Hacker News: bobjordan

New comment by bobjordan in "Claude.ai and API unavailable [fixed]"

bobjordan — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:07:15 +0000

It's a lot to review since adding the AI workflows, but bottom line is I'm not in a race, I've been working on the same repo since 2019 and I generally don't add too much at once and just take my time. But, I'll admit, I'm a lot more careful about backend schema, services, testing, API design, CLI design, etc., while not being too overly worried about frontend items. This particular long run was focused on building frontend UI for backend that has been painstakingly built. This time, I used the claude.ai/design for a large amount of UI planning for a backend that is ready for it. Then I just let the swarm handle it with our orchestration tool, since it's frontend. Then, just test it in the browser and iterate on what needs changed.

New comment by bobjordan in "Claude.ai and API unavailable [fixed]"

bobjordan — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 03:27:05 +0000

I have max plans for both and over the past 5+ months now have built a custom "agent swarm" orchestrator with a database backed API and several skills CLI that the agents use to deliver orchestrated software factory runs.

We can use several different topologies (2 or 3 agents, etc.) but currently primarily use pair programming teams consisting of an opus4.7 for implementation and a codex5.5 for plan and code reviews, with a codex5.5 run-manager that pushes the agent lanes along and keeps things moving if they get stuck or escalate reviews to run-manager decisions.

Escalation to run-manager is a pretty regular thing as Codex5.5 generally picky and thorough and opus4.7 pushes back at times, and after three codex rejections we allow opus4.7 to escalate to run-manager decision to settle it. Usually, opus4.7 agrees and will continue iterating but it's not unusual that it will push back and escalate.

I've found codex5.5 is extremely capable. I just now finished a large multi-phase orchestrated swarm run with codex5.5 (xhigh) as the run-manager, presiding over 8 paired lanes, with 8 opus4.7 (high) implementers and 8 codex5.5 (high) reviewers, so 16 agents orchestrated and working in a swarm together. Codex5.5 managed that run perfectly for 14 hours with zero intervention needed by me.

Overall, I prefer to let opus4.7 draft the plans and then let codex5.5 offer git-diff style change feedback on plans, then let opus implement and codex review/manage. This seems to get the best result for me.

New comment by bobjordan in "HERMES.md: Anthropic bug causes $200 extra charge, refuses refund"

bobjordan — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:34:09 +0000

I also had some unexplained extra usage which ended up using 236 dollars. I pretty much just shrugged it off since they had comped me 200 dollars of it and then just toggled extra usage off.

New comment by bobjordan in "Opus 4.7 to 4.6 Inflation is ~45%"

bobjordan — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 17:47:27 +0000

I've spent the past 4+ months building an internal multi-agent orchestrator for coding teams. Agents communicate through a coordination protocol we built, and all inter-agent messages plus runtime metrics are logged to a database.

Our default topology is a two-agent pair: one implementer and one reviewer. In practice, that usually means Opus writing code and Codex reviewing it.

I just finished a 10-hour run with 5 of these teams in parallel, plus a Codex run manager. Total swarm: 5 Opus 4.7 agents and 6 Codex/GPT-5.4 agents.

Opus was launched with:

`export CLAUDE_AUTOCOMPACT_PCT_OVERRIDE=35 claude --dangerously-skip-permissions --model 'claude-opus-4-7[1M]' --effort high --thinking-display summarized`

Codex was launched with:

`codex --dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox --profile gpt-5-4-high`

What surprised me was usage: after 10 hours, both my Claude Code account and my Codex account had consumed 28% of their weekly capacity from that single run.

I expected Claude Code usage to be much higher. Instead, on these settings and for this workload, both platforms burned the same share of weekly budget.

So from this datapoint alone, I do not see an obvious usage-efficiency advantage in switching from Opus 4.7 to Codex/GPT-5.4.

New comment by bobjordan in "OpenClaw’s memory is unreliable, and you don’t know when it will break"

bobjordan — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 03:42:30 +0000

I primarily "only" use it as a run-manager that can spin up another agent in a tmux which I can then join by ssh on my cell phone. Then, I can monitor the work from my cell phone and choose to either directly interact with the tmux pane or else just message my openclaw agent to do it for me. That right there is the only "killer" app I've found for it. I do also use it to post to my x.com account and that's also pretty useful. Neither of these uses assume any super long context over time will be retained. But, to me, the run-manager use case is pretty great.

New comment by bobjordan in "Claude Code Cheat Sheet"

bobjordan — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 11:48:22 +0000

Surprised that my most used flag `--dangerously-skip-permissions` is not on it

New comment by bobjordan in "I'm 60 years old. Claude Code killed a passion"

bobjordan — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 13:22:56 +0000

I'm 50 years old, and I don't follow the logic here? Using Claude Code or any AI agent for coding is 100% opt-in. How can something that is 100% opt in kill your passion? Just continue not using it. That's a pretty simple solution.

New comment by bobjordan in "I built a programming language using Claude Code"

bobjordan — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 18:27:47 +0000

I've been working on a large codebase that was already significant before LLM-assisted programming, leveraging code I’d written over a decade ago. Since integrating Claude and Codex, the system has evolved and grown massively. Realistically, there’s a lot in there now that I simply couldn't have built in a standard human lifetime without them.

That said, the core value of the software wouldn't exist without a human at the helm. It requires someone to expend the energy to guide it, explore the problem space, and weave hundreds of micro-plans into a coherent, usable system. It's a symbiotic relationship, but the ownership is clear. It’s like building a house: I could build one with a butter knife given enough time, but I'd rather use power tools. The tools don't own the house.

