If you've ever closed a Claude conversation that just solved something real and then couldn't find it a week later, you know the problem this pillar is about. Developer knowledge has a particular shape — bugs, AI conversations, tech decisions, code snippets, the half-formed pattern you noticed on Tuesday — and most note-taking systems were built for a different shape of work.
The essays here are about what actually fits. Why PARA falls apart when you try to file a migration script. What a developer's knowledge base actually needs to do. Which notes compound and which just age.
Less theory. More the thing on your screen at eleven at night.
Why the PARA method doesn't work for developers
PARA was built for knowledge workers, not developers. The four categories collapse the moment you try to file a bug fix, an AI conversation, or a tech decision.
How to build a developer knowledge base that actually works
Most developer note systems fail because they're organized by when you wrote something, not by when you'll need it. Here's how to build one that compounds.
The notes a developer keeps so the work compounds
On knowledge that builds on itself, why most of yours doesn't, and what changes when it does.