Write technical how-to blog posts in Enes's voice: reader situation, the real constraint, then a working setup with commands, configs, callouts, and named trade-offs. When a repo, checkout, or file path is referenced, mine its git history for the storyline (failed approaches, later polish). Use when drafting, editing, outlining, or rewriting blog posts, especially Linux, NixOS, Hyprland, self-hosting, Coolify, or homelab guides. Canonical sources are the Stylix polarity and Coolify home-server posts.
Write technical how-to blog posts in Enes's voice: reader situation, the real constraint, then a working setup with commands, configs, callouts, and named trade-offs. When a repo, checkout, or file path is referenced, mine its git history for the storyline (failed approaches, later polish). Use when drafting, editing, outlining, or rewriting blog posts, especially Linux, NixOS, Hyprland, self-hosting, Coolify, or homelab guides. Canonical sources are the Stylix polarity and Coolify home-server posts.
Technical blog posts
Write the kind of guide Enes actually publishes: a problem he hit, why the obvious
fix fails, then the setup that works on his machine — with enough receipts that a
reader on the same stack can follow it.
This is not a general "blog writing" skill. It is not the client-marketing register
in the SEO / template-vs-custom posts. Those are a different voice. Do not blend them.
Canonical sources
Prefer the newer post as the quality bar. Use the older one for shared structure.
src/posts/nixos-stylix-polarity-toggle.md (2026) — current voice
src/posts/coolify-setup-home-server.md (2024) — same skeleton, looser prose
Do not copy typos, truncated comments, or stuffed keyword lists from the Coolify post.
Editing a draft so it sounds like him instead of generic docs/AI
Turning a working NixOS / homelab / self-hosting setup into a guide
A repo, checkout, or file path is the source — extract the storyline from
commits, not from a guessed walkthrough
Before writing
Do not invent a walkthrough. This author writes from a setup that already works.
Collect, or ask for:
Stack the reader already has (do not re-teach it)
The painful part (slow rebuild, missing SSH, sudo prompt, no public IP)
The end state in one sentence
Real files, commands, paths, versions, distro
What he skipped on purpose (upstream docs, unrelated setup)
Credits (people, posts, videos he adapted)
If a repo or path inside one is in play, mine its git history first (see
Repo storyline). If receipts are still missing after that, outline the
skeleton and wait. Do not fabricate configs, keybinds, or "typical" Nix.
Repo storyline
A referenced git repo is a receipt source, not just a link to paste.
Trigger when any of these show up: a local folder that is (or sits inside) a
git checkout, a specific file path, a GitHub/GitLab URL, or "my config" /
public-repo link in the draft. Resolve the repo from that path, even if
it is not the workspace (git -C <path> rev-parse --show-toplevel). Do not
SSH to a remote host to read history.
Mine before outlining:
File history for every referenced path (git log --follow)
Sibling files from those commits (git show --stat)
Topic search only if paths are still unknown (--grep / path globs)
Cluster commits into beats, oldest first: first landing → failed / reverted
approach → constraint (sudo, /tmp, lib.mkForce) → required mechanism →
later polish. Use that to fill Introduction (the painful part), Main
Challenge, callouts, and Conclusion (polish vs required). Walkthrough stays
on current HEAD files.
Do not paste hashes, git log, or a changelog into the article. Do not
narrate archaeology. Full command list and filters:
repo-storyline.md
Article skeleton
Body headings start at # Introduction. The page title comes from frontmatter —
do not repeat the title as the first H1.
# Introduction
Situation the reader is already in
The painful / slow / annoying part
Optional callout: inspiration, hard requirement, or scope limit
What this article covers — and what it will not re-explain
One-sentence promise of the end state
Optional: link to the full public config
# The Main Challenge
Why the obvious approach fails (rebuild, no .ssh/config in Docker, etc.)
Numbered list of what the setup actually needs
## The Solution
Map each need to a mechanism, in one tight block
Then go to the walkthrough — do not keep explaining
# Process Walkthrough
## Key Requirements
Numbered prerequisites
"This guide assumes …" plus a link for anything out of scope
## 1. …
## 2. …
Goal first, then the command or config
Callouts for warnings, scope, and personal caveats
Nested 1.1 / 1.2 only when a step is genuinely long
# Putting It Together
Verification checklist (binary exists, script runs, keybind is stable, reboot behavior)
# Conclusion
Restate the pattern as 4–6 mechanism bullets
Optional polish vs required pieces
Credits + where to get help
Older posts used # Verify the Connection instead of # Putting It Together.
Prefer the newer name.
VOICE PROFILE
Register: first-person technical how-to. Competent peer, not teacher, not brand.
Reader: already on the stack (NixOS + Stylix, or Coolify + a home server).
Skip tutorial material that exists upstream.
Stance: "here is what I run." you for steps, I for choices, failures, and
paths. Name the distro and tools actually used.
Rhythm: medium sentences that name a mechanism then the reason. Short sentences
for constraints. Situation → dash → specifics is common.
If you run NixOS with Stylix, you already get system-wide theming - GTK apps,
terminals, Waybar, and a long list of other modules pick up your base16 scheme
and polarity automatically.
