List of stuff I use (and like)

The following is a list of my favorite tools, most of which I use in my daily life, digital and otherwise. I try to use open source, minimalist software, but that doesn't always work out.

General

• Operating System - Ubuntu, Mac, Windows, yes all of them
• Development - VSCode, for almost anything, even Java
• Shell - zsh (with oh-my-zsh)
• WSL - absolute must when on Windows
• GitHub - primary source control for all projects
• Pass - the standard unix password manager

Infrastructure

Generally I prefer using Kubernetes, and containers whenever possible. I find that the automation and tooling are unbeatable.

• DigitalOcean - Kubernetes
• Hetzner - K3S, on a cheap and "good enough" VPS provider
• Grafana & Prometheus & Loki - Logging and Monitoring
• Lens - IDE for Kubernetes clusters
• ArgoCD - Best Kubernetes CD automation
• DockerHub - Container repository and automated CI

Languages

I'm agnostic when it comes to any tools, and programming languages are no different for me. I believe that having a good understanding of the overarching software engineering concepts is much more important than being a specialist in one particular syntax.

• C# - Best language for professional use. The more experienced I get, the more I admire the language design
• TypeScript - Amazing for greenfield backends and a must for frontend
• Python - Best for rapid iterating. I'm missing better types and better async support
• Go - Big fan, would love some professional mileage on it

Databases

• Postgres - Favorite SQL database
• MongoDB - Favorite general purpose database
• Redis - Favorite "cache" database
• Kafka - Favorite event streaming platform (database? it's complicated...)

Frontends

• Svelte - Top favorite ATM, love the minimalism. It still needs some work on the dev tools.
• Vue.js - Ex-favorite, wish it was a better fit with TypeScript
• React - Nobody's favorite, but it's got the best game in town. De-facto choice, if perception is a factor
• React Native - Best cross platform app development platform. For simplicity, I use it via Expo

Awesome random stuff

• Eleventy - Simplest static site generator
• Syncthing - Simple file sync between machines
• Neo4j - Graph Database for when you're sick of joins
• Beekeeper studio - The smoothest, best looking, and easiest to use SQL client for MySQL, Postgres, SQLite, SQL Server, and more.
• Robo 3T - Native and cross-platform MongoDB manager
• Outline - Outline: open, extensible, wiki