DEV Community

DCT Technology Pvt. Ltd.
DCT Technology Pvt. Ltd.

Posted on

🚀 The Top Dev Tools I’m Using in 2025 (and What I Finally Dropped)

#webdev #programming #discord #vscode

Every year, I take time to reflect on the tools I use daily as a developer, consultant, and designer. Some stick around.

Others quietly disappear into the abyss of “used once, never again.”

This year, I made intentional switches—ditched the clutter, kept what works, and discovered a few gems that completely changed my workflow.

👉 If you're tired of bloated toolkits and want a lean, powerful dev stack—this one’s for you.

Image description

🔧 The Tools That Earned Their Spot in My Stack (2025 Edition)

1. VS Code + Extensions (Still Supreme)

I’ve tested many editors, but Visual Studio Code continues to dominate. It's flexible, lightning-fast, and the extensions ecosystem is unbeatable.

🔹 Must-have extensions:

Pro Tip: Add this to your settings.json for perfect formatting:

{
  "editor.formatOnSave": true,
  "prettier.singleQuote": true,
  "prettier.trailingComma": "all"
}
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

2. Ray.so for Code Snippets (Dropped CodePen for Visual Sharing)

Creating visually appealing code snippets for sharing on social? Ray.so is lightweight and beautifully minimal.
Great for LinkedIn, blogs, or portfolio screenshots.

✅ Bonus: It works offline via the Raycast extension too!

3. Warp Terminal (Goodbye iTerm2 👋)

I never thought I’d drop iTerm2 after years of use. But Warp brought in a modern terminal that feels like a dev-first experience.

✨ Key features:

  • AI-powered command suggestions
  • Block-based output
  • Instant autocomplete

Less typing. More building. Faster workflows.

4. Figma for UI/UX (But Smarter with Plugins)

I’ve used Figma for a while, but this year I dove into plugins that saved me hours:

Also using Figma Tokens to sync design systems and style guides with dev teams seamlessly.

5. Postman → Insomnia (Yes, I Switched)

Postman is still great, but it started feeling heavy for basic API testing.
Switched to Insomnia and loved the simple, keyboard-friendly UI.

✨ Also integrates with OpenAPI and GraphQL beautifully.

6. Squoosh for Image Optimization

Fast-loading websites win. I dropped Photoshop for image compression and now use Squoosh every time.

It supports:

  • WebP conversion
  • Resize + compression in one go
  • Instant previews

Great for SEO and Lighthouse scores.

7. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (Free SEO Gold)

If you're building for the web, ignoring SEO is a mistake.
I use Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (free) to:

  • Audit websites
  • Fix broken links
  • Track keywords

🔍 Want more free SEO tools? Check this: 10 Free SEO Tools That Actually Work in 2025

😬 What I Dropped (and Why)

  • CodePen: Switched to local environments with live-server or StackBlitz for faster prototyping.
  • Notion for Dev Docs: Moved to Obsidian for local-first, markdown-based notes.
  • Gulp: Finally moved everything to Vite. It’s just too fast to ignore. 
npm create vite@latest
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • Photoshop: Heavy and slow. Figma + Squoosh covers 90% of my design workflow now.

💡 Want to Try These Out?

Let me know in the comments what tools you’ve adopted (or ditched) this year.

👉 If you found this helpful, drop a ❤️, leave a comment, and **follow [DCT Technology]for more dev tips, SEO tricks, and web magic.

--

🔖 Hashtags

#webdevelopment #programming #tools #vscode #developer #techstack #seo #uidesign #productivity #api #frontend #backend #design #dcttechnology

Top comments (0)