BAE
Tech stack: Python License: (see repo)
What it does
Section titled “What it does”BAE is a deliberately minimal two-column TUI for managing bash aliases: name on one side, command on the other, edit them in place, save them out. The whole pitch is “you shouldn’t have to remember the syntax for editing a config file you barely touch.” The interesting part isn’t the implementation — it’s the philosophy: friction-removal as a feature, surfaced through an aggressively narrow scope.
Aspirational features for KN-86
Section titled “Aspirational features for KN-86”- Two-column form pattern. Name ⇄ value. Trivial-looking but high-leverage: any KN-86 surface that’s editing pairs (key bindings, mission parameters, REPL history named slots, cart preferences) can use this shape and skip a real form layout pass.
- “Remove the friction of remembering syntax” as a design north. Where KN-86 has an editor (nEmacs/REPL per ADR-0016) over a config that has real syntax (TOML for
nosh-config.toml, Lisp for carts), the BAE lesson is: provide an editing surface that abstracts the syntax, don’t make the user remember it. The TERM-key / REPL context should consider hosting a typed-field mode for known settings. - Aggressively narrow scope. BAE does one thing. KN-86 cartridges, by capability-model design, are also narrow — useful reminder when reviewing cart specs that try to grow.
UX / interaction patterns
Section titled “UX / interaction patterns”- Two columns, paired rows. Tab moves between columns; arrows move between rows. Enter commits.
- In-place edit. No modal “edit this entry” dialog — you’re already in the editing surface.
- No menus, no command palette, no chrome. The list is the app.
Visual style
Section titled “Visual style”- Functional minimalism. Borders, columns, a status hint. That’s it.
Screenshot
Section titled “Screenshot”
TODO (human): Pull a screenshot from the BAE README (https://github.com/geovanielegend/bae). The default two-column view is the right shot. Drop at
inspiration/screenshots/bae.png.
Notes / open questions for KN-86
Section titled “Notes / open questions for KN-86”- The two-column key/value pattern would work nicely for a “deck preferences” surface on the Bare Deck Terminal SYS tab — operator handle, ambient-glitch level (per ADR-0023), CIPHER tone preference, theme mode. Small inventory, fixed schema, no need for a full editor.
- The BAE philosophy is the rebuttal to every “let’s add a config option” creep. Useful to cite in spec reviews.