Freelance Developer Tools: The 19 I Use and Why

My core freelance developer tools are VS Code, Warp, TablePlus and GitHub Desktop for everyday coding, plus Tinkerwell and Ray for Laravel work. Below is the full list of 19, from hardware and stack to email and focus, with my honest take on each and what it means for you if you hire me.

It's a personal list. Nothing here is sponsored, and none of the links are affiliate links.

The short answer

The list reflects the work I do for businesses as a Denmark-based freelancer: websites, custom web apps, SaaS products, integrations, and maintaining and extending existing systems. Read more in from idea to SaaS: choices and priorities.

My workstation

Hardware is the least exciting part of the list, but it's the part I spend the whole day in front of.

1. MacBook Air M1

My computer is a MacBook Air with Apple's M1 chip. It came out in 2020 and has no fan, so it's completely silent.

My take: you don't need the newest or most expensive machine to build web apps in Laravel and React. Enough memory and plenty of screen space matter more than the fastest processor.

2. Dell ultrawide monitors

The laptop is paired with Dell ultrawide monitors. An ultrawide is much wider than a standard screen, which means the editor, browser and database can sit side by side instead of hiding behind each other.

If you're kitting out a developer desk and can only spend money on one thing, buy screen space. It's the upgrade you notice every single day.

Writing code: editor, terminal, database and Git

I use these four in practically every project, whether it's a marketing site, a customer portal or an existing system that needs work.

3. VS Code

VS Code is my code editor. It's free, made by Microsoft, and has extensions for almost every language and framework.

Which editor a developer uses barely matters to you as a client. What does matter is that formatting rules and coding standards are configured inside the project itself, so the next developer gets the same rules regardless of which editor they prefer.

4. Warp

The terminal is where commands run: database migrations, tests, package updates and deployments. Warp is a modern terminal for Mac, Linux and Windows with a free plan, and these days it markets itself mainly around built-in AI agents that can write and run code.

What I value most is the structure. Warp groups each command and its output into a block, so finding the one line that failed in a long run is quick instead of a long scroll.

5. TablePlus

TablePlus is a desktop app for working with databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite and Redis. The license is a one-time purchase with a year of updates, and the free trial is capped at two tabs and two windows at a time.

This one has a client angle. Access to a database full of real customer data is a responsibility, and if it holds personal data about people in the EU, GDPR applies. My rule of thumb: production data stays on the server, access is read-only whenever that's enough, and personal data doesn't get copied to a laptop without a good reason.

6. Git and GitHub Desktop

Git is version control: it records every change to the code with a timestamp and a description. GitHub Desktop is a free app for Mac and Windows that shows those changes visually, so I can review exactly what changed before it goes into the history.

For you, that means two things. You can always see what was done and when. And the code lives in a repository you own from day one, not on my laptop. It's a fixed part of how a project with me runs, from first call to launch.

Laravel and the rest of my stack

Your stack is the set of technologies your product is built with. Mine is Laravel (PHP) on the backend and React, Next.js and Tailwind CSS on the frontend, all four free and open source. On top of that sit two paid tools that make Laravel work faster.

7. Laravel

Laravel is a PHP framework for web applications. Authentication, database access, queues, email and APIs are handled in a consistent way, so the budget goes into what's unique about your product instead of rebuilding the basics. I've covered why Laravel is a strong choice for web apps in a separate post.

8. Tinkerwell

Tinkerwell by Beyond Code is a scratchpad for PHP: I type a few lines and see the result instantly, without touching the project itself. It runs locally, in Docker, or over SSH on a server, without modifying the code that's live.

I use it for debugging and for quickly testing an idea before it becomes real code. It's especially handy in an existing Laravel system where I need to understand how the data fits together. Keep in mind that code run against a production server can change data too, so it calls for the same care as any other work on a live system.

9. Ray

Ray by Spatie collects debug output (the messages code sends while you're hunting for a bug) in a dedicated desktop window, instead of dumping it in the middle of the page or in a log file. It works with Laravel and plain PHP, as well as JavaScript, Vue and React. A license is $49 for a year, and the free trial allows 20 messages per session.

Ray is a development tool. Debug calls have no business in code that goes to production.

10. React

React is a JavaScript library for interfaces where a lot happens without reloading the page: dashboards, multi-step forms, filters and calendars. I reach for it when a screen needs to feel like an app rather than a website.

11. Next.js

Next.js builds on React and shines for pages that need to load fast and rank on Google, because pages can be rendered on the server ahead of time. It's a good fit for marketing sites, content-heavy sites, and products with a public-facing side.

