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April 14, 2026

Tools I Actually Use

Development

Claude Code Max — the main one. Not autocomplete. A real coding partner. I use it for architecture, debugging, implementation, content — all of it. Worth every cent at Max tier. The biggest productivity shift I've made.

Ghostty — fast, native terminal. Clean, minimal, gets out of the way.

VS Code — still the editor. Claude Code handles most of the heavy lifting so the editor matters less, but VS Code with the right extensions is solid.

GitHub — version control and CI. Nothing exotic.

Backend & Data

Supabase — database, auth, storage, realtime, edge functions. One platform that covers the whole backend. I also self-host it on my homelab for personal projects.

Vercel — deployment for all Next.js projects. Preview URLs for every branch, instant deploys, zero config. Non-negotiable.

n8n (self-hosted) — automation runtime. Runs on my homelab, exposed via Cloudflare tunnel. Handles scheduled jobs, webhook workflows, and bridges between services that don't talk to each other.

Cloudflare Tunnels — secure public exposure for self-hosted services without opening ports. How my n8n instance is reachable from anywhere.

Mobile

Swift / SwiftUI — for iOS apps. Native performance, native feel.

RevenueCat — in-app subscriptions and paywalls for iOS. Handles the App Store billing layer so I don't have to.

PostHog — product analytics. Open-source, works everywhere.

Homelab

Two repurposed laptops running production infrastructure:

  • Toshiba (Intel i5) — self-hosted Supabase (13 services), Syncthing, Netdata
  • Dell (Core 2 Duo) — n8n + Cloudflare tunnel, Netdata

Nightly backups rotated daily/weekly/monthly. Off-site sync to Mac via Syncthing. Built because I wanted to understand the infrastructure, not just use it.

Design & Knowledge

Figma — everything starts here. I design before I build. Clients get a Figma file before a line of code.

Obsidian — where everything non-code lives. All project notes, decisions, session handoffs, reference material. Synced across devices via Syncthing.

What I don't use

  • Shopify (build custom instead)
  • Webflow / Framer (build custom instead)
  • Cursor (Claude Code does everything I need)
  • ChatGPT (Claude is significantly better for coding)