The S5 Labs library
The notebook,
wide open.
Technical guides, reference material, current news, and thoughts on AI, automation, and software. Pick a topic or follow a question.
Search the libraryThe reference desk
Choose the model.
Understand the machine.
Two guides to keep close when you’re exploring open models and running AI locally.
Capabilities · Licensing · Deployment
Open-source AI models
Compare model families, understand open-weight licensing, and find a starting point for evaluation.
Read the model guideMemory · Hardware · Local inference
Local LLM machines
Compare machine classes, memory limits, and the practical tradeoffs of running models on your own hardware.
Read the hardware guideFollow a topic.
A curated starting point, with room to go deeper.
Artificial intelligence
Evaluate where AI is useful, understand the systems behind it, and make informed choices about models, data, and deployment.
02Workflow automation
Map the work, connect the tools, and build repeatable processes with clear ownership and exception handling.
03Software engineering
Practical architecture and development decisions for software that people can use, maintain, and adapt.
Technical foundations.
Browse technical guidesHow the New Flash Models Work: Inside GLM-5.3-Flash and Qwen3.8-Flash-Next
GLM-5.3-Flash and Qwen3.8-Flash-Next cut serving cost with hybrid linear and sparse attention, widened residual streams, MTP and host-memory n-gram tables.
How AI Watermarking Works: Text, Images, Audio, and What the Mark Actually Proves
How AI watermarks work in text, images, audio and video, what C2PA adds, what Article 50 and California's SB 942 require, and what a detected mark proves.
One Shared Key Let Anyone Decode What Claude, GPT and Gemini Were Hiding in Their Reasoning
One shared key sealed the reasoning blocks Anthropic, OpenAI and Google return to clients, letting a weaker model decode a stronger sibling's thoughts.
Latest insights.
Browse insightsClaude's Usage and Cost API Goes Legacy: What Cost Dashboards Gain and Lose
Claude's Usage and Cost Analytics API adds actor and cost-type grouping, but data typically lags up to 4 hours and ranges cap at 31 days. Plus 128 MB requests.
Gemini Computer Use Is GA: A Builder's Checklist Against GPT-6.1 Terra
Gemini computer_use is GA. Which model to pick, three environments, the intent field, two safety traps, and what it costs next to GPT-6.1 Terra.
Gemini API Now Stores Requests From New Paid Projects for 55 Days by Default
Since October 26, new paid-tier Gemini projects log generateContent requests for 55 days unless store=false. What the toggle covers, and what it does not.