12. Tailwind CSS

Tailwind CSS is how I write styling: small, predefined classes for spacing, color and typography. The benefit for you is consistency. When spacing and colors come from one shared set, new pages match the old ones, even when a different developer builds them.

Design, notes, email and focus

The rest of the list covers everything around the code: design, keeping track of things, communication and the quiet needed to get work done.

13. Figma

Figma is a design tool that runs in the browser and has a free plan. When something needs designing, I do it in Figma. A design can be shared with a link and commented on directly, and fixing a sketch is far cheaper than fixing finished code.

14. Notion

Notion is my notebook: project notes, ideas, checklists and an overview of tasks. It's free to start with and has paid plans for teams.

My advice: make sure the key decisions in your project live somewhere you can access too, not only in your developer's private notes. A shared doc, a file in the repository or your own project tool all work.

15. Spark

Spark by Readdle is my email client. It runs on Mac, iPhone and Windows and has a free version. A good email client makes it easier to keep my promise of replying to inquiries within one business day.

16. HEY

Alongside Spark, I use HEY, an email service from 37signals, the company behind Basecamp. HEY for Domains lets you run email on your own domain, starting at $10 a month for the first user. HEY sorts mail its own way: the first time someone writes, you decide whether to hear from them again. It's a matter of taste, but it keeps the inbox clean.

17. Arc

Arc by The Browser Company is my browser. It keeps work and personal browsing in separate spaces, and tabs live in a sidebar rather than along the top.

A word of caution, though. The Browser Company stopped active development of Arc in May 2025 to focus on a new AI browser called Dia, and Arc now only gets security and maintenance updates (Engadget). In September 2025, Atlassian announced it was acquiring the company, again with Dia as the focus. If you're picking a browser today, I wouldn't start with Arc.

18. Raycast

Raycast replaces the Mac's built-in Spotlight search. It's a quick launcher for opening apps, finding files, managing windows and running small extensions, and the core app is free for individuals. It's now available on Windows too. The payoff is small shortcuts you use dozens of times a day.

19. Brain.fm

Brain.fm is music designed for concentration, sold as a subscription with a free trial. I put it on when I need to focus for a long stretch. The company makes its own claims about research and brainwaves, which I won't repeat here. The trial is the quickest way to find out whether it works for you.

What my tools mean for you as a client

You don't need to pick your developer's tools. But part of this list affects you directly, and you can put these questions to any developer, me included.

If a developer can't give clear answers to these four, that's a far bigger red flag than which editor they use.

What's missing: hosting and AI

Two categories aren't on the list: hosting and AI tools.

Hosting is best chosen per project. A small website, a SaaS with paying customers and an internal tool for a company that needs all data to stay inside the EU have very different needs. That choice belongs in a scoping phase, not on a fixed list.

AI tools change faster than anything else here. Several tools above already have AI built in, including Warp, Tinkerwell and Raycast. For you as a client, the question that matters isn't which AI tool a developer uses. It's whether an experienced developer has read, understood and tested the code before it goes live.

Next steps

Tools only matter if they end up in something that works for you. To see what I build with them, have a look at the services I offer, from websites and web apps to SaaS products and maintenance of existing systems.

If you're planning a new product, here's my MVP development process, week by week. And if you'd like to see a finished result, I've written about how I built simonij.com to be fast and SEO-friendly.

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay for my developer's software licenses?+

Usually not. Licenses for the editor, database client and debugging tools are the developer's own overhead, the same way a carpenter pays for their own saw. What you do pay for is what belongs to your system: hosting, domain, and the services the product itself uses, such as payments or transactional email. Those accounts should be in your company's name so you keep access if the collaboration ends.

Does it matter if my developer works on a Mac?+

No, not for the finished product. A web app runs on a server, usually Linux, and is used in a browser, so the developer's operating system doesn't affect the result. What matters is that the product gets tested in the browsers and on the devices your users actually have. Laravel, React, Next.js and Tailwind CSS can all be developed on Mac, Windows and Linux.

Why pay for developer tools when free alternatives exist?+

Because time is the most expensive part of any software project. A paid tool like Ray typically costs less per year than a single billable hour, so if it saves a couple of hours of debugging, it has paid for itself. Free tools are fine, and my whole stack is free and open source. The money should simply go where it saves the most time.

Do we need to use the same tools to work together?+

No, you don't need to install any of this. Email, video calls and access to what's relevant to you are enough, for example a Figma design shared by link or a staging environment where you can try the product before it goes live. What you should have direct access to is what you own: the repository, the hosting account and the domain.