I Built My Own Networking Cheat Sheet. Here's Why.

I stopped waiting for the “Ugly’s Electrical Reference” of networking and built my own. When you’re standing in front of a switch at 11 p.m. and need the exact Cisco IOS command, a clean Wireshark filter, or a subnet answer right now, generic documentation and endless search results are a trap.

I came up through audio, video, transmitters, and signal chains, then had to learn IP networking later while working alongside engineers who recall configs from memory. So I built a locally hosted single-page web app with AI assistance: no logins, no cloud, just a dark-mode reference with categories, quick tools, and a search bar. Subnet math, common ports, the OSI model in plain English, VLAN configs, Cisco command reminders, and broadcast-specific stuff like PTP and AES67 troubleshooting notes.

The twist: the hard part wasn’t the code, it was naming what I actually needed to know. Writing better prompts forced me to identify my knowledge gaps, and editing the output turned the guide into a record of my learning. I also take on the “AI is killing fundamentals” argument, because for this use case, I don’t buy it. Repetition plus a personal cheat sheet moves knowledge off the screen and into your head.