Dave Swift

AppSumo

TidyCal + My AI Agent: Teams, Paid Bookings and the API

TidyCal's new Agency plan adds teams, SMS reminders, collective and round robin meetings. Here's which plan to buy and how my AI agent creates paid booking types for me.

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BetterClaw: Hosted AI Agents Without Buying a Mac Mini

BetterClaw was easy to get running with my ChatGPT subscription, but several tasks felt slow. My AppSumo-sponsored walkthrough covers skills, connected accounts, browser control, and which plan limits matter.

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Vibe App Scanner: What Its AppSumo Quick Scan Found

I planted a flaw in my vibe-coded to-do app and ran Vibe App Scanner against it. It reported the exposed Stripe key, gave me evidence and suggested fixes, and let me rescan after I passed findings to a coding agent. The AppSumo deal has useful quick scans, but it does not include deep scans.

Dave's Toolbox

Omarchify your Mac! -- Dave's Toolbox, September 15, 2026

Keyboard-first window control, a launcher that opens tools by job, and the capture and clipboard apps I reach for every day.

AI

How Hermes uses a secret

An agent needs keys to do real work. The mix-up is treating every secret like the same object. A secret has a job.

AI

I Don't Understand Why Anyone Needs a Team of AI Agents

Everyone wants a company of AI agents. I run one Hermes agent with a pile of sessions, and I still do not see why a solo user would want the org chart.

Dave's Toolbox

Dave's Toolbox -- September 1, 2026

Beloved Mac screen capture tool gets a major upgrade. One API key so your agent can reach 50 providers. The design app AppSumo is switching to. That tiled Linux desktop, on the Mac you already own. A highly useful Mac app you may not have heard of turns 15.

AI

Keep Hermes Agent Running When Your Laptop Sleeps

Hermes dies when the laptop sleeps. Here is the getting-started path I would use: desktop app, spare machine, or Cloudways Managed AI with your own key.

Dave's Toolbox

Dave's Toolbox -- August 18, 2026

An inbox on your domain, a site watchdog in the terminal, Hermes that keeps checking, a sandbox computer for an agent, and a teammate that keeps working after you close the lid.

AppSumo

AppSumo Alumni Bundle Hands-On: $29 for Pictory, Nifty, and Gumlet (1 Year)

AppSumo’s Alumni Bundle is $29 for one year of Pictory, Nifty, and Gumlet Video. I walk through what each tool does and the fine print that matters before you buy.

Dave's Toolbox

Dave's Toolbox -- August 11, 2026

This week: a browser built for agents, a CRM that can replace expensive HubSpot seats, self-hosted invoices, a smarter reverse proxy, and Airtable data you own.

AppSumo

Tough Tongue AI AppSumo Hands-On: Practice Hard Conversations (8.3/10)

I tested Tough Tongue AI during AppSumo AI Week — live sales roleplay, scores, scenario courses, and where I would actually use AI agents versus keep humans on the call.