The developer toolkit looks very different in 2026 than it did just two years ago, or even a year ago.
AI is no longer a side feature you tap into occasionally.
It sits at the center of how you write code, design systems, run meetings, and learn new technologies.
Today, I want to tell you about the 10 tools I actually use with great success in 2026.
And can definitely recommend them to .NET developers, architects, and tech leads to help ship faster, think more clearly, and stop wasting hours on work that machines now handle better.
I receive many LinkedIn messages from people asking what tools I use to be more productive.
That's why I decided to create this newsletter issue.
If you only adopt a few of them this year, you will feel the difference in your daily workflow almost immediately.
P.S.: I'm not sponsored by any vendors of these tools to write this issue.
Let's dive in.
👉 Read original article on my newsletter: https://antondevtips.com/blog/10-tools-that-will-make-developers-more-productive-in-2026
AI Coding Assistants
The first wave of AI coding tools focused on autocompletion (like GitHub Copilot).
They suggested the next line or two of code based on what you just typed.
Today, you need tools that reason about your entire codebase, understand your architecture, and can execute multi-step tasks without constant hand-holding.
And most importantly, they produce high-quality code.
For a long time, GitHub Copilot was the default AI coding assistant. But many developers have moved on.
Copilot agent is fine, but it has the following drawbacks:
- It's sitting in your IDE and is limited in what it can do on your PC
- It has lower limits on using AI models (Claude, OpenAI) - then if you use these directly
- Overall, the features and quality are lower than the competitors
Overall, there are two better AI agents:
- Claude (best)
- OpenAI Codex
1. Claude Code
It's an agentic coding tool that runs directly from your terminal or Desktop.
You describe what you want, and it works through the problem step by step.
It reads your files (on your PC, not just the solution), understands the context, makes changes, runs tests, and reports back.
Here is what makes Claude Code stand out for .NET developers:
Plan Mode
Before Claude writes any code, you can ask it to make a plan first.
It reads your project, thinks through the task, and presents a clear, step-by-step plan.
You review the plan, approve it, and only then does Claude start changing files.
This is a huge time-saver for bigger tasks.
You catch wrong assumptions early, before any line of code is written.
And what I really like is how Claude surveys me with different questions and recommended options each time I create a plan.
Quality of produced code
This is where Claude Code really stands out.
It reads your CLAUDE.md file at the root of the project and follows the rules it defines.
For .NET projects, that means it respects your Vertical Slice structure, uses Result<T> instead of throwing exceptions, applies primary constructors, and skips patterns you told it to avoid, like Repository or MediatR.
The most intelligent model is Claude Opus 4.7.
It is the most capable AI model for writing code in the market.
When using Opus, you spend less time cleaning up after the model and more time reviewing real logic.
Writing code in a separate branch
Claude Code can create a Git worktree and work on a separate branch in the background.
You keep coding on your main branch.
Claude builds a feature, fixes a bug, or runs a refactor on its own branch.
When it's done, you review the diff and merge it as you would any other pull request.
This is perfect for long-running tasks. You don't have to stop your own work to wait for the agent.
Code reviews
Claude Code can review your current diff or a full pull request.
It looks for real bugs, security issues, missing tests, and broken conventions.
You can run a quick review locally with the /code-review skill, or trigger /ultrareview for a multi-agent cloud review on harder pull requests.
Several specialized agents read the code in parallel and give you findings as inline comments on the PR.
It's like having a senior reviewer on call, every hour of the day.
Skills
A Skill is a small set of instructions you write once, and Claude loads on demand.
You can think of Skills as smart commands tuned for your team. Examples include:
- A skill that drafts pull request descriptions in your team's format
- A skill that scaffolds a new feature folder following your Vertical Slice rules
- A skill that runs your release checklist before a deploy
- A skill that writes integration tests using Testcontainers and Respawn
Anyone on the team can use a Skill without having to remember the steps.
The Skill remembers them.
You can easily build your own skills from any session with a built-in Claude skill creator tool.
Connectors
Claude Code connects to the systems you already use: GitHub, Jira, Slack, Figma, Google Drive, Notion, MongoDB, Postgres, AWS, and many more.
You can ask things like "show me the failing tests on PR 42" or "Create a JIRA ticket from this bug," and Claude pulls the data and acts on it.
The agent stops being a code-only tool and starts working with your whole stack.
Co Work
Cowork is not just about coding.
It gives Claude access to your PC (where you allow it, and it's pretty secure), so it can do almost any work you do at your desk.
You can ask Claude to:
- Create a Word document with a project proposal
- Generate a PDF report from your meeting notes
- Build an Excel file with a budget, a roadmap, or a backlog
- Organize your local documentation folder and rename files in a consistent way
- Write a Business Requirements Document (BRD) for a new feature
- Prepare a slide deck from your latest design notes
- Fill out forms, rename screenshots, sort downloads, clean up your desktop
- Delegate any task in your web browser. Like book 10 sits for a conference for your team.
For tech leads and architects, this is a real shift.
And the best part is that Cowork also supports remote sessions.
You can control Claude from your phone, check what it's doing, kick off new tasks, or review results while you're away from your laptop.
And you can also schedule tasks to run while you sleep; you just need your PC on.
Claude Models
Claude Code uses the Claude 4.X model family. You pick the right model for the job:
- Claude Opus 4.7 — the most capable model. Best for hard tasks like complex refactors, big architecture changes, tricky debugging, and any work where quality matters more than speed. This is the model I use for the heavy lifting.
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 — the balanced default. Fast enough for everyday coding, smart enough for most feature work. Great choice when you want speed and quality together.
- Claude Haiku 4.5 — the fastest and cheapest model. Best for quick edits, simple lookups, small fixes, and high-volume tasks where you don't need deep reasoning.
You can use Claude as a plugin in Rider and VS Code, but honestly, they have limited capabilities compared to Claude Desktop.
This is why I recommend using Claude desktop, it works better and has way more features.
I wrote a detailed guide on using Claude for production development.
Pricing: Free tier available on claude.ai (doesn't include Claude Code). Paid plans start at Pro $20/month (or $17/month on the annual plan), with Max at $100/month and $200/month for heavier usage.
Download Claude Desktop here.
👉 Read original article on my newsletter: https://antondevtips.com/blog/10-tools-that-will-make-developers-more-productive-in-2026
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