The path

Learn each tool the moment it earns its place.

The path is the journey; the reference pages are the library. Start by building something small with an agent. Then learn each foundation or tool when a real pain makes it useful.

How to read Groundwork

Do not front-load every shortcut. Move through the stages, keep shipping, and jump into reference pages only when the work asks for them. That keeps newcomers excited without pretending the fundamentals stopped mattering.

#1. Ship something today

Your first win should feel like leverage. Open a capable editor, describe a tiny real thing to an agent, run it, and change one line yourself. No tmux, no Vim, no architecture lecture.

You're here because you want proof that AI can help you make something real before you study the whole toolchain.

Reach for: Getting started, Editors & AI, then the first track that feels motivating: FPS Browser, FPS Unity, Web & sites, Apps, or Image & video. Stop there until you have a tiny working change.

#2. Don't get lost

Vibe coding works right up until it doesn't: a path is wrong, a command fails, the agent edits the wrong file, or you need to explain what happened. Now you need the floor under the floor.

You're here because something broke and you realized you cannot navigate without the agent.

Reach for: Command line & Unix, Shell & CLI, and Git basics. Learn where you are, how files move, how commands compose, and how to save work before experimenting.

#3. Earn each tool

This is the stage most guides front-load. Groundwork waits until the pain shows up, then gives you the tool as the answer.

When the agent is plausibly wrong

The moment a vibe coder starts gaining chops is the moment they read the diff for whether the code is right, not just whether it runs.

Pain It works, but you do not trust it, or it did something subtly wrong.

Reach for: Vibe → agentic and Git diff review.

When you're drowning in terminals

Pain You have six terminal tabs and keep losing which one is running the server, tests, or agent.

Reach for: tmux sessions, windows, and panes.

When editing feels slow

Pain You keep reaching for the mouse and retyping the same edits.

Reach for: Neovim motions and the editor practice in Practice plan.

When you keep re-explaining yourself

Pain You tell every agent the same project context, style rules, and verification steps every session.

Reach for: AI agents & rules, shared project instructions, and reusable skills.

#4. Build the chops

Now make the useful moves automatic. Fluency comes from short repeated reps, not from one heroic study session. The goal is not terminal cosplay; the goal is to free your attention for judgment.

You're here because you are ready to get genuinely fast, not just functional.

Reach for: the Practice plan: daily shell, tmux, editor, Git, and agent-review drills.

#5. Think like an engineer

Speed without judgment produces broken things faster. This is where architecture, design patterns, specs, tests, evals, security review, and taste become central. The agent is the fast hands; you remain responsible for the system.

You're here because "it works" stopped being a high enough bar.

Reach for: Vibe → agentic, Development, Starting a project, and the verification loop in Everyday workflow.

#6. Work for real, teach others

The last stage is making the loop durable: repeatable daily work, a knowledge base so learning compounds, and the ability to teach the workflow to someone else.

You're here because you are shipping regularly and bringing other people along.

Reach for: Everyday workflow, Knowledge base, and AI agents & rules.

The shape of it

Stages 1-2 are the floor. Stage 3 is where tools earn their place. Stages 4-5 are the hours and the judgment. Stage 6 makes it durable for teams and future projects.

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