20 unbelievable tools every developer should know
Science & Technology
Introduction
Today's video is about the different developer tools that I use. This video ended up being super long, so I'm actually going to cut it up into two parts. This is part one. It still covers quite a lot, so this video, you can take a look down at the chapters below to jump to the tools that you actually care about. The first part will be about the text editor that I use, then a few different AI tools. The third part will be about different solutions to help deploy your application, and the fourth part of the video will be about different SaaS platforms I'll be using, things like for hosting databases, for sending marketing emails, and so on.
I hope you enjoy it. Please subscribe to the channel. Usually, I talk about a different open-source project each week. I will cover some open-source projects in this video, but this is more of a general video to help you be more productive as you develop and build your own apps. So let's dive into things.
Text Editors & AI Tools
Cursor
The first tool is Cursor. Cursor is an AI code editor, and if there is one tool you should definitely try out from this entire video, it should be this one. People are raving about it. This is a tweet by Josh Miller: "I went from never hearing about curs AI to many engineers telling me it's their new favorite tool seemingly overnight."
Cursor is a fork of VSS code, so if you're already using VSS code, switching over will be very easy. Some small differences exist on the sidebar and so on, but largely, it's VSS code. Here, you'll see my terminal at the bottom. You can do Command L to start chatting with it or Command K to generate some code. It's like Co-Pilot but better. I've found it to be a lot stronger than Co-Pilot.
Warp
Next up is Warp. Warp is a really nice terminal where you can talk to it in natural language. For example, you can tell it, "Hey, I want to revert my last git commit," and it would automatically do it for you. It's another cool tool worth trying out.
Claude
I also use Claude. You're probably familiar with Chat GPT and Claude. Claude is my tool of choice, and I often use it in my workflow over the Cursor one for no real reason. Just personal preference.
Vercel AI SDK
The AI SDK from Vercel is a tool where you can compare different AI LLMs—GPT-40, Llama, Claude, etc. This is helpful for deciding which AI to use because you can see how each one performs. It's essential for comparing costs and performance.
Deployment Solutions
Vercel
When it comes to deploying your app, Vercel is a fantastic platform. It takes just about five minutes to get started. After pushing to GitHub, you connect your GitHub repo to Vercel, and it will deploy your app. It also deploys every new branch or PR, which is very useful for testing. If you're using Next.js, Vercel is the optimal choice.
Render
Render is another excellent platform similar to Vercel. Render supports web services, private services, background workers, cron jobs, and more. What's cool is you can do all this with minimal effort compared to AWS. Render also offers infrastructure as code and preview environments, which is useful for creating isolated environments for each PR.
FlightControl
If you're looking for a solution to deploy on AWS but want an easier option, FlightControl might be worth a look. It's similar to Terraform but makes managing AWS resources easier.
Qovery
Qovery is an open-source and self-hostable Heroku-like alternative. It integrates different services like web servers, databases, and more. You can also host Qovery on AWS, Hetner, etc., if you want cost savings.
Database Solutions
Neon
Neon is a great tool for hosting PostgreSQL databases. It's a serverless platform which means you only pay based on usage. One of its standout features is branching, which allows you to create isolated copies of your database for development and testing.
Superbase
Superbase also supports branching, making it another reliable option for hosting databases.
Tinybird
If you need a database to handle real-time analytics data, Tinybird is a good choice. It uses ClickHouse under the hood, which is optimized for fast analytics queries.
Upstash
Upstash offers serverless Redis, Vector Databases, and more. It’s a cost-efficient choice for serverless databases and caching needs.
Email and Notifications
Resend
For sending transactional and marketing emails, Resend is a modern and popular choice. It integrates well with various programming environments and has great documentation.
Loops
Loops is a great platform for marketing emails and onboarding campaigns. It allows for complex automation and workflow setups.
Novu
Novu is an open-source platform for managing notifications in different channels like emails, SMS, in-app notifications, and more. It supports complex workflows and is highly customizable.
Documentation
Mfy
Mfy is an excellent tool for creating beautiful and efficient documentation. It's used by many well-known platforms and allows for easy integration with your codebase.
Keyword
- Cursor
- Warp
- Claude
- Vercel AI SDK
- Vercel
- Render
- FlightControl
- Qovery
- Neon
- Superbase
- Tinybird
- Upstash
- Resend
- Loops
- Novu
- Mfy
FAQ
Q: What is Cursor, and how does it compare to Co-Pilot? A: Cursor is an AI code editor that offers better context and code completion capabilities compared to Co-Pilot. It's a fork of VSS code, making the transition seamless for existing VSS code users.
Q: Why should I consider using Vercel for deployment? A: Vercel offers a quick and easy way to deploy applications, particularly for Next.js apps. It integrates well with GitHub to provide seamless deployments for each branch and PR.
Q: What are the advantages of using Render over AWS? A: Render offers simplified deployment, integrated databases, background workers, cron jobs, and infrastructure as code, making it a more time-efficient option compared to AWS.
Q: How does Tinybird help with analytics? A: Tinybird uses ClickHouse to offer fast analytics querying capabilities, making it ideal for processing large amounts of real-time data.
Q: What makes Neon a good choice for PostgreSQL hosting? A: Neon offers serverless PostgreSQL hosting with unique features like branching, which allows for isolated copies of databases for development and testing purposes.
Q: How does Resend simplify sending emails? A: Resend provides a modern API and great documentation for sending transactional and marketing emails. It integrates well with various programming environments.
Q: What is Novu and its primary use case? A: Novu is an open-source notification infrastructure that helps manage complex notification systems, including digesting messages and sending notifications over different channels like email, SMS, and in-app messages.
Q: How does Mfy enhance documentation? A: Mfy allows for effortless documentation management directly from your codebase, supports custom domains, and includes a visual editor, making it easy for team members to update documentation.