Source: raw/I_ve_added_a_few_things_to_my_AI_coding_workflow.md — YouTube tutorial 9vPyxCucxqI. Creator self-identifies as Chris, “I build productivity apps.” Productivity-apps focus (daily planner “Lee” mentioned, his agent open-sourced). Runs 200/mo Cursor Ultra ($400/mo combined AI tooling). Includes a sponsored mention of Gravile (AI code review).
A solo-developer’s seven-tool update to his Claude Code workflow, anchored by automated testing (Xcode Build MCP for iOS, Claude with Chrome / Cursor’s browser for web) and aggressive MCP+CLI usage for production debugging. Adjacent to the operator-track AIOS framings but distinct — Chris’s stack is for shipping mobile + web product, not for setting up second brains. Includes a direct Boris Cherny tip on remote-control auto-start as a config flag.
Key Takeaways
Models + tooling
- Claude Code: Opus 4.7, max thinking mode (highest tier). On the $200/mo Claude Max plan. No rate-limit issues reported.
- Cursor: GPT 5.5 extra-high with 1M context window. On the $200/mo Cursor Ultra plan.
- Split: 70% Claude Code, 30% Cursor.
- When to switch to Cursor: very complex bugs with many edge cases. Chris’s claim: “GPT 5.5 extra high with 1M context is better than Opus 4.7 max thinking at the majority of tasks, especially complex ones.” Caveat: too expensive to use for everything (credits evaporate in days). Default to Opus + max → fall back to GPT 5.5 when Opus is struggling.
- Also pays $100/mo Codex but prefers Cursor for now; flagged that Codex has “an extremely good Mac app” + rumored iOS app coming.
1. Automated testing — Xcode Build MCP (iOS) + Claude with Chrome (web)
Xcode Build MCP — free MCP by Sentry. Lets Claude Code do ~90% of what Xcode does: build, run simulator, take screenshots, tap on screen elements, read logs.
Workflow with Xcode Build MCP:
- Tell Claude Code: “make this change, then verify in the simulator using Xcode Build MCP.”
- Claude takes control of the simulator, taps + tests, takes screenshots, pulls logs.
- Chris can keep Xcode completely closed while building iOS apps.
- 10% gap: multi-touch gestures (e.g., reorder a list) can’t be tested by the MCP. Manual workaround: do the gesture yourself → MCP reads the resulting logs.
Claude with Chrome — equivalent for web. Install: claude-chrome plugin → run claude-chrome → Claude controls a Chrome instance, takes screenshots, reads console.
Cursor’s built-in browser does the same thing for Cursor users.
The before/after:
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Tell Claude: “fix bug X” → manually verify → screenshot → paste console logs → “still broken, try again” → loop | Tell Claude: “fix the problem, verify via Xcode Build MCP or claude-chrome, keep going until fixed” → walk away for 20-30 min → return to a fixed bug |
“It makes context-switching much easier because I can let Claude Code run for a longer period of time without intervention.”
2. MCPs + CLIs everywhere for production debugging
Chris previously used “barely any MCPs — just the Supabase MCP.” Now: “I’m fully addicted.”
The production-debugging example. User emails: “Hey Chris, the app keeps crashing when I open the settings page.”
| Before MCPs/CLIs | After MCPs/CLIs |
|---|---|
| Open Sentry → look up crashes | Tell Claude Code: “this specific user, here’s their email, they reported a crash on the settings page. Feel free to check Sentry, Axiom, Supabase, or Firebase.” |
| Open Supabase → look up user data | Claude pulls Supabase user info → checks settings → pulls Sentry for crashes for this user → checks iOS version + device anomalies → if needed, pulls Axiom for backend logs |
| Open Axiom → look at backend logs | Done in ~3 minutes |
| Manually correlate (~45 min) |
“Almost every major developer service has some sort of MCP or CLI available, and there’s really no reason not to use it.”
Tip on MCP vs CLI choice:
“After talking to engineers who know way more than I do, in most cases the CLI is more efficient in terms of context window. It eats a lot less tokens than MCP servers. And the agents seem to know how to use the CLI a little bit better than MCPs.”
Default to CLI when both are available; MCP as fallback.
3. Gravile — AI code review for solo developers (sponsored, but used independently)
Gravile = AI code review service. Disclosure: sponsored the video. Chris’s claim: he’d use it regardless, having A/B tested it against Cursor’s Bugbot on 60 PRs over a month — Gravile noticeably better.
- Open a PR → Gravile reviews automatically.
- Workflow: “Claude Code, wait for Gravile to finish reviewing, then go through every comment, fix anything that’s real, keep looping until Gravile gives you a 5/5 score.” Gravile auto-grades PRs.
