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Matthew EspositoPractical AI

New to AI? You’re in the right place.

You don’t need to learn it all. Just start here.

Pick one task you already understand. Try a useful conversation, then take the next step when you’re ready.

A good place to begin

One task.
One useful conversation.

Pick something you already know: planning your week, explaining an idea, or drafting a message. Give your AI enough context to help.

  1. 1Copy the prompt.
  2. 2Replace the brackets with your task.
  3. 3Paste it into your AI chat and answer its question.
Read the getting-started guide
Your first prompt

Use this in an AI chat you already have open.

Goal: [what I need to accomplish]
Context: [what the AI needs to know]
Constraints: [what must stay true]
A useful result will: [how I will judge the output]
Before answering, ask me for the one missing detail that would most change your response.

Look for this: a question about the missing detail that matters most. Answer it, then judge the result against your own goal.

When you’re ready

Choose your next small step.

There’s no course to finish before you can start. Follow the path that fits what you want to do.

01

Try a ready-made prompt

Learn something, think through a decision, or turn a video into a plan. Add your context and try it in a chat.

Find a prompt
02

Keep a method that works

A Skill gives your AI a reusable way to approach a task. See what one does, then add it to a compatible AI tool.

Meet the Skills
03

Set up AI around your work

Home Base starts by learning what matters to you. Then it helps you choose and build one useful system.

Explore Home Base

Curious what I’m doing with all this?

Why I built Belong
Full notes & source materialThe complete original text, examples and reference details.

This is the original learning map. The Guide mentioned in these notes is not active on this site. Home Base lessons are available to read; their planned videos are not published here yet.

Pick the question that sounds like you. Each one opens onto the videos, guides, and Skills that answer it, in the order they make sense.

  1. Where should I start?
  2. How can AI understand how I work?
  3. How do I add repeatable Skills?
  4. What’s new?

Not sure where to start?

Ask the Guide. It can answer questions, explain any Skill, or build your path.

Where should I start?

A folder that interviews you, remembers what matters, and helps your AI build the right small system around your life and work.

Understand → Recommend → Build

Download Home Base

Public release

Download the verified release, then copy one instruction into Codex to validate the package and begin safely.

One-copy Codex setup

Copyable text
Home Base setup instruction (home-base-setup-v1): Download Home Base 1.0.1 from https://github.com/MattEspo23/home-base/releases/download/v1.0.1/home-base-1.0.1.tgz. Before extracting it, verify the file's SHA-256 is exactly 4dc10ed2beb97f611e5eb99696df3dc8760f79042d10757e7d99833d1a7f0a30. Open the extracted Home Base folder in Codex, run its built-in validation and capability doctor, then begin with Start. Preserve user-owned files and local Skill customizations. Use the built-in preview/review/apply update flow; never overwrite a conflict or bypass a failed check. Ask before any login, external write, send, publish, spend, deploy, or account-permission change. Stop and explain the mismatch if an identity, checksum, validation, or recovery check fails.

Version 1.0.1 · SHA-256 4dc10ed2beb9… · Skill Vault v0.1.3

Download verified archive

Home Base series

View all 8 episodes

How can AI understand how I work?

You leave with clearer context boundaries and evidence your AI can inspect.

  1. What Your AI Should Know, Remember, and Verify (video)
    Good memory begins with clear sources, boundaries, and review. Open video

How do I add repeatable Skills?

You leave with one inspectable method and a deliberate update loop.

  1. Build Your First Repeatable AI Workflow (guide)
    This prevents a broad automation project from outrunning its quality checks. Open guide
  2. The Semantic Tree (skill)
    It demonstrates how a reliable behavior differs from a saved one-off prompt. Open skill

What’s new?

You see the latest useful additions without losing the learning path.

  1. What’s New (guide)
    Start with the changes that affect what you can learn or use now. Open guide

Keep learning

Written guides and individual Skills for the work you want to explore next.

View all guides

  1. Getting Started With AI: A plain-English path from first useful conversation to your first repeatable workflow. 12 min · Beginner
  2. Build Your First Repeatable AI Workflow: Choose one recurring task, define the handoffs, and make the result inspectable. 16 min · Beginner
  3. Meet your first reusable Skill: See how a durable AI behavior differs from a one-off prompt. Skill Vault