At this point, LLMs aren't going to autonomously architect a 400+ table schema, network 100+ services together, and build the UI/UX/CLI to interface with it all. Maybe we'll get there one day, but right now, building software at this scale still requires us to drive. I believe the author owns the language.

New comment by bobjordan in "Tell HN: I'm 60 years old. Claude Code has re-ignited a passion"

bobjordan — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 11:53:22 +0000

Yes, the LLM can write it. No, the LLM cannot architect a complex system and weave it all together into a functioning, workable, tested system. I have a 400 table schema networked together with relationships, backrefs, services, well tested, nobody could vibe code their way to what I've built. That kind of software requires someone like yourself to steer the LLM.

New comment by bobjordan in "AI Agents Have Senior Engineer Capabilities and Day-One Intern Context"

bobjordan — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 23:20:09 +0000

AI agents are remarkably capable. But they keep breaking things because they lack consequence awareness. Impact Intelligence closes the gap.

AI Agents Have Senior Engineer Capabilities and Day-One Intern Context

bobjordan — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 23:20:09 +0000

Article URL: https://equatorops.com/resources/blog/ai-agents-need-consequence-awareness

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47268606

Points: 1

# Comments: 1

New comment by bobjordan in "The Bash Primer"

bobjordan — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 01:27:22 +0000

All the things you need to know about Bash for the CompCiv class

The Bash Primer

bobjordan — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 01:27:22 +0000

Article URL: http://www.compciv.org/bash-guide/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47131655

Points: 5

# Comments: 1

New comment by bobjordan in "I found a useful Git one liner buried in leaked CIA developer docs"

bobjordan — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 16:51:45 +0000

I use `master` in all my repos because I've been using it since forever and it never has once occurred to me "oh shit I better change it to `main` this time in case `master` may offend somebody some day. Unfortunately, that's the last thing on my mind when I'm in programming mode. Now that everything is `master`, maybe it is just a simple git command to change it to `main`. But, my fear is it'll subtly break something and I just don't have enough hours left in my life to accept yet unknown risk that it'll cost me even more hours, just to make some random sensitive developer not get offended one day.

Once Operations: Why Idempotency Belongs in the Business Layer

bobjordan — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 17:51:49 +0000

Article URL: https://equatorops.com/resources/blog/idempotency-business-layer

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46915925

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by bobjordan in "Ask HN: Any real OpenClaw (Clawd Bot/Molt Bot) users? What's your experience?"

bobjordan — Sat, 31 Jan 2026 23:51:17 +0000

Yes I've also used that codex workflow and its pretty useful, but the "real time" interactivity and control is just not at the same level.

New comment by bobjordan in "Ask HN: Any real OpenClaw (Clawd Bot/Molt Bot) users? What's your experience?"

bobjordan — Sat, 31 Jan 2026 20:45:08 +0000

You are absolutely right that I probably still "don't" get it, I am still shocking myself on a daily basis with all the stuff I didn't fully get grasp ahold of. I recently updated claude code and yesterday had one agent that used the new task system and blew my mind with what he got accomplished. This tech is all moving so fast!

New comment by bobjordan in "Ask HN: Any real OpenClaw (Clawd Bot/Molt Bot) users? What's your experience?"

bobjordan — Sat, 31 Jan 2026 19:59:23 +0000

Yes, I normally draft spec docs in the office at my desk, this is true. However, when I have the spec ready for implementation with clear "beads", I can reasonably plan to leave my office and work from my phone. Its not at a point where I can just work 100% remote from my phone (I probably could but this is all still new to me too). But it does give me the option to be vastly more productive, away from my desk.

New comment by bobjordan in "Ask HN: Any real OpenClaw (Clawd Bot/Molt Bot) users? What's your experience?"

bobjordan — Sat, 31 Jan 2026 19:53:07 +0000

They make it easy to spin up parallel agents. Managing them efficiently through a shared tmux instance isn't banned anywhere in the TOS, AFAIK. I'd worry more about it if I had to use multiple accounts or something using round-the-clock "automated" work flow. I'm using one account. Hell, the workflow I described, I am even actively logged in to my dev workstation with tmux and able to see and interact with each instance and "micro-manage" them myself, individually. The main benefit of this workflow is that I also have a single shared LLM instance that also has access to all the instances, together with me. I have plenty of other things to worry about besides a banned account from an efficient workflow I've set up.

New comment by bobjordan in "Ask HN: Any real OpenClaw (Clawd Bot/Molt Bot) users? What's your experience?"

bobjordan — Sat, 31 Jan 2026 19:43:48 +0000

Here is my view after putting in my 10,000+ hours learning to code pre-llm days, while also building a pretty complex design + contract manufacturing company, with a lot of processes in place for that to happen. If you have a bunch of human junior devs and even a senior dev or two that join your org to help you build an app, and you don't have any dev/ops structure in place for them, then you will end up with "spaghetti" throughout all your code/systems, from those relatively bright humans. Its the same managing agents. It cannot be expected to build a complex system from simple "one shot me a feature" from a bunch of different agents, each with a finite ~150k token context limit. It must be done in context of the system you have in place. If you have a poor/no system structure, you'll end up with garbage for code. Everything that I said I had to guide the agents, is also useful for human devs. I'm sure that all the FANGS and various advanced software companies also use custom linters, etc., for every code check in. It's just now become easier to have these advanced code quality structures in place, and it is absolutely necessary when managing/coordinating agents to build a complex application.