- Setup: sign up → link repo → toggle on. ~$30/mo. 14-day no-credit-card trial.
- Use case rationale: solo dev with no human reviewer + shipping ~daily PRs → AI code review is the safety net.
4. Remote control — continue Claude Code sessions on your phone
Type /remote-control in Claude Code → continue the session in the Claude mobile app under the Code tab. Syncs both ways across devices.
Boris Cherny tip (Chris talked to him directly): run /config → enable “every time you start Claude Code, automatically start a remote-control session.” Chris has this on now.
Why Claude Code’s remote control beats Cursor’s cloud agents:
- Remote control gives the phone session access to all the local MCPs and CLIs Chris has installed on his Mac.
- Cursor’s cloud agents only have a handful of remote MCPs available; workarounds to get local-only MCPs working are “a hassle.”
“Probably a little unhealthy, but it has been massive in terms of being able to continue sessions while I’m on the go.”
5. CMUX — terminal app replacing Cursor terminal for running Claude Code
Three reasons Chris switched from running Claude Code in Cursor’s terminal to using CMUX:
- Sidebar with all projects on the left — open many windows on the right, easy to juggle multiple projects.
- Built-in notifications — when a specific Claude Code instance needs attention, CMUX pings + highlights the relevant window. Critical when running ~10+ instances concurrently.
- Lightweight memory footprint — running 5+ Claude Code instances in Cursor terminal slows his M4 Max + 64GB RAM machine; CMUX handles 20+ instances “just fine.”
6. No-flicker mode (Claude Code beta render)
Beta rendering mode at time of recording. Flag-enabled. Two visible quality-of-life wins:
- Text input bar stays pinned to the bottom while scrolling.
- Click directly in text input field to move cursor to that position (default Claude Code requires tabbing).
Plus smoother scroll. Recommended.
7. Settings tip: max-thinking flag
- New Claude Code sessions default to medium thinking. Chris has a flag set so every new session auto-starts with max thinking enabled.
- Side observation on community complaints (“Claude Code doesn’t get it”): half the time, the complainer has it set to Sonnet + medium thinking. “That’s why.”
Open Questions
- Chris’s full name + channel — first name only in transcript. References to a daily planner app “Lee” + open-sourced AI agent (URL not given) + Instagram/TikTok presence.
- CMUX repo / publisher — described but not linked.
- No-flicker flag exact name — referenced but the flag string isn’t in the transcript.
- Max-thinking flag exact name — same.
- Boris Cherny’s exact
/configsetting name for auto-remote-control — referenced but not transcribed verbatim. - Chris’s open-source AI agent repo URL — Gravile demo is “go check out the repo and look at the PR tab”; URL not in transcript.
Related
- Claude AI topic root
- seven-claude-skills-run-my-business — operator-side catalog of curated skills
- nine-claude-code-plugins-10x-faster — operator-side catalog of plugins
- claude-code-routines — cloud routines (Chris doesn’t use here but adjacent)
- cli-reference — Claude Code CLI config + flags
- connectors — MCP-style connector layer
- cowork-getting-started — adjacent surface (not used in Chris’s stack)
- karpathy-techniques-for-claude-code — adjacent CLAUDE.md best practices
- whats-new-2026-w21 — release-week context (no-flicker + remote-control improvements track W21 cadence)
Try It
- Install Xcode Build MCP (if shipping iOS) — free, from Sentry. Tell Claude: “fix this bug, verify in the simulator via Xcode Build MCP, keep going until tests pass.”
- Install Claude with Chrome (
claude-chromeplugin) — same automation pattern for web. Or use Cursor’s built-in browser. - Audit your MCPs + CLIs. For every major service you use to debug (Sentry, Supabase, Axiom, Firebase, Stripe, Vercel, Railway), check if there’s an MCP or CLI. Default to CLI; fall back to MCP.
- Try Gravile for AI code review if you’re a solo developer shipping fast. 14-day free trial. Alternative to Cursor’s Bugbot.
- Enable remote control —
/remote-controlfor a one-off, or set the Boris Cherny config flag (/config→ auto-start remote) to make every session phone-accessible. - Try CMUX if you’re running multiple Claude Code instances and Cursor’s terminal is hogging RAM.
- Flip on no-flicker mode — beta rendering with cursor-click-to-position + pinned input bar.
- Set max thinking as default — set the new-session flag instead of changing it manually every time.
- Default model rule of thumb: Opus 4.7 + max thinking for 90% of tasks, switch to GPT 5.5 extra-high (1M context) only for very complex multi-edge-case bugs. Track cost on both plans.