Development tools in 2024
In this blog I would like to share some of the tools I use to boost my productivity as a software developer. Some of these are paid, while others are completely free. For the paid plugins, I always decide if their subscription fee is in balance with the amount of time I'm saving by using the tool.
This is an unsponsored list of development tools I personally prefer.
JetBrains IDE
I am an avid fan of JetBrains' IDE and all the features it comes with. I mostly switch between licenses depending on what I need for my current client (e.g. GoLand for Golang, Pycharm for Python). Although they also have IDEA Ultimate, which is promoted as their multi language IDE, which has the full Golang or Python extension and support, this does not give you the most relevant UI for the language you are working on. It's just easier to use Pycharm for Python and have everything configured correctly for Python from the start.
This tool requires a subscription.
JetBrains AI
Another JetBrains product here, is their AI Assistant. While I used GitHub Copilot during 2023, having the AI fully incorporated in the JetBrains IDE is a big plus for me.
If you are using AI for large snippets of code, it is not up to par yet with GitHub Copilot, but I mostly use it for small line completions, which AI Assistant handles just as good.
This tool requires a subscription.
D2 Diagrams
This is an open source diagram engine which is really easy to use, allows for a lot of customization and allows you to write diagrams as code. This is somewhat similar to PlantUML, but feels way more modern. The syntax takes a little bit too learn and remember, but afterwards it has become my favorite tool for diagrams.
This tool is free to use.
OrbStack
While running Docker for Mac, I have encountered countless performance and battery drain over the years. OrbStack is an very lightweight application to run Docker containers (or even VMs or a single node Kubernetes environment). It's performance blows Docker Desktop out of the water, but note that is is a paid tool for commercial use.
This tool is free for non-commercial usage.
Docusaurus
An open source markdown website tool built by Meta Open Source. It allows you to set up website's using Markdown, but also contains numerous documentation plugins that help you create documentation for your code. It is for example able to create a GraphQL documentation from your schema files.
It does not come with a Dockerfile by default, so requires some work to make it runnable on Kubernetes for example. But because their build process is very easy, you can just serve the build output in an nginx container.
This tool is free to use.
Postman
I've tried countless alternatives, such as Insomnia, but I always end up managing my API's using Postman. While working on individual projects, the alternatives are fine as well. But when working on Team plans or collaborates workspaces, Postman truly shines
Free for individual use, paid for collaboration or advanced features.
