Software I use, gadgets I love, and other things I recommend.

The tools and devices we use as developers are changing very quickly. Here’s a list of some of my basic ones.

Workstation

  • 14” MacBook Pro, M1 Pro, 16GB RAM (2021)

    I was using an Intel-based 15” MacBook Pro prior to this and the difference is night and day. I’ve never heard the fans turn on a single time, and while I can't run local LLMs, it's still a great machine for development.

Development tools

  • Cursor

    I was using VS Code until recently and I loved how GitHub Copilot worked with it. However, Cursor has pretty much replaced VS Code for me. I started using it for autocompletion and recently I have started using their agentic features to help me on some projects. You still have to keep your eyes on the code and make sure you're not blindly trusting the AI. So far, the only database it has wiped out was my local PostgreSQL database.

  • Postman

    When it comes to testing APIs, Postman is still the best. I’ve tried a few alternatives but nothing comes close to the productivity I get from Postman.

Development libraries

  • Tailwind CSS

    Tailwind has been a game changer when handling CSS for my web development projects. There are a lot of love/hate opinions on this topic. For me, it's the ability to quickly read some front-end code and make adjustments without affecting the global CSS structure has been a great improvement in my DX (Developer Experience).

Design

  • Figma

    Figma is not only great for designing UIs, but it’s also great for implementing front end code. I use it for both.

Productivity

  • Alfred

    It makes using macOS more efficient. I use it to search for apps, text replacements, and automate tasks.

  • OmniFocus

    The best and most powerful task manager I’ve ever used. I like to organize my tasks by project and context, and OmniFocus makes it easy to do that.

Photography

  • Canon EOS RP

    While the iPhone camera is great, I still like to use a real camera for special occassions. This is a great entry-level full frame camera that supports professional Canon lenses.

  • Adobe Lightroom

    I have been using Lightroom to process my photos for a long time and it's still my go-to photo editor. Currently, I'm looking for an alternative.