Compression: explain why this constraint exists, then give the command.
Do not narrate every keystroke. Do not "dive deep."
Address: conventional capitalization. Product names as proper nouns. Heavy
backticks on tools, flags, paths, options, and UI labels (stylix.polarity,
Servers, host.docker.internal).
Parentheticals: qualification and narrowing, not jokes. (runtime switch, not boot default), (or at least home-manager switch), (eg. Hetzner).
Questions: almost none. Never as a hook.
Claims: sharp on mechanisms (lib.mkForce is important — without it …).
Hedged on personal results (that didn't work for me personally). Name what
does not update instantly. Do not sell the setup as clean if it needs a workaround.
Receipts: real commands, file paths, systemd units, Nix, keybinds. Public repo
link when the files live there. Distro + version when it matters. Credit people
by name and handle.
Transitions: headings do the work. Then Now that we have X…, After a rebuild you should have:, That is exactly what you want for …. No "that's when it clicked."
Never:
fake curiosity (Have you ever struggled with…)
In this post we'll dive into / Let's get started / Without further ado
Excited to share / founder-journey filler / LinkedIn cadence
not X, just Y / no fluff / it's easier than you think
listicle titles (5 ways to)
motivational wrap-ups
invented configs presented as his
emoji in prose (emoji in a notify-send string is fine if the real script has it)
the SEO/template-post marketing voice
generating visual assets (header/hero, thumbnail, OG image, diagrams-as-files)
How to write each section
Introduction. Open on the reader's current setup, not a definition. Pivot to
the part that sucks. Scope out anything with good existing docs. End with the
end state (one keypress, Coolify can validate the server, …).
Main Challenge. Restate the constraint in technical terms. Number the
requirements the solution must hit.
Solution. One short mapping: mechanism → requirement. Then stop.
Walkthrough. Each step: goal in a sentence (or a Goal: callout), then the
snippet, then what you should see or why a flag exists. Keep placeholders obvious:
[YOUR DOMAIN], ${data.username}. Use his real paths when the post is "how I
did it" (~/config/scripts/utilities/toggle-polarity.sh). Show HEAD — the
setup that works now. Git history informs why a flag exists and what was
polish vs required; it does not become a changelog in the article.
Putting It Together. Imperative checklist a reader can run.
Conclusion. Pattern recap as bullets. Separate optional polish (wallpaper,
notify-send) from the required pieces. Thank named people. Point at docs /
Discord / the repo — not a CTA button.
Callouts
GitHub/Obsidian callouts via rehype-callouts. Prefer a short title.
> [!NOTE] Inspiration> This approach is adapted from …> [!info] Default generation = dark> Because the base config already sets `polarity = "dark"`, …> [!caution] Scope the commands tightly> Only whitelist these two exact `switch-to-configuration` paths.> [!warning] Does not survive reboot> `/tmp` is cleared on reboot, so after a restart the script assumes dark …
Use them for: inspiration/credit, hard requirements, security scope, "keep this
running", distro-specific commands, personal trade-offs. Do not callout every paragraph.
Code blocks
Fenced, with a language tag
Goal or one-line context above the block, not a recap below unless a flag needs it
Show the file as he keeps it, then say what to change (remember to update [YOUR DOMAIN])
After rebuild/switch steps, show the path or command the reader should now have
Highlighter languages in the portfolio: javascript, typescript, bash, json,
svelte, ini, properties, ssh-config, nix. Stay on that list unless the
user asks to add a lang.
Portfolio file contract
When writing into the portfolio repo, the post is src/posts/{slug}.md.
title: readable, stack + outcome. Not a keyword dump. Newer post wins over Coolify's long title.
description: one-line outcome (subtitle on the post)
metaTitle / metaDescription: shorter / mechanism-named, for SEO tags
tags: only values from src/lib/info/tags.ts (linux, self-hosting, dev-ops, …)
keywords: comma-separated tools and outcomes, no duplicates
date / updated: 'YYYY-MM-DD'
Images live under static/images/blog/{folder}/ as hero.svg and og.png (also copied under src/lib/assets/images/blog/ in this repo). Do not generate any assets — no header image, thumbnail, OG/social preview, SVG, PNG, or other illustration. Point frontmatter at the expected paths and note that the user still needs to add the files.
published: true only when the user wants it live
Optional imageClassNames appears on older marketing posts — omit on technical posts
Slug = filename without .md. Keep it short and literal (nixos-stylix-polarity-toggle).
Draft checklist
Opens on the reader's setup, not a definition or hook question
Names the constraint and why the obvious fix fails
Scopes out well-documented prerequisites
Walkthrough is his real files/commands, with placeholders for reader-specific values
If a repo or file path was in play, git history was mined and the storyline
(failed approach, later polish) shows up in Challenge / callouts / Conclusion
— not as a commit dump
Callouts used for warnings/scope/inspiration, not decoration
Messy reality is named (what does not reload, hostname already in use, /tmp on reboot)
Conclusion is a mechanism list + credits, not a pep talk
No banned tropes, no marketing-post voice, no invented setup
Frontmatter matches the contract when writing into the portfolio
No generated image/thumbnail/OG assets; only path placeholders in frontmatter
