Hardware, software, and tools I use every day.

People sometimes ask what I use to build software and get work done. Here’s the current list, straight from the machine I’m working on.

Workstation

  • MacBook Pro, Apple M5 Pro, 48GB RAM

    My daily driver. Fast enough to run Docker, a couple of Rails apps, and an AI coding agent or two at the same time without breaking a sweat.

  • LG HDR 4K Display

    A 4K external monitor gives me room for an editor, a terminal, and a browser side by side.

  • Apple Magic Keyboard

    Simple, quiet, and wireless.

  • Logitech MX Master 3

    The thumb wheel and the configurable buttons (set up in Logi Options+) make jumping between apps and scrolling through long files much quicker.

Development tools

  • Claude Code

    Most of my coding now starts with an AI agent. I describe the change, review what it does, and keep the parts I like.

  • Cursor

    My editor for reading and writing code, with AI built in.

  • Vim / MacVim

    Still my go-to for quick edits in the terminal.

  • iTerm2 + Oh My Zsh

    iTerm2 with zsh and Oh My Zsh, plus fzf, the_silver_searcher, jq, and direnv for getting around projects quickly.

  • OrbStack and Docker

    OrbStack runs my containers. It’s lighter and faster than Docker Desktop on the Mac.

  • Language tooling

    Homebrew for packages, asdf and rbenv for Ruby, nvm for Node, pyenv for Python, and rustup for Rust. Postgres and Redis run locally, and overmind runs my Procfiles.

  • GitHub CLI

    Pull requests, reviews, and CI checks without leaving the terminal.

  • Postman

    For poking at APIs and saving requests I run often.

  • Xcode and TestFlight

    For building and shipping iOS apps.

  • ngrok

    For exposing a local server to test webhooks and share work in progress.

AI

  • Claude

    My main assistant for writing, research, and thinking through problems.

  • ChatGPT and Codex

    Useful for a second opinion, and Codex for coding tasks.

  • Wispr Flow

    Voice dictation that works in every app. Talking through prompts is often faster than typing them.

  • Granola

    Takes meeting notes for me, so I can pay attention to the conversation.

Productivity

  • Arc

    My main browser. Spaces keep work and personal tabs separate.

  • Notion, Notion Calendar, and Notion Mail

    Docs, planning, calendar, and email, all in one place.

  • Obsidian

    Personal notes, kept as plain Markdown files on my own machine.

  • 1Password

    Passwords, SSH keys, and secrets, including from the command line.

  • Rectangle

    Keyboard shortcuts for snapping windows into place.

  • Caffeine

    Stops the Mac from going to sleep during long-running tasks.

  • Grammarly

    Catches my typos before anyone else does.

  • Kleo

    My own personal finance app, for keeping track of spending, net worth, and investments.

Communication

  • Slack, Front, and Zoom

    Chat, shared inboxes, and calls with the team and customers.

  • Loom

    Short screen recordings in place of meetings that didn’t need to happen.