Beyond the Code: The Everyday Tools That Make Me a Better Developer

Hey Developer,
I’m sharing the tools I personally use every single day in my workflow from coding to UI, from debugging to deployment.

For me, these aren’t just tools. They’re developer life-savers, the little things that keep my code clean, my apps running, and my productivity on track. Some of them save hours, others save headaches, but together they make development a lot smoother (and fun).

Let’s dive into my toolbox.

Coding & Development

• VS Code: My primary IDE, optimized for speed and clean code standards.
• pnpm: I prefer it over npm and yarn because it’s faster and more efficient with disk space. Perfect for monorepos.
• tsup: My go-to for bundling TypeScript components and CSS into a clean, consumable package.

Browser Extensions

• Wappalyzer: See what stack a site is built on.
• Fake Data: Quickly populate forms for testing.
• CSS Peeper: Inspect and grab CSS from any website.
• Page Speed Insights: Performance testing straight from Google.
• Responsively App: Test responsive design across devices.

VS Code Extensions

• Turbo Console Log: Insert console logs faster.
• WakaTime: Track coding activity/productivity.
• Prettier: Auto-format code.
• ESLint: Keep your code clean and consistent.
• Live Server: Instantly preview HTML/CSS/JS.
• Code Snap: Beautiful code screenshots.
• Code Spell Checker: Catch typos in code.
• Better Comments: Organize comments with colors/tags.
• Auto Rename Tag: Rename paired HTML/JSX tags automatically.
• Error Lens: Highlight errors inline instead of in the problems panel.

Other Essential Tools

• Docker: Containerized development environments.
• Redux DevTools / React DevTools: Debugging apps easily.
• DBeaver: Cross-platform GUI for managing SQL and NoSQL databases.
• Postman: API development, testing, and documentation.
• DNS Checker: Check DNS records.