Developer builds entire custom desktop stack with AI, replaces vim in 72 hours
One programmer swapped 25 years of vim muscle memory for a custom editor in three days.
Geir Isene, a software developer, has built an entire personal desktop environment from scratch using Claude Code as his AI programming assistant. The stack consists of two layers: CHasm, a pure x86_64 assembly layer that handles window management, status bars, screen locking, and terminal emulation, replacing tools like i3-wm, i3bar, i3lock, and kitty. On top sits Fe2O3, a Rust-based application layer built on a shared TUI library called 'crust', which provides custom applications for text editing, file management, email/RSS/chat, calendars, and astronomy panels.
Most notably, Isene replaced his 25-year vim habit with 'scribe', a modal editor he designed in just three days. Scribe retains core vim functionality but drops 90% of unused features and adds writer-specific tweaks like soft-wrap by default, Limelight-style reading mode, AI integration in prompts, and persistent registers across sessions. He emphasizes that the cost of building custom tools has dropped dramatically thanks to AI (Claude Code) and modern languages like Rust. What once took years now fits into a few evenings. Only Firefox and WeeChat remain as off-the-shelf software in his daily workflow.
- Replaced 25-year vim habits with custom editor 'scribe' in three days using Claude Code
- Built two-layer stack: CHasm (assembly, no libc) for low-level operations and Fe2O3 (Rust) for applications
- Claude Code served as the main development workhorse, generating code autonomously while Isene reviewed
- Only Firefox and WeeChat remain as third-party software; everything else is custom-built
Why It Matters
AI-assisted coding makes soloware practical, letting anyone build personalized tools that fit their exact workflow.