Software I use and gadgets I love ✨

Here’s a big list of all the tools, software, and hardware I use (or used to use) to stay productive and build great things.

Languages

  • TypeScript

    My go-to language for most projects these days. It takes some time to get the types right at the beginning, but it always pays off as the project grows.

  • HTML

    Writing clean and accessible HTML is still a useful skill in 2023. I made the mistake of neglecting it when JavaScript frameworks were all the rage, but not anymore.

  • CSS

    CSS has become incredibly powerful over the years. Advanced layouts and animations can be achieved with little CSS when understood properly.

  • JavaScript

    Coming from Ruby, learning JavaScript came with its set of challenges. The language is extremely flexible and can fit multiple programming paradigms. It's a beautiful language when used properly.

  • GraphQL

    Query language for your API.

Frameworks

  • Next.js

    After using plain React for a while and running into the same configuration issues (routing, code splitting, lazy loading, SSR, ...), I found Next.js and was hooked! Unless there's a need for plain React, I default to using Next.js.

  • Strapi

    Strapi is one of those tools so flexible that it can fit many use cases. I've used it as a backend, admin panel and web API for my previous company. It's a great tool! A TypeScript support would be nice though.

  • Ruby on Rails

    Ah Ruby on Rails... This is where it all started for me. Even though I haven't used it in years, I still use its priceless principles and patterns in my work today. I still believe it's one of the best framework for building web applications.

  • Gatsby.js

    I used Gatsby as a static site generator for a few projects back in 2018. The built-in lazy-loading and image optimization features felt like magic at the time. It was indeed blazing fast!

  • Laravel

    The most popular PHP framework for building web apps.

Librairies

  • React.js

    React got me into frontend development. I taught myself React early 2018 and I have mostly been focusing on frontend development since then.

  • Tailwind CSS

    I love Tailwind! In a world of JavaScript everything, it stands out for its simplicity while being extremely powerful.

  • Chakra UI

    When I don't use Tailwind CSS, Chakra UI is my go-to (and favourite) React component library. It's well designed, accessible, themeable and composable. All the good stuff!

  • Prisma

    Prisma is the perfect ORM companion for my Next.js projects, if I ever need to make use of Next's API routes.

  • Lottie Web

    As a developer, building animations with plain CSS or JavaScript is always a lengthy process. Lottie solved that problem for me. I've been able to integrate incredibly complex animations as easily as importing a static image.

  • Rebass

    Rebass was one of the first component libraries I used. Its themeable and constraint-based design principles was exactly what I needed at the time, when I started building larger frontend apps.

  • Redux

    I've always had a love-hate relationship with Redux. It's a great tool, but the boilerplate can be a bit much. I love the one-way data flow and predictability of the state tree, but I believe there are better alternatives today.

  • Apollo Client

    Appolo Client is as good as react-query, but for GraphQL.

  • XState

    XState is pretty awesome! Finite state machines are a mind shift from the traditional state management libraries, but a worthwhile one. It forces you to clearly map out the different states and transitions of your application, which is a great thing!

  • bn.js

    JavaScript was not designed to handle precision math, but bn.js makes it possible. It's a non-negotiable dependency for projects with banking features.

  • Headless UI

    Headless UI is made by the same team behind Tailwind CSS, hence both tools work together like magic, pretty neat! It's my go-to component library for Tailwind projects.

  • Radix UI

    I love the level of details that went into making Radix UI. I use wherever Headless UI doesn't cut it.

  • React Query

    The most popular async state management library for React projects. Trying to handle network requests and data caching without it feels so primitive now.

  • SWR

    I found out about SWR as I was browsing the Next.js docs. I was impressed by all the features of the tool and the simplicity of the API.

  • React Hook Form

    Managing complex forms is one of the hardest things in web development. React Hook Form makes it so much easier and scalable.

  • React Router

    React Router has been around for a while now, and has remained the most popular routing library for React, which is impressive. I always use it on standalone React projetcs.

  • React Final Form

    The react adapter for the popular final-form library.

  • Auth.js

    Auth.js - previously NextAuth.js - is incredibly intuitive and covers most, if not all, authentication use cases. It's not my go to authentication library for my Next.js projects.

  • tRPC

    tRPC is incredibly powerful! I had a big wow moment when I first tried it. Data fetching is usually where type safety ends in frontend projects, but tRPC not only makes it possible, but also easy and enjoyable.

SDKs

  • Stripe SDK

    It would be hard to imagine a world where Stripe doesn't exist. Their API documentation is the gold standard for web APIs.

  • Twilio SDK

    I used Twilio to create onboarding flows with SMS verification. They made that process a breeze.

  • Google Auth SDK

    The gateway to Google's API ecosystem.

  • Google Calendar SDK

    I've worked a lot with Google's Calendar API when implementing a real-time, bi-directional calendar sync. Their webhook system is tricky to work with, but we made it work!

  • Mapbox SDK

    I tried Mapbox when Google Maps API became too expensive for our use case. It's a great alternative and simpler to set up than Google Maps.

  • Airtable SDK

    I love Airtable so much that I've used their API as a backend or CMS for a few projects. It's not always a long-term solution, but it's a great way to get started quickly.

  • Firebase SDK

    Like most Google APIS, Firebase can be a bit tricky to work with but covers a lot of use cases.

  • Ethers

    The library for interacting with the Ethereum blockchain.

  • Intercom SDK

    Popular communication API.

  • Fuels

    The library for interacting with the Fuel blockchain.

  • Vercel AI SDK

    It would be much harder to build a snappy chat UI without Vercel AI SDK. It's a great tool that work with a wide variety of AI providers. And the SDK works on the frontend and backend, which is pretty neat!

Dev Tools

  • Visual Studio Code

    I was a Sublime Text lover for years. It was a sad moment when I could no longer lie to myself and admit that VS Code was the best code editor out there. It's such a pleasure to use.

  • Prettier

    Prettier changed my (dev) life. I remember days when I used to format code manually, I can't believe it was a thing. Prettier is the extension I install first when I start a new project.

  • Docker

    I've barely scratched the surface of Docker. I've used it to run a few databases locally and it makes that process so much easier already.

  • Z - jump around

    Z is a tiny shell script but such a cool one. It makes moving around the file system so much easier. I 'z' my way around directories instead of 'cd'ing like a caveman.

  • Parcel

    A zero-configuration bundler for the rest of us

  • Vite

    Next-generation bundler for frontend projects.

  • Github

    The most popular code hosting & collaboration platform

  • Github Copilot

    Somedays, I feel like I am the co-pilot of Github Copilot, as it seems to incresingly know what I want to do. Mind blowing!

  • Firefox Developer Edition

    I find Firefox's devtools more advanced and enjoyable to use than Chrome's. The network panel is particularly impressive.

  • Postman

    Postman was a game changer for me as I started building or working with APIs. The collaboration features they added make it the ultimate tool for API development.

  • iTerm

    I've never used the default MacOs terminal, but whenever I see someone's screen with it, I feel like I am looking at a computer from the 80s. iTerm feels like the way to go.

Productivity

  • Notion

    My external brain

Workstation

  • MacBook Air M1 (2020)

    I've been on the Mackbook Pro bandwagon since 2009, but the M1 chip is such a game changer that a MacBook Air (with some extra RAM) is now more than enough for modern web development.

  • Samsung Smart Monitor M7 UHD

    I've been dreaming of having a 4K external monitor like this during all my travel years. It is now the case! It makes frontend development so much enjoyable.