Find connections across 100 books
Built a system for Claude Code to browse 100 non-fiction books and surface interesting links between them, to read deeper rather than summarize.
Source
pmaze on Hacker News · 2026-01-10 · Project link
Written in our own words. Credit to the original author. Link checked 2026-10-14.
What they did
Built a system for Claude Code to browse 100 non-fiction books and surface interesting links between them, to read deeper rather than summarize.
Result (as claimed)
Published as Trails, a browsable map of connections.
Tools they used
Cost: Claude Code: free plan, paid from $17/mo. Checked 2026-10-14.
Set it up
Gather your sources
Collect the papers, notes, links or files you want to work from in one place.
Load them into the tool
Open Claude Code, Gemini and add your sources. Keep the original files so you can check claims later.
Ask focused questions
Ask for summaries, comparisons or connections with citations to the source passages.
Verify and save
Spot check claims against the sources, then save the output as notes you can reuse.
Copy the full setup prompt
Paste into your agent and it will walk you through the setup, asking before anything that sends, posts or spends.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Claude Code. Goal: Find connections across 100 books What the original author did: Built a system for Claude Code to browse 100 non-fiction books and surface interesting links between them, to read deeper rather than summarize. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Published as Trails, a browsable map of connections. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46567400 Tools they used: Claude Code, Gemini Category: Research & learning Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Codex. Goal: Find connections across 100 books What the original author did: Built a system for Claude Code to browse 100 non-fiction books and surface interesting links between them, to read deeper rather than summarize. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Published as Trails, a browsable map of connections. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46567400 Tools they used: Claude Code, Gemini Category: Research & learning Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Grok Bot. Goal: Find connections across 100 books What the original author did: Built a system for Claude Code to browse 100 non-fiction books and surface interesting links between them, to read deeper rather than summarize. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Published as Trails, a browsable map of connections. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46567400 Tools they used: Claude Code, Gemini Category: Research & learning Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
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