Real AI agent use cases, with sources and setup prompts

Reverse-engineer a wireless receiver to show keyboard battery on Linux

Dell's peripheral software doesn't support Linux, so he couldn't see keyboard and mouse battery levels in Omarchy. ChatGPT helped him reverse-engineer the USB receiver's protocol and Claude Code built the status-bar widget.

$17/mo1 dayAdvancedSource linked

Source

@mikejharrison on X · 2026-10-20

Written in our own words. Credit to the original author. Link checked 2026-10-20.

What they did

Dell's peripheral software doesn't support Linux, so he couldn't see keyboard and mouse battery levels in Omarchy. ChatGPT helped him reverse-engineer the USB receiver's protocol and Claude Code built the status-bar widget.

Result (as claimed)

Working widget shown in the post.

Tools they used

ChatGPTClaude CodeOmarchyLinux

Cost: Claude Code: from $17/mo.

Set it up

  1. Pick a contained repo or task

    Start on a branch or side project where mistakes are cheap.

  2. Install and configure

    Set up ChatGPT, Claude Code, Omarchy, Linux. Read what it can run on your machine and limit permissions where possible.

  3. Run it on a real task

    Give it a well-scoped issue and let it work. Review the diff like any pull request.

  4. Add guardrails

    Keep tests and CI in the loop, and never let an agent push to main or touch production secrets unattended.

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: Reverse-engineer a wireless receiver to show keyboard battery on Linux
What the original author did: Dell's peripheral software doesn't support Linux, so he couldn't see keyboard and mouse battery levels in Omarchy. ChatGPT helped him reverse-engineer the USB receiver's protocol and Claude Code built the status-bar widget.
Reported result (as claimed by the author): Working widget shown in the post.
Source: https://x.com/mikejharrison/status/2112477595400822999
Tools they used: ChatGPT, Claude Code, Omarchy, Linux
Category: Dev & ops

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.

The Daily 5

Get five new use cases tomorrow morning

Free. Real sources. Unsubscribe any time.

Guides for this use case

How to reverse-engineer and revive old devices with AI · How to vibe code an app with Claude Code · How to use AI agents for Linux, servers and homelabs · How to use ChatGPT for real projects and everyday tasks

Related use cases

Dev & opsHacker News · ErenayDev

Write a Linux driver for an unsupported scanner by letting Claude watch the Windows driver

A GNOME developer wanted to scan his late mother's film negatives on a Plustek scanner that Linux no longer supported. He had Claude Code set up a Windows virtual machine with the scanner passed through, capture the USB traffic of the vendor driver, and compare it with Linux until scans worked. He then had Claude turn the scripts into a reusable hardware reverse-engineering harness.

$17/moA few daysAdvanced
Claude CodeWindowsLinux