Software I use, gadgets I love, and other things I recommend.

I get asked a lot about the things I use to build software, stay productive, or buy to fool myself into thinking I’m being productive when I’m really just procrastinating. Here’s a big list of all of my favorite stuff.

(workstation.)

  • 16” MacBook Pro, i9, 64GB RAM, 2TB (2019)

    i bought this right before the first M1 MBP to dual-boot Windows while developing for iOS, but after years of solid use and rarely booting Windows, it’s time to move on to Apple Silicon.

  • Samsung 49" Odyssey G93SC

    coming from an equivalent two 27" monitor setup, I thought I wouldn’t notice a difference, but my neck thanks me for being able to look forward at a screen again rather than off to the side all day!

  • Logitech MX Mechanical (Graphite)

    i never thought I’d be a mechanical bro, but every time I type something, I feel like I mean it. I loved the MX Keys before, but this satisfying click makes it as much a fidget toy as a keyboard. It might also be the reason my wife doesn’t like working next to me.

  • Logitech MX Master 4 (Graphite)

    you never realize how much scrolling a long document on a regular mouse sucks until you’ve used an MX mouse. the ability to get to the bottom of a webpage in one flick makes you feel unstoppable. and being able to scroll horizontally so naturally! never going back.

  • Apple Magic Trackpad (Black)

    “wait, i thought you used the MX Master 4,” i hear you saying. yeah. i dual-wield. mouse with my right, trackpad with my left. the gestures of the Magic Trackpad are unparalleled, allowing me to pinch, swipe between desktops, and pan my footage — all while i take a deep sip of my latte with my dominant hand. talk about a productivity hack!

  • COLAMY Ergonomic Mesh Office Chair

    my desk is where i spend the majority of my day, so having a comfortable chair is really important. this one has served me well without completely breaking the bank.

  • Felt Desk Mat

    because my desk deserves a nice outfit too. it helps create a smooth surface for my mouse to glide on and frame the rest of my desk so everything knows its place.

(development tools.)

  • Cursor

    i code a lot. so having an ai co-worker handle the tedious stuff that might have taken me weeks to complete has made me much more efficient and able to help more people. it also allows you to select your ai model or use their in-house one that takes the best of all of them. hard to imagine my work without it.

  • Spaceship

    ever since Google shut down Google Domains, i've been on the hunt for a domain registrar with a ux that’s not from the early 2010s. Spaceship seems to be the one i'm landing on for now, and i plan to transfer all my disparate domains there (at least until they sell to Squarespace 🙄).

  • Replit

    i love app design, but i've never been good at drawing it. after trying many tools to create good UI designs, i think i like Replit the best. it creates great designs from vague ideas right from the start and intelligently respects the technical requirements i give it, like following a company’s design system. it doesn’t replace Cursor, as it focuses more on agentic UI edits rather than code assistance, but it’s a frequent starting place for greenfield designs.

  • OpenRouter

    OpenRouter is an ai provider that allows you to automatically or manually select the best AI models for a job without having to buy tokens from each ai company. it becomes infinitely useful when saving money by using cheaper models that do the job just as well.

(design.)

  • Canva

    with so much design we have to do, Canva has made it so much easier. they also included a social media posting calendar, so there are going to be a lot more features we use. currently trying to incorporate Affinity, their Adobe Creative Cloud competitor, into our workflow. i'll keep you updated.

(productivity.)

  • Obsidian

    i have a bit of a problem when it comes to note-taking apps. i've tried a lot of them, but none of them worked with my brain like Obsidian. though i don't really use deep linking, i love how customizable it is. with themes and plugins galore, you can make it absolutely yours. best part: all your notes stay on your machine or with your chosen cloud provider. it uses simple, beautiful markdown, and it's free.

  • ChatGPT 5.2

    the tool that made LLMs mainstream. though i (sorta) understand the underlying technology, it’s still magic to me that it’s creating things that have never been created or said before. i acknowledge the ethical challenges of ai, but no matter where you stand, you can’t deny the technological leap it represents. it also proofreads my stupid jokes.

  • OpenClaw

    OpenClaw (fka Moltbot, fka Clawdbot) has been my newest obsession. in an attempt to create an Iron Man–style Jarvis ai assistant, i've spent an ungodly amount of time (and ai tokens) trying to make it my reliable personal assistant. as i make this more of a reality, i will update it on my blog. stay tuned!