I get a lot of questions about the tools I use for different parts of my work, so I've put together this "uses" page that covers every part of my setup.
Note
💡 FYI! I use everything listed here. Some of the links below are affiliate links which means I get paid or rewarded in some way if you use them to purchase, but rest assured these are all tools and services I actually use.
Services
- Umami - My preferred tool for ethical analytics
- Plausible - My second-most preferred tool for ethical analytics
- Todoist - My preferred todo list app
- Cloudinary - Fantastic image hosting
- GitHub - Where I host my code. I also run CI/CD pipelines via GitHub Actions.
- Directus - Flexible headless CMS that I use to handle all backend operations of this site, along with many of my other sites.
- Calendly - For: "Grab a time whenever" link with consulting fees built-in.
- Notion - App for pretty much everything
- Sticker Mule - How I get a bunch of stickers of my various projects etc. printed for myself that I can hand out.
- Wise - How I get paid for consulting
- NocoDB - For When I want a quick "no code" setup / forms / etc, I use the self-hosted version
- Airtable - My other go to "no code" for forms / etc, but moving more and more to NocoDB.
- n8n - For all my automation needs, I use the self-hosted edition.
Hosting Services
- Vercel - where I host this site and others
- Digital Ocean - where I have my servers currently
- Railway - where I host several sites.
- Fly.io - where I host the directus CMS used by this site
Tech / Coding
- React - The most widely used frontend framework in the world
- Vue - The next most widely used frontend framework in the world.
- Astro - A flexible and modern web framework that let's you use React, Vue or neither.
- HTMX - A lightweight, dependency-free, extendable JavaScript frontend library to access modern browser features directly from HTML.
- Alpine.js - A rugged, minimal tool for composing behavior directly in your markup. Consider it a mixture of Tailwind and jQuery.
- Remix - Focused on web standards and modern web app UX, it lets you build better full-stack websites.
- Next.js - The React Framework for Production
- Nuxt.js - The Intuitive Vue Framework
- Drizzle - Typescript ORM that runs on any environment.
- Prisma - A fantastic ORM for Node.js
- Hono - a newish fast nodejs framework
- Expressjs - the OG node.js framework
- TypeScript - I can't imagine building JavaScript projects without TypeScript.
- Testing Library - A great testing library for anything that interacts with the DOM.
- Jest - A great testing framework.
- Cypress.io - I use this for E2E testing.
- MSW - Next generation API mocking.
- Prettier - I can't imagine life without it.
- UI/Shadcdn - Completely unstyled, fully accessible UI components, designed to integrate beautifully with Tailwind CSS.
- PostCSS - I only use these plugins:
tailwindcss
,autoprefixer
, andpostcss-import
- TailwindCSS - A great way to keep my styling consistant and stay productive.
- Markdoc - powerful, flexible, Markdown-based authoring framework.
- Laravel / Laravel Live wire - when working with PHP, I go to Laravel with live wire.
- Terraform - when working with Kubernetes and cloud platforms, terraform is a must.
Editor
- Visual Studio Code
- Night Owl editor theme by Sarah Drasner
Chrome Extensions
- 1Password extension (desktop app required)
- Contributors on GitHub
- Refined Github
- GitHub Repository Size
- GitPod
- OctoLinker
- React Developer Tools
- uBlock Origin
Desktop apps
- Google Chrome
- ScriptKit
- 1Password
- iTerm2
- Spotify
- Slack
- Discord
- Localsend - Open Source Airdrop
- Todoist
- Obsidian
- Notion
- Zoom.us
- Raycast
- Loom - Recording software
- OBS - Live streaming software
Computer / Office
- 16" Macbook Pro (2020)
- Samsung 32" Curved FHD VA Monitor
- Apple Magic Keyboard - I prefer the full size keyboard when at my desk but there are times when I also use the smaller one as well.
- Apple Magic Mouse 2
- Apple Magic Trackpad 2
Other Tech
- Apple iPad Pro
- Apple Airpods Pro
- Apple Watch
- Kindle
- AnkerMake M5C 3D Printer
- Flashforge 3D Printer
- Tina 2 3D Printer
Podcasts
Here are some podcasts I "use" to keep me informed and entertained while I drive, clean, and camp:
- Accidental Tech Podcast
- 3 Minutes with Kent
- Chats with Kent
- Darknet Diaries
- EpicReact Podcast
- SoftSkills Engineering
- Egghead Chats
- Call Kent
- Writing Excuses
- React Podcast
- Embedded
- Syntax.fm
- The Talkshow
- Learn with Jason
YouTube
Here are channels I'm subscribed to:
- Kent C. Dodds
- Remix
- Now You Know
- MKBHD
- RyanShaw Tech
- HyperChange
- Answers with Joe
- Veritasium
- Undecided with Matt Ferrell
- Dude Perfect
- SpaceX
- Smarter Every Day
- Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
- Mark Rober
- Fireship
Newsletters
Here are the newsletters I subscribe to: