Build DifferentConference50min
Not just code. (Ab)using Claude Code to do just about anything but coding
This talk explores creative, practical uses of Claude Code as a terminal-based assistant for DevOps tasks beyond coding, such as infrastructure setup, debugging, compliance, and automation—without prompt engineering. Attendees will gain actionable tips, real-world prompts, lessons learned, and insights into the evolving power of advanced open-source LLMs.
Barry van SomerenCoffeeSprout
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Friday, October 10, 11:50-12:40
Room 4
Claude Code is an excellent coding assistant, but that’s not what this talk is about.
This talk is about using a frontier LLM, strapped to your terminal, to do things its creators probably never imagined… and living to tell the tale.
You’ll see real examples where I gave Claude vague, high-level instructions like:
That last one? It generated config scripts, created audit reports, and helped cut our power bill by 15%.
No prompt engineering. No debates about hallucinations. Not even a mention of MCP.
Just practical, repeatable use cases from someone who wanted to spend less time clicking around and more time shipping (or avoiding tickets entirely).
You’ll walk away with:
If you’ve ever wished your terminal could just figure it out, this talk is for you.
This talk is about using a frontier LLM, strapped to your terminal, to do things its creators probably never imagined… and living to tell the tale.
You’ll see real examples where I gave Claude vague, high-level instructions like:
- “Set up a dev cluster”
- “Debug this broken networking setup”
- “Run these scripts for each user in this Excel sheet, but skip the management types”
- “Figure out how to comply with a government-mandated power-saving law and prove it”
That last one? It generated config scripts, created audit reports, and helped cut our power bill by 15%.
No prompt engineering. No debates about hallucinations. Not even a mention of MCP.
Just practical, repeatable use cases from someone who wanted to spend less time clicking around and more time shipping (or avoiding tickets entirely).
You’ll walk away with:
- Tips for using Claude on the Ops side of DevOps (and how to avoid Oops)
- Ideas and prompts that go beyond code, like compliance and reporting
- A few hard boundaries I hit when pushing it too far
- Some questionable decisions I don’t fully endorse… but hey, they worked
- A glimpse of what’s possible as open models like Mistral become more capable
If you’ve ever wished your terminal could just figure it out, this talk is for you.
Barry van Someren
Barry van Someren is a Java developer turned infrastructure engineer, founder of CoffeeSprout, and the kind of person who builds his own Kubernetes clusters from scratch, because it seemed like a good idea at the time
With two decades of experience spanning Java, PostgreSQL, GitOps, and “please stop running out of storage”, Barry helps Java teams run fast, stable infrastructure without needing to think about YAML (too much).
He’s into AI, refurbished hardware, and making infra work on his terms.
After years of putting off personal projects, AI tooling finally gave him the afterburner he needed to build again.
Expect terminal hacks, production horror stories, and infrastructure memes that hit too close to home.
With two decades of experience spanning Java, PostgreSQL, GitOps, and “please stop running out of storage”, Barry helps Java teams run fast, stable infrastructure without needing to think about YAML (too much).
He’s into AI, refurbished hardware, and making infra work on his terms.
After years of putting off personal projects, AI tooling finally gave him the afterburner he needed to build again.
Expect terminal hacks, production horror stories, and infrastructure memes that hit too close to home.
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