Ask HN: Dev productivity tools you would pay for | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Dev productivity tools you would pay for

62 pointsjohnwheeler102 comments

I pay for JetBrains, Creative cloud, chatGpt, figma, and mid journey. I also pay for quick books. Are there any must have dev productivity tools you can recommend?

View on HN

Git fork: https://git-fork.com/

Best git client i’ve tried, even though i hate it’s tabbing system.

RemedyBG: https://remedybg.itch.io/remedybg

Excellent debugger for Windows.

Sublime Text: To this day I have not found any text editor that works better than this. 100% worth the money

Does Git fork support remote repository? Like if I have a remote visual studio code, with a project in a remote VPS, can I manage it?

The only git clients that allows that i know of are

- Magit

- Git CLI

- VS Code

RemedyBG is so good as is Sublime Text. I would pay $50-100 a month alone for a great and fast debugger for x64 Linux and/or Apple Silicon macOS.

I moved from a WYSIWYG editor to Markdown files for the website I run. Sublime Text + Merge are a brilliant combo for editing text and reviewing changes before committing.

The best part is how fast Sublime feels on a 12" Macbook from 2017. This thing just flies.

I pay for

- ChatGPT

- proxyman.io (Debugging Proxy - life safer for development!)

- CleanShot (screenshots, screen recordings)

- PixelSnap (measuring distances, rectangles on desktop...)

- Little Snitch (Firewall but also good for network debugging, e.g. turn off network for specific app)

I donate to

- zig language (not using at the moment but looks really nice!)

- lunarvim (ready to use neovim configuration)

- neovim

- brew

- Asahi linux (linux for apple silicon)

- Minisim (menubar tool to lunch android emulators and iOS simulators)

I had never heard of Minisim, looks really interesting. Thanks for that.

Thank you!

Why do you pay for ChatGPT? To avoid rush hours?

Yes, It's much faster. Not just in rush hours. But apart from that I like to pay for products that make me more productive :)

Kagi Search search engine. Unless I’m doing “food near me” type searches, Kagi is 100x better than the garbage heap Google is now. Then Jetbrains. Then one of the ProtonMail subscriptions although I only use the mail and sometimes the VPN for streaming. I still use gmail too mostly for junk mail/signups/loyalty programs but I wanted to support an email service that’s not Google and Fastmail wasn’t doing it for me.

Beyond that, if I want cloud stuff I usually am going to put it on DigitalOcean.

First time I'm hearing about Kagi. I'm curious because google has been so bad latetly.

This feature piqued my interest: Ability to block/boost domains. I always wanted to boost MDN over w3schools, for example.

Will try it!

yeah I boosted docs.rs so I would stop getting crates.rs at the top, that has been nice.

I thought Kagi was a payment processor. Did they pivot?

completely different companies

The payment processor ceased operations in 2016. Kagi Search launched in 2018.

I received a Kinesis keyboard in the mail today - maybe not what OP had in mind but my hand issues were to the point of contemplating leaving computer work. Not sure how much it’ll change with the new keyboard - but my response is ergonomics.

Try reading Sarno. Sounds nuts but it works.

Can you elaborate, what is Sarno?

https://aaroniba.net/how-i-cured-my-rsi-pain

Which one did you choose?

advantage 2 quiet refurb. i'm happy so far and already know it's not getting returned

Any reason you didn't choose the 360 model?

The tough part with Kinesis is not being able to demo the products in person. Ironically I live in seattle which is where they are located but their sales team didn’t really help me out in this regard.

Price was one factor but I actually decided For a USB model since I switch between work stations somewhat often and pairing Bluetooth between different computers can sometimes be a pain. just figured the advantage2 was “the simplest thing that works”.

Edit: The appealing thing to me about the 360 is the vertical/tent adjustments it seems to have.

But having a single unit is nice as well

I have an Advantage 2 (an older model - not quiet and with 2MB v-drive) but it's damaged. I was not able to repair it unfortunately. I was super happy with it. I've ordered the 360 model (also without bluetooth) now and will receive it on Monday. The reason why I chose the 360 is usb-c, - otherwise I would have ordered the advantage 2 (quiet) as well as it seems easier to have one piece of hardware. Also I actually would have like to have a dedicated function key row - especially a dedicated escape key. Let's see.

also get a vertical mouse, best $30 buck you'll ever spend

interesting, had considered it but hadn't heard much pros about it. does it work well with mac? use a magic mouse at the moment

Anker Vertical Ergonomic mouse, try it

I revert back to my Magic Mouse because I love the touch gestures, but most can be recreated with vertical mouse. I use the Logitech one, it's nice, but the 1 or 2 finger gestures on the Magic Mouse are too nice and can't be replicated on any other mouse, I always revert back to it. I actually rotate the Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad and Logitech mx vertical, usually last a few weeks or a month before switching to another.

