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Chapter 07 · 07

A Sane Local Setup Makes AI Changes Safe

Tie it together with an environment where mistakes are cheap and recoverable:

  • Work on a , not directly on main.
  • Keep the working tree clean before big changes so the diff is meaningful.
  • Have tests and a dev server ready to run in one command.
  • Keep secrets out of the repo and the context file up to date.

With this foundation, the worst case for any AI change is git checkout . and a fresh start. That safety is what lets you move fast and direct boldly — knowing nothing the AI does is truly irreversible. In the next chapter, we'll start using this workspace to actually build.

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