What I use
every day.

My primary editor for nearly everything. The AI pair-programming built into the editing loop — not bolted on as a sidebar — is genuinely the most productive setup I've found. The Tab completions understand context across files in a way Copilot never quite did.

Non-negotiable for Swift / SwiftUI / iOS work. I still use it for the simulator, Instruments profiler, and native SwiftUI previews. No serious alternative exists in this space.

Kept around for config-heavy editing, markdown, and tasks where I want zero AI involvement. Also the fallback when a project's devcontainer doesn't play well with Cursor.

Claude Opus 4 and Sonnet 4 are my go-to LLMs for architecture thinking, code review, writing, and complex reasoning. Consistently better than GPT-4 for nuanced technical discussions and long-context work. I use Claude Code for agentic tasks directly in the terminal.

IDE-integrated AI coding agent I use daily for autonomous multi-file tasks — refactoring, generating tests, implementing features from specs. Significantly faster for non-trivial work than chat-based workflows.

Secondary model for quick one-shot tasks, code translation between languages, and cases where I want a second opinion on an architectural decision.

Replaced Google for most technical research. The cited, up-to-date answers save a lot of tab-hopping when evaluating packages, docs, or changelogs.

GPU-rendered terminal with a Lua config that actually makes sense. Replaced iTerm2 after a few days — faster, more customisable, and the multiplexer is good enough that I barely reach for tmux.

Starship prompt gives me Git branch, exit codes, and language version in the prompt line with zero startup overhead. Config lives in a dotfiles repo.

Replaces nvm, rbenv, pyenv, and sdkman in one tool. Declarative `.mise.toml` per project means runtime versions are committed alongside code — no "works on my machine" nonsense.

Native macOS PHP / Laravel environment with zero Docker overhead for local development. Isolated PHP versions per site, built-in Nginx, one-click SSL. I still use Docker for production parity in staging but Herd is unmatched for day-to-day speed.

The best GUI for databases on macOS. Supports MySQL, Postgres, Redis, SQLite, MongoDB. Clean UI, fast, native. I open it many times a day.

HTTP proxy / debugger for inspecting network traffic from iOS simulators and devices. Essential when debugging API integrations in mobile apps.

For running dependent services locally (Postgres, Redis, RabbitMQ, Localstack) in docker-compose stacks. Also used for any production-parity build validation.

Replaced macOS Spotlight entirely. AI commands, clipboard history, window management, and deep integrations with GitHub, Jira, and calendar. The free tier covers most of what I need.

My second brain — architecture notes, project journals, meeting notes, and long-form writing drafts. Local-first Markdown files synced via iCloud. The graph view is useful for connecting ideas across projects.

Project and issue tracking for personal and client projects. Fast, keyboard-driven, and the roadmap views are genuinely useful. Far better UX than Jira.

Screenshot and screen recording tool. Annotate, OCR, scroll-capture, and record GIFs without leaving the flow. Indispensable for writing docs and bug reports.

Primary machine for everything. The M3 Pro handles Docker stacks, iOS simulators, and large codebases without a fan spin. 36 GB unified memory means I rarely feel constrained.

Side monitor for reference, browser, and terminal. Not the best panel on the market but the 4K resolution at 27" hits a sweet spot for code density.

Nothing exotic — the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID is good enough and keeps the desk minimal. The trackpad gesture support on macOS is still unmatched.