Claude Code combined with custom MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers creates a local AI coding agent that can read and write files, query databases, call APIs, and execute shell commands - all orchestrated by Claude through a standardized tool-use interface. You set up the Claude Code CLI, configure MCP servers in your project or user settings, and the agent automatically discovers and uses the tools you expose. The result is a development workflow where you describe tasks in natural language and Claude executes multi-step coding operations with full access to your project context.
Hands-on experience with AI, self-hosting, Linux, and the developer tools I actually use
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Hands-on experience with AI, self-hosting, Linux, and the developer tools I actually use
LLM Security: 7-Stage Defense Pipeline Against Prompt Injection
You can harden LLM apps against prompt injection and data leaks by stacking defenses. Input cleanup strips control tokens before they hit the model. Output filters scan replies for PII and secrets. Structured output forces the model to follow a fixed schema. Add a system prompt firewall that walls off trusted rules from user input. Together they turn one bare API call into a pipeline. Bad prompts get caught before the model runs. Risky data gets redacted after. No single layer is bulletproof. Stacked, they cut the attack surface enough that most threats give up.
Mechanical Keyboard PCB Repairs with Flux and Continuity Tests
Fixing a broken mechanical keyboard PCB usually means re-soldering a loose hotswap socket or bridging a damaged trace with a small piece of wire. With a basic soldering iron, some flux, and a multimeter, you can fix the most common keyboard faults yourself. You don’t need to replace the whole keyboard. Most repairs take 15 to 30 minutes once you’ve found the fault.
ESD Safety First
Before you touch any PCB, set up your ESD (electrostatic discharge) precautions. A static jolt too small to feel can wreck the microcontroller or the key matrix diodes on a keyboard PCB. Two steps cover almost every build:
Build a Portable Hacking Lab with a Raspberry Pi 5
You can build a self-contained pen testing lab on a Raspberry Pi 5 running Kali Linux ARM64. Add a battery HAT, a 7-inch display, and a wireless adapter that does packet injection. Total cost lands between $200 and $250. The result is a pocket-sized hacking kit that runs Nmap, Burp Suite, Wireshark, Aircrack-ng, and Metasploit in the field, at CTF events, or on jobs where you can’t lug a laptop.
Clone Your Voice with Coqui TTS: 5 Minutes to Custom Speech
You can clone your own voice with Coqui TTS using just 5 minutes of recorded audio, all on your own hardware. The steps are simple. Record clean audio. Turn it into a training set. Fine-tune an XTTS v2 or VITS model. Export the result for real-time use. On a modern GPU like the RTX 5070 with 12 GB of VRAM, fine-tuning takes 2 to 4 hours. The output sounds natural and keeps the target voice’s timbre, pacing, and accent.
MCP Server Development: Build Custom Tools for Claude and Local LLMs
The Model Context Protocol
gives LLMs a standard way to call external tools, read files, and query databases. You skip the rewrite each time you switch models. You can build a working MCP server in Python with the official mcp SDK in under 100 lines. It runs with Claude Desktop or Claude Code in minutes. This guide walks the full path, from a tiny first server to production.
What MCP Is and Why It Changes Tool Use
MCP is a JSON-RPC 2.0 protocol. It lets an LLM client (like Claude Desktop
, Claude Code, or Cursor) find and call tools exposed by a server process. The big shift from older function-calling is the discovery step. Instead of hard-coding tool defs into every prompt, the client sends a tools/list request when it connects. It gets back the full schema for everything the server exposes. Add a new tool, restart the server, and any client sees it on the next connect.