The Developer Tool Stack That Actually Works in 2026

I'm 19. I've been coding since I was 16. And in those three years I've swapped my entire tool stack twice.

The first time was painful. I clung to tools I knew and resisted change. The second time was deliberate. I tested everything, kept what worked, and dropped what didn't.

Here's where I landed in 2026. No affiliate links. No sponsored nonsense. Just tools I actually use every day.

Code Editor: Cursor

VS Code had a great run. I used it for two years. But Cursor changed the game.

Cursor is a VS Code fork with AI baked into the core. Not a plugin sitting on top. Not a sidebar chat you forget about. The AI is part of the editing experience itself.

The killer feature is Composer. You describe what you want in plain English, and Cursor generates a multi-file diff. You review it, accept or reject, and move on. It's like having a pair programmer who types 10x faster than you.

I still keep VS Code installed for the rare extension that doesn't work in Cursor. But 95% of my coding happens in Cursor now.

What it replaced: VS Code + GitHub Copilot extension

Monthly cost: $20/month (Pro plan)

Terminal AI: Claude Code

Cursor handles file-level changes. Claude Code handles project-level thinking.

It's a CLI tool that runs in your terminal. You can ask it to refactor an entire module, write tests for a service layer, or explain how a dependency works. It reads your files, understands your project structure, and makes changes across multiple files.

I use it for:

• Generating test suites for existing code
• Refactoring messy code into clean patterns
• Understanding unfamiliar codebases
• Writing documentation from code

It's not perfect. Sometimes it makes changes you didn't ask for. But the undo is quick and the time savings are real.

What it replaced: Manual refactoring + Stack Overflow rabbit holes

Monthly cost: Included with Anthropic subscription

Containers: OrbStack

Docker Desktop on Mac was always sluggish. It ate RAM, drained battery, and took forever to start. OrbStack fixed all of that.

OrbStack is a Docker Desktop replacement for macOS. It's fast, lightweight, and just works. Containers start in seconds. The UI is clean. It uses way less memory.

I run my backend services, databases, and Redis instances through OrbStack. Haven't opened Docker Desktop in months.

What it replaced: Docker Desktop

Monthly cost: Free for personal use

API Testing: Bruno

Postman turned into a bloated cloud platform that wants you to create an account, sync to their servers, and pay for collaboration features I don't need.

Bruno is an open-source API client that stores collections as files in your repo. Plain text. No cloud sync. No account required. You commit your API collections alongside your code.

It supports environment variables, scripting, and everything else you'd expect. But it's fast, local, and version-controlled.

What it replaced: Postman

Monthly cost: Free (open source)

Notes and Knowledge: Obsidian

I tried Notion. I really did. For two years I built elaborate systems with databases, relations, and rollups. Then I realized I spent more time organizing my notes than actually writing them.

Obsidian stores everything as local Markdown files. No vendor lock-in. No loading spinners. No "syncing..." messages. Just files on your disk that you own.

My setup is simple:

• Daily notes for tasks and thoughts
• Project folders for each codebase
• A "snippets" folder for reusable code patterns
• A "learning" folder for tech notes

The bidirectional linking is powerful. When I write about a Swift pattern, I link it to the project where I used it. Over time, you build a personal knowledge graph.

What it replaced: Notion (for personal notes)

Monthly cost: Free (Sync is $8/month but optional)

Frontend Build Tool: Vite

If you're still using Create React App in 2026, please stop. It's been deprecated for good reason.

Vite starts your dev server in milliseconds. Hot module replacement is instant. The build output is optimized. Configuration is minimal.

I use it for every frontend project now. React, Vue, vanilla JS. It just works.

What it replaced: Create React App, webpack

Monthly cost: Free (open source)

Deployment: Railway

Heroku's free tier died. Vercel is great for frontends but awkward for backends. Railway fills the gap perfectly.

You connect a GitHub repo, Railway detects the framework, and deploys it. No Dockerfile needed (though you can use one). Logs, metrics, and scaling are built in.

I deploy my side project backends on Railway. The free tier gives you $5 of usage per month, which is enough for small projects.

What it replaced: Heroku free tier

Monthly cost: $5 credit free, then pay-as-you-go

Database: Neon

Neon is serverless Postgres. You get a database that scales to zero when you're not using it. No running a local Postgres instance. No managing connections.

The branching feature is wild. You can create a branch of your entire database, run migrations on it, test them, and merge or delete. Like git for your database.

For side projects and small apps, the free tier is generous. 500MB storage, 0.25 compute units.

What it replaced: Local PostgreSQL + manual backups

Monthly cost: Free tier is solid

Design Handoff: Figma

This one hasn't changed, and I don't think it will anytime soon. Figma is still the best design tool for developers.

What changed is how I use it. With Figma's Dev Mode, I can inspect components, copy CSS or SwiftUI code, and see exact spacing values. The AI features (auto-layout suggestions, component detection) save time on the design side too.

What it replaced: Nothing. Figma has been the standard since 2022.

Monthly cost: Free for personal use

Git Workflow: GitHub + gh CLI

I switched from the GitHub desktop app to the gh CLI tool. It's faster for everything:

gh pr create --title "Add user profile" --body "Implements profile screen"
gh pr merge 42
gh issue create --title "Bug: login crash"
gh repo clone myproject

No clicking through web UI. No waiting for pages to load. Just commands.

What it replaced: GitHub Desktop app + web UI

Monthly cost: Free

Monitoring: BetterStack (Uptime + Logs)

For side projects, I used to just... not monitor anything. If something broke, I'd find out when users complained.

BetterStack gives you uptime monitoring and log management in one place. The free tier monitors 5 endpoints with 3-minute checks. Alerts go to Telegram or email.

What it replaced: "I'll check it manually" approach

Monthly cost: Free tier for basic monitoring

What I Dropped

Here's what I stopped using and why:

Postman - Bloated, cloud-dependent, slow. Bruno does the same job locally.

Docker Desktop - Resource hog. OrbStack is better in every way on Mac.

Notion (for notes) - Too slow for quick notes. Obsidian is instant.

Create React App - Deprecated and slow. Vite is the standard now.

Heroku - No free tier. Railway is a better value.

Sublime Text - Used it for quick edits. Now Cursor opens just as fast.

TablePlus - Nice GUI but I rarely need it. psql + Neon dashboard covers it.

The Philosophy

My stack follows three rules:

1. Local-first when possible. Bruno, Obsidian, Cursor. Your tools shouldn't break when WiFi goes down.

2. Speed over features. I'd rather have a fast tool that does 80% than a slow tool that does 100%. Vite over webpack. OrbStack over Docker Desktop.

3. No lock-in. Markdown files. Open-source tools. Standard APIs. If a tool dies tomorrow, I can migrate in a day.

The best tool stack is the one you don't think about. It should be invisible. You open your laptop, start coding, and everything just works.

That's what I have in 2026. Ask me again next year and half of it will probably be different. That's the fun part.

---

If you found this useful, I share more stuff like this on Telegram and sell developer toolkits on Boosty.