Uses

This page details pretty much all I use as a developer. If you decide to make your own, consider adding it to Wes Bos' uses.tech. I use a Mac, so most tools are macOS specific, but there are some OS-agnostic ones in the list. You might also be interested in My Mac Setup post, although it is a little outdated.

Editor

Chrome/Edge/Firefox Browser Extensions

Desktop Apps

  • Bartender - For managing your menu bar. I used to use Vanilla, but with the notch in newer MacBook Pros, Bartender made the menubar more usable when dealing with lots of menubar icons.
  • Rocket - Emojis, emojis
  • Raycast - Workflows, snippets, macOS spotlight on steroids. I previously used Alfred, another amazing Spotlight alternative.
  • Amphetamine - Prevent your Mac from going to sleep
  • f.lux - Be kind to your eyeballs
  • Fork - A great git GUI
  • Obsidian - Note Taking/My Second Brain
  • Docker Desktop - Because Docker
  • xScope - Awesome toolset for frontend development. Rulers, guides etc.
  • Dato - A better date app for macOS. It's great for having multiple time zones in the address bar. I have my local time as well as UTC. I also use it for upcoming meetings and events. Previously I was using Meeter which is great for this, but it's one less app I need now.
  • iTerm - A better terminal for macOS
  • Starship - A cross shell prompt
  • Spotify - Because music.
  • Muzzle - A simple app for silencing notifications during screen sharing
  • OBS - For streaming on Twitch
  • Descript - For editing and publishing my Twitch streams to YouTube.
  • Recut - For video editing
  • Webcam Settings - Helps me prevent my Logitech webcam from losing focus. I also use it to zoom in on my webcam.
  • Cleanshot X - For better screenshots and screen recordings
  • Cloudflare Warp - Faster Internet and some VPN goodness
  • Plash - An interactive desktop background (one or more web pages) for your Mac
  • Krisp - Filter out unwanted noise on calls and streams
  • GPG Suite - For all things GPG
  • Fig - VSCode style autocomplete in your terminal
  • Figma - Design collaboratively on the web
  • Loopback - Great for virtual audio sources
  • CleanMyMac X - A suite of utilities for keeping your Mac in tip top shape.
  • Camo - Use your mobile devices as cameras for your OS.

CLIs

  • Homebrew - The Missing Package Manager for macOS (or Linux)
  • hub - GitHub's improved git (can be safely aliased to git)
  • GitHub CLI - GitHub on the command line. Great for creating PRs, etc.
  • rbenv - Ruby version manager
  • n - Node version manager
  • ngrok - Exposes local servers to the public internet over secure tunnels
  • mcfly - An enhance search for your shell history. Super charged CTRL + R!
  • httpie - A command-line HTTP client

Additional Resources

Also, I made an extensive list for Frontend Developer Resources. Some of the things mentioned above are probably already on this list.

Office Setup

My desk setup. My Mac is on a stand on the left, a wide screen monitor in the middle, a microphone and boom on the right, and a keyboard, mouse, desk whiteboard, and Stream deck in the front. There are also ring lights around the desk for streaming.
My desk setup. My Mac is on a stand on the left, a wide screen monitor in the middle, a microphone and boom on the right, and a keyboard, mouse, desk whiteboard, and Stream deck in the front. There are also ring lights around the desk for streaming.
My office's back wall has a whiteboard on it. There are erasable markers, an eraser, and a small flat plastic cute cat throwing up a rainbow. To the right is my bookshelf.
My office's back wall has a whiteboard on it. There are erasable markers, an eraser, and a small flat plastic cute cat throwing up a rainbow. To the right is my bookshelf.

Travel Gear