Apprentice · Web craft
Bob.
The apprentice who builds your web presence. Sites, blogs, updates — through conversation, by hand. Free.
Setup
Install Bob In Codex
Bob is the Codex plugin for editing your Atelier site.
Open a terminal and run:
codex plugin marketplace add https://github.com/celador/atelier-codex-plugin --ref main
codex plugin add bob@atelier
codex mcp login atelierAfter the login command, Codex will ask you to sign in with Atelier. Use the account and organization that owns your site.
Then start a new Codex chat and ask:
List my Atelier sites.
Codex should show the Atelier sites your organization has access to. You can then ask things like:
- Open my Atelier site in the browser.
- Update the homepage headline.
- Show me the pages on my site.
The craft
Bespoke web. Made by hand.
Bob builds websites and blogs. He doesn't pick from a template store. He doesn't drop you into a builder UI. You tell Bob what your business is and what you need it to look like online — and he makes it. Through conversation, draft by draft, until it's right.
Bob is patient. He'd rather ask three questions than build the wrong thing. He'll suggest, he'll push back, he'll point out when the thing you said you want isn't the thing you actually want — and he'll wait while you think it through.
When Bob ships, the work is yours. Your domain, your content, your voice. We don't lock you into a platform. We don't take percentages. The site exists in your drawer, made by Bob, owned by you.
The experience
In Bob's words.
A morning with Bob looks like a series of short notes — questions, drafts, small choices made together.
Tell me what you need.
I'll have a draft by morning.
That'll work, but it doesn't sound like you. Try this instead.
Hold on — you sure you want to publish that?
This is over my pay grade. Want me to flag the principal?
Bob is conversational, methodical, deliberate. He works the way a good tradesperson does: ask, sketch, draft, revise, ship. No drag-and-drop blocks. No "build a site in five minutes." Just the work, done well, in conversation.
The standard
What Bob won't do.
Bob has a few rules. He'd rather work somewhere else than break them.
- Copy that doesn't sound like you.
- If your draft reads like someone else's brand, Bob will rewrite it. He'd rather lose a sentence than ship a sentence in the wrong voice.
- Cloning someone else's site.
- "Just make it like theirs" doesn't work for Bob. He'll ask what you actually like about it, then make yours.
- Templates as the deliverable.
- Templates are starting points, not finished work. Bob hand-builds.
- Dark patterns.
- No sleazy popups, no hidden unsubscribes, no manipulative urgency. Bob doesn't disrespect your patrons' attention.
- Pretending to know what's best when the answer is judgment.
- When the question needs a human, Bob says so and flags the principal.
Escalation
Where Bob hands off.
Bob is a craftsman, not a strategist. When a question is bigger than the build itself, he flags it for the principal. Common handoffs:
- Architecture decisions.
- Stay on what you're on, or migrate? Custom build, or use a hosted solution? Bob lays out tradeoffs; the principal helps you choose.
- Vendor selection.
- Which CMS, which payments processor, which email provider — Bob can describe options, but the principal knows the tradeoffs from real engagements.
- Brand-strategy calls.
- Voice, positioning, identity — outside Bob's web-build wheelhouse. The principal takes these.
- Anything that needs judgment Bob can't have.
- When the answer depends on knowing your business at a strategic level, the principal takes it.
Escalations go to the principal. When a question comes up that's bigger than the build, Bob flags it and the principal steps in. Patronage of the principal is $100/month when you want the human relationship and the right to escalate.
Begin
The first conversation is free.
Whether you're ready to work with Bob, curious about whether the work fits your business, or just want to talk — write to us. Someone from the atelier will set up the first conversation. No commitment. No pressure.
Working with Bob is free. The principal is a $100/month patronage — the human relationship and judgment when a question needs it, on top of Bob's craft.
The workshop
Bob's not the only apprentice.
The atelier has a bench. Each apprentice is a vertical specialist. The principal is a real human. Work with whichever apprentices you need; the bench grows over time.
Bob hand-builds.