One thing I’ve noticed since I started building projects with Claude Code is how often I end up rebuilding something that I’ve already created in another project.
For example, I built a website analysis tool that identifies the technologies companies use on their websites, like ecommerce platforms, chat tools, and review software (think BuiltWith, but a much simpler version). It feels like I’ve built seven different versions of this tool alone. Another issue I’ve run into is not remembering which project I built something in, how it works, or whether I could use it somewhere else.
And that’s what led me to build CLIO (like Cleopatra, but with an I).
I should have prefaced this by saying that I work in sales, and I’m not an engineer. A big part of why I’ve started building these projects is to better understand AI infrastructure, how the technology works, the security involved, and how everything connects.
To continue on this journey, I’ve challenged myself to build one useful project a week with Claude Code. Now, I’ve already been doing this, but building something and actually finishing it are two different things. I think anyone who’s spent time building projects can relate to that.
So as I continue on this journey, it’s important for me to have more than just a folder full of code. I need something I can understand visually. One place where I can keep track of what I’ve built, understand what each piece does, and reuse it when it makes sense.
So that’s really the idea behind CLIO. I want a library where I can save the different pieces of functionality and visual components I’ve built, understand how they work, and learn how to connect them all to build something new.
Here’s a small interactive version of what I’ve been building. You can click around and explore it.
Right now, I have two functional components in my library. The first is the website analysis tool I mentioned above, and the other came from a test I ran with a weekly Instagram report, which takes exported Instagram data and turns it into a weekly summary. Nothing particularly groundbreaking, but this is just the start.
Each component has a description of its capabilities, checks that define how it should behave, and tests that tell me whether it’s working. It also tracks which projects are using it.
Testing is another important part of CLIO. With Website Analysis, for example, I want to make sure the tool can distinguish between a website that doesn’t use a particular technology and one it couldn’t access. By keeping tests alongside each component, I can check that it still behaves as expected before reusing it in another project.
CLIO also connects to an MCP server that we built, which allows Claude Code to connect directly to my component library. This means I won’t have to go back and forth between applications. Claude can search what I’ve already built, understand what each component does, and help me reuse it in another project.
And it can already start a new project from the pieces I have. I describe what I want to build, Claude suggests a plan, and I pick which components to use. Then CLIO builds it and tests it.
Here’s a simplified version.
The visual side of building
This is where I am right now with CLIO. Everything above is working, but the visual side is something I’m still trying to figure out. When I first started building with Claude, I found myself constantly switching between figuring out how something should work and how it should look, and by the end of it, I would just have mush.
I’m going to start adding visual components to CLIO. The idea is that if I design something like a button, I can save how it looks and how it behaves, then reuse it in another project.
Here’s a rough example of what I’m working toward.
I’m also exploring the idea of selecting components directly from my library and using them to start a new project.
Where I’m hoping this goes
My main goal is to better understand how all of this works, especially the architecture behind what I’m building and how everything connects. And if CLIO helps me organize what I’m learning and build on the work I’ve already done, I’ll be happy.
Until the next project ✌️