It's really useful to just turn a computer on, use a disk, and then plop its url in the browser.
I currently do one computer per project. I don't even put them in git anymore. I have an MDM server running to manage my kids' phones, a "help me reply to all the people" computer that reads everything I'm supposed to read, a dumb game I play with my son, a family todo list no one uses but me, etc, etc.
Immediate computers have made side projects a lot more fun again. And the nice thing is, they cost nothing when I forget about them.
Everything I want to pay attention to gets a token, the server goes and looks for stuff in the api, and seeds local sqlites. If possible, it listens for webhooks to stay fresh.
Mostly the interface is Claude code. I have a web view that gives me some idea of volume, and then I just chat at Claude code to have it see what's going on. It does this by querying and cross referencing sqlite dbs.
I will have claude code send/post a response for me, but I still write them like a meatsack.
It's effectively: long lived HTTP server, sqlite, and then Claude skills for scripts that help it consistently do things based on my awful typing.
SSH in, it resumes where you left off, auto-suspends on disconnect. $0.50/month stopped.
I have the same pattern - one box per project, never think about them until I need them.