Hands-on notes for open-source tools and practical AI workflows
SHUO Blog focuses on Local AI, open-source projects, and AI automation workflows, written from a developer’s real setup and testing experience.
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VHS Hands-On: Turn Terminal Recordings into Replayable Code
Charmbracelet VHS uses .tape scripts to control terminal input, pauses, themes, dimensions, and output formats. I used a 662-byte Tape to generate a 16.92-second bilingual demo and extracted a PNG screenshot from the MP4.
Four Months with Zen Browser: Chrome Is Now Just for Netflix
I’ve used Zen Browser as my main browser for four months. This article covers its auto-hiding sidebar, Workspaces, Glance, Split View, Firefox extensions, and the Zen Mods I use, along with why I still need another browser for Netflix.
lucide-animated: Turn Lucide Icons into Animated React Components
lucide-animated is an open-source collection of animated icons built with Lucide and Motion. This article covers the interactive preview, installation with the shadcn CLI, and how to use it with an Agent.
AnyDoc Hands-On: Convert Word to Markdown in Under 1 Second, Ready for Agents to Use
I used AnyDoc to convert documents to Markdown at high speed. This article covers the complete CLI and Agent Skill workflows, the document structure it preserves, and how it differs from Marker and MinerU.
witr Hands-On: Find What Is Using a Port—and Why It Is Running—with One Command
I started a Node service on my Mac that occupied port 5173, then used witr to trace the process, its launch source, and its socket. I also cover the TUI, useful commands, and the private information to check before sharing screenshots.
Syncthing Hands-On: Syncing Folders Between Mac and Windows Without Cloud Storage
I connected a Mac and a Windows PC with Syncthing, tested two-way file sync through a shared folder, and documented an encryption-setting mistake plus a sync conflict.
LosslessCut Tested: A 5-Minute, 600 MB Video Cut Almost Instantly
LosslessCut copies media streams through FFmpeg without re-encoding. I tested it with a roughly 5-minute, 600 MB video and documented the free download, I/O shortcuts, and keyframe limitation.
LuLu Field Test: A Look Before a Mac App's First Outbound Connection
LuLu is a free, open-source macOS outbound firewall. When a program with no rule establishes an outbound connection, it shows the program, destination, and signing info. This article covers which default settings are worth keeping after install and how to judge the alerts.
Snapzy Hands-On: A More Complete Free Alternative to macOS Screenshots
Snapzy is a free, open-source native macOS screenshot app with inline annotation, scrolling capture, OCR, screen recording, and built-in editors. I tested its capture-and-annotate workflow and explain how to avoid shortcut conflicts.
img2threejs Tested: Can Codex Turn One Image into a Three.js 3D Model?
I tested img2threejs with GPT-5.6 SOL at medium reasoning. Complex subjects such as an F1 car failed quickly, while a simple NES controller produced clickable buttons, multiple views, and an exploded view. This article covers the results, practical limits, and Codex installation.
Pake Hands-on: Turn Threads into a Roughly 10MB Mac App with One Command
Pake is an open-source Rust and Tauri tool that packages websites as desktop apps for macOS, Windows, and Linux. I used it to turn Threads into a standalone app, from a terminal command to an app inside Applications.
MOLE Hands-on: Let an AI Agent Analyze First, Then Clear 15GB from Your Mac
MOLE is an open-source macOS maintenance tool for the terminal. I used mo analyze, mo status, and mo clean --dry-run to inspect disk usage and caches, then cleared 15.29GB. It also gives AI agents a safe way to analyze first, with a human approving cleanup.