detection, Whisper transcription, auto vertical crop |
| **[postiz-app](https://github.com/gitroomhq/postiz-app)** | Self-hostable, open-source social media scheduling and analytics platform |
| **[build-your-own-x](https://github.com/codecrafters-io/build-your-own-x)** | Curated guides for building your own database, web server, shell, etc. from scratch |
| **[hermes-agent](https://github.com/nousresearch/hermes-agent)** by Nous Research | Open-source self-improving AI agent with a persistent skill-learning loop |
| **[TimesFM](https://github.com/google-research/timesfm)** | Google Research's pretrained time-series forecasting model |

## Cloud services

Hosted infrastructure used on purpose, where self-hosting isn't the right tradeoff yet.

| Service | Role in the stack |
|---|---|
| **[Vercel](https://vercel.com)** | Hosting and deploys for frontend/Next.js projects |
| **[Supabase](https://supabase.com)** | Postgres database, auth, and storage backend |
| **[Cloudflare Tunnel](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/connections/connect-networks/)** | Exposes local services to the internet securely, no port forwarding |
| **[Tailscale](https://tailscale.com)** | Private mesh network across every machine in the fleet |
| **[ElevenLabs](https://elevenlabs.io)** | Cloud text-to-speech and voice generation when local TTS isn't enough |
| **[Twelve Labs](https://www.twelvelabs.io)** | Video understanding and search API for the long-form video library |

---

## Start here

New to this stack and don't know where to begin? Install these five first, in this order:

1. **[git](https://git-scm.com)** — version control, the foundation everything else sits on
2. A real terminal setup — see [/terminal-setup](/terminal-setup) on this archive
3. **[Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)** — the AI coding agent this whole workflow is built around
4. **[Ollama](https://ollama.com)** — local AI, no API key needed — see [/local-ai-setup](/local-ai-setup)
5. **[Obsidian](https://obsidian.md)** — your second brain — see [/obsidian-second-brain](/obsidian-second-brain)

Everything else in this table is optional, situational, or swap-in-later. These five are not.