You hit the nail on the head with gestures. I’m keen to try a vertical mouse but it hasn’t been a pain point for me thus far.

I have a trackpad on the left and a trackball on the right. I’m right handed, so I use the mouse for most, but when I need a gesture, the trackpad is there.

Has been working great for years.

Trackball > vertical for me. I got a Kensington expert. The ball is almost as big as a billiards ball

I also am a trackball user.

Trackman wheel > m570 > Kensington expert.

I’ve tried vertical ones, but it’s just not the same.

Try using a better keyboard layout, like Dvorak or Workman.

I've been using dvorak for over 20 years and never had pain.

You have a fair point, guess people just feel really strongly about Kinesis? i like how the Kinesis keyboard can toggle between QWERTY and Dvorak on the click of a button. I’m not opposed to a different layout but have a feeling that dev/vim keystrokes wouldn’t change a whole lot. Command/control/tab/backspace for example

I don’t think my hand pain is rsi nor is a common one. The pinky tendons on my palms are enflamed and developed a hard lump. Recently saw a doctor and they didn’t have an easy diagnosis and said to only worry about it if I am inhibited - so figured a new keyboard was a small price to pay for hand health. And there’s a 60 day return policy.

My Kinesis Freestyle 2 Keyboard was life changing, my hand issues are non existent now.

Feel similarly about my Moonlander!

I have an Advantage Pro. 100% this is one of the things I’d spend money on again.

I’ve had it for 10 years now. I’ve been looking at the 360 lately, but just because Im curious. The one I have still works great.

I would add,

Obsidian https://obsidian.md/

to that list.

What does the paid version get you that free does not?

Device sync

You have to pay of you use for work related stuff

PHP Intellisense Extension for VSCode (10€ once)

DBeaver database mgmt 12€/mth (with intermissions)

github copilot 10€/month

NimbusNotes 40€/year

Cloud Platform (GCP), various services up to 60€, with intermissions

Youtube Premium 10€month

various MOOC and learning platforms

donations to Wikipedia when they're campaigning (with intermissions)

some fun services (streaming)

ChatGPT Plus - 20$/mo

Myriad of servers/cloud services - > 999$/mo

SetApp (Multiple apps in one) -> 9.99$/mo

Using these apps:

- RapidAPI (API Testing)

- Forklift (Multi-tab explorer)

- Dropshare (Screen recording)

- Mate Translate (Translation tool)

- CodeRunner (Code playground)

- SQLPro Studio (Database manager)

- Hype (HTML5 animations editor)

- Prizmo (OCR scanner)

- Ulysses (Writing)

- MindNode (Brainstorming/mindmaps)

- HazeOver (Focused windows)

- Renamer (Batch renamer)

- Boom3D (Volume controller/EQ)

- Canary Mail (E-mail client)

- Coherence X (Create isolated Chrome apps)

Been using SetApp for years, since paying the yearly upgrade for the apps would cost much more in total.

Jesus, what are you doing that you're spending $1000/mo on servers? I have a $20 server running fifteen production apps, what are you running, Netflix?

I run a business, so mostly API servers. Personally it's like 200$/mo on lab servers.

Ah OK, that makes sense. I took it as a "side project server" thing.

Note taking app (logseq), I pay for that even though it's open source and free (and I don't really need paid features)

Many of productivity tools I use are free (and not always related to dev, but as a side effect, increase my development productivity as well):

* a big monitor (switching from 13" to 27" definitely had an impact)

* https://www.raycast.com/ has the biggest impact to my productivity. So much good stuff there! Just one example is resizing windows with keyboard. Good old https://www.alfredapp.com/ is another option;

* https://devdocs.io/ to look up docs;

* https://www.tldraw.com/ for temporary sketches, wireframes, etc.

* while I'm here: in my experience, one-time purchase from https://serif.com/ is a great alternative to Creative Cloud.

I really want to like Raycast, since its plugin ecosystem is better integrated than Alfred's, but every time I try it, I keep stumbling against its multi-step wizard-style interface, when what I want is a GUI CLI.

I want to type a bunch of words (with autocomplete), and hit Return when done, and Alfred makes me hit "Return" (or something else) in the middle of some sequences, hides results until I do, and is generally slower to use than Alfred.

Off topic and late: Hi Vlad, just wanted to say I ran into your website and desktop wallpapers some years ago, and I just love them, I keep using them as wallpapers on my various machines and telling people about them. Just wanted to say thank you for your work on them.

* https://tableplus.com/ for database access

* https://bear.app/ for notes

* Skitch for screenshots and markup

* Dash for easy docs

* Easy CSV Editor (https://vdt-labs.com/easy-csv-editor/) for just editing a CSV file without loading a whole spreadsheet app.

* VSCode, Sublime, zsh, iTerm, Proxmox

Bear.app is close to my ideal app, but since it only works on Apple devices, I have a hard time committing to it.

The built in Apple-made Notes.app is inferior in almost all aspects but there is a web interface I can use when I'm on Linux or Windows.

Obsidian works well on all systems. It has folders, markdown notes, and cloud sync. Switched to it from Bear because of Linux and quite happy.

Oh my god. Thanks!!

I used to use bear but it would constantly override options I’d set regarding things like smart quotes etc.

I use obsidian now, and I really like it.

If on a Mac, most of mine have been mentioned...

I would add Better Touch Tool. I use it to launch apps and trigger actions in apps from a global context. I things mapped to the function keys and also presses on areas of the Trackpad. So for example, regardless of what app I'm using at the time, f19 will pop a new iterm window on my monitor that has focus. Ctrl and a numpad key will set the brightness of the monitor I'm using in 10% increments. Pressing (not touching) the top left or right corner of my Magic Trackpad will seek a few seconds backwards or forwards in Spotify. It's useful to control other apps without switching focus from the current app. I've looked into window snapping areas with it which are powerful, but I currently have it set up where a four finger swipe on the Trackpad sends the current window to the left or right half of the current monitor. I was planning something more elaborate, but it's become a reflex now.

Alfred to launch apps by just typing the first few characters. I try to keep my fingers on the keys as often as possible.

Jettison is good for ejecting and remounting removable disks when I put the machine in and out of sleep.

I use an open source utility to limit battery charge level as my MBP is always hooked up to a dock these days.

For windows, I use

cmd+ctrl+alt+left arrow for left half

cmd+ctrl+alt+right arrow right half

cmd+ctrl+alt+up arrow for maximize

cmd+ctrl+alt+down arrow for centering

cmd+ctrl+alt+1/2/3 for thirds

cmd+ctrl+alt+q/p/z/‘/‘ for top left/top right/bottom left/bottom right

There’s a few others, but these are the ones I use the most.

If you're using git - git-fork.com is an excellent git client for Osx And Windows

Other good graphical git clients I have used in the past are Sublime Merge https://www.sublimemerge.com/ and SmartGit https://www.syntevo.com/smartgit/.

They are usually not expensive, and I learned git with GUIs.

Sublime Merge is great too. And it also supports Linux

I payed for Typora (a Markdown editor). The price is very reasonable and fair and the product and support is very good. This is the only tool I ever payed for. I do support OSs initiatives through donations.

My favorite MD tool ever. Used it in beta and also paid once released. No regrets!

I use Typora along with Upnote as an Evernote replacement. Haven’t looked back. The Ipnote devs are very responsive and it’s almost at parity with EN.

I bought it but am disappointed because it doesn't recognize .mdx files.

If you work with Postgres a lot I'd recommend Postico. It's not a necessity but I've found it to make me much more productive and worth the cost.

Wallaby.js is so nice for instant as you type evaluation of unit tests. Its magical and improves my productivity immensely.

Vitamin R is a great hack for the ADHD brain.

Seconded for Wallaby, as I don't often see it mentioned.

And even if you don't need instant feedback on tests whilst you're writing code, it's great during general development - set up a single test with the result you want and start doing some TDD-style coding, and Wallaby doesn't just show you the test outcome but also shows the values of all variables as hints decorating the lines in the editor itself whilst you type, making it much easier to get to working code.

Wallaby.js is a no-brainer tool for writing frontend unit tests. I see a lot of people at work struggle with unit testing. For the productivity boost it gives, it's easily worth the cost.

Very few.

I bought Sublime Text + Merge. They're the backbone of my computer work.

I pay 10€ per month for Wachete. I get notified when German laws and policies change, so that I can keep my own website up to date. It's a great time saver.

I pay for Spotify, to make work a little more pleasant. YouTube Music gets me better though.

That's it!

Spotify, YouTube Music is a must.

MidJorney, Figma & acreom for notes.

Also dropbox is a magic-must when having 2 workstations.

Every year or so I try to go through and evaluate value.

GitHub Copilot is the only one that comes to mind.

iTerm 2, basic Creative Cloud even though I rarely use it, MDN.

I'm transitioning from Sublime to VSCode but I'll probably pay for future versions of Sublime because I really like it.

I will probably pay for ChatGPT. I don't think it's super useful yet but if it saves me just a few minutes a month that's worth $10 to me easy.

For what it’s worth, instead of googling random code structures or coking up with small functions, I just use chatgpt since I can prompt it for exactly what I want.

I copy it, try it, and just refine it if needed. Sometimes it’s not 100% there, but I just tell it ‘method x doesn’t exist, is there an alternative’ and it just spits out another way or method. It’s been great.

Kaleidoscope is my go-to merge tool kinda surprised I didn’t see it mentioned yet. http://www.kaleidoscopeapp.com/

i pay a yearly sub for jetbrains (very good), but i would pay more for a modern version of visual c++ 6.0 - so fast, so simple to use, even back when. visual studio (although impressive) is just too fat for me and, along with jb a bit too slow.

Same here. The Jetbrains stuff is great, but snappy it isn't. And the modern versions of Visual Studio are even worse.

Don't know what OS you're on, but these days whilst it does less the Mac OS (ARM-native) Visual Studio is massively more performant than the Windows version and largely good-enough for coding (not so much for layouts). I often switch to it when Rider (which I pay for) starts to struggle.

Tool to remove stupid middle managers and redistribute their paychecks.

Github Copilot and, depending on the team, also Miro might be useful.

Sublime Text, a great keyboard and monitor and desk chair

You already mentioned JetBrains, but more specifically I happily pay for Resharper for C# and C++, it’s such a productivity boost if you’re using Visual Studio.

I used to do this, but more recently have found that VS includes most of the same functionality and ReSharper and VS end up fighting with each other to do the same thing for you, which gets annoying.

Rider is great though!

I never tried Rider. Would you recommend it over VS + Resharper? Or do you then need both Rider and VS, to still have access to VS design mode or other visual studio features?

I'd recommend it, I haven't actually used VS in years (used to use it daily back in the day)

- twitch turbo. good background while coding.

- aws. ec2 spot and lambda are great for getting a lot of compute for a little while with fine granularity billing.

Once the price is down enough GPT-4 32K+autoGPT running directly on our codebase+running unit tests and creating new ones

ChatGPT, GitHub CoPilot, I may need to pay for ngrok soon (interacting with Meta APIs and their webhooks...).

Here is one ngrok alternative: https://pinggy.io

CSS Pro: https://csspro.com/

* Github Copilot

* ChatGPT

The other tools I use (VSCode, ...) are free

What’s making you pay for the subscription version of ChatGPT, compared to the free one?

- GitHub

- GitHub copilot

- ChatGPT

- Mathpix (LaTeX OCR)

- Language tool (multilingual grammar checker)

- Neovim

- Weight and bias (monitoring tools for machine learning models)

I pay for computer, internet, electricity and paper books.

Which paper books about development are worth paying for?

SICP and at least 3 volumes of TAoCP - for myself.

Any beginner books on JS, Python, Lua etc - for neighbour kids.

The hardest math book which is still understandable - anti-age therapy for brain, works only if to keep solving the tasks from time to time.

zsh, nvim, fzf -- These things drive my daily everything. I'd pay if that wasn't all FOSS.

You can pay for free software, but you don't need to.

ohmyzsh: https://opencollective.com/ohmyzsh

nvim: https://neovim.io/ supports donations via bitcoin, Open Collective, and GitHub Sponsors.

fzf: https://github.com/junegunn/fzf supports donation via GitHub Sponsors, PayPal, and buy me a coffee.

Support != paying FOR. I agree with using FOSS only. I'll tell you why: I really like the fact that anyone in the world with a PC and Internet access can be a world class developer. From Nigeria to Philippines to the remotest island in the world.

i3, fzf, nvim, Python. I would PiHole Youtube if I had the time.

Pixelmator Pro for Photoshop tasks

Beyond Compare

I use my own product SnipCSS all the time: https://www.snipcss.com

I also pay for BrowserStack, Browserless and ChatGPT

Reply on news.ycombinator.com