I recently had to configure all my tools after a fresh Windows re-installation.
This went well and quick as I keep up to date a list of my favourites tools. This way, I just need to go through my list and I know I have most of the things I will need to work.
Next step would be to automate those installation but it will be for another article !
I though it was the occasion to make a list of the most useful ones.
So here it is !
Browsers
Those two are the main one I use for my everyday web browsing and basic testing.
Of course, when needed, I switch to other ones like Safari, Edge...
- Chrome
- Firefox
Utilities
Perfect to capture your screen (image and video) and edit the screenshot to add information on it.
I think it won't be convenient to introduce 7-Zip any more...
But for every compression job, he'll be there !
A nice tool to manage the light coming from your screen. It will adapt it to the time of day and the kind of light you should have on your room.
Please don't tell me you keep your passwords and secrets on a piece of paper somewhere near your desk...
Use a password manager like KeePass (local) or Dashlane (synchronized)
I use this to have a look at LDAP directories, search for entries. Very useful if you manage some running corporate applications and you sometimes want to check groups and accounts to help people around you.
I think I'm on the best team when it comes to store all kind of "for later" files. This application helps me finding what is taking space on my disk and manage it.
Communication
Nothing big to say here, we all need to communicate with colleagues and other people. My big regret is to have like 4 or 5 application for that depending on who my interlocutor is !
- MS Teams / Amazon Chime / G Suite...
Coding related
Of course ! What would we do without it ?
For me the best visual tool to work with Git. It can save a lot of time when you are stressed or trying to solve some git weird issues.
Always have a Python install on your computer ! Think about the number of little things you could automate in your daily life ! If you are interested to know more, check this nice resource: Automate the boring stuff
If you are building APIs, those two tools should be on your disk !
Insomnia is light and very quick to use whereas Postman is a little bit more complex but allows you to create collections, share them with your team, document it, and a lot of other features
Database access
Here it depends on your database system preference but let's admit that it is always useful to have some of those already installed on your machine !
Edition
I always switch between VS and VSCode depending on the work I do. I mainly use VS for back-end and VSCode for front but it more a habit than anything else !
While VS and VSC are great tools, I feel very comfortable writing quick notes with notepad++. It is like my virtual notebook.
Sofwares I open when I don't use online editors like Diagrams
Used by my team for every design related stuff.
Terminal / transfers
I use those to open remote connections when I'm not using simple RDP or ssh solutions. They are useful to store configurations and organize your assets.
This is a simple command line with useful linux-like commands. But you could also use Windows integrated Bash shell or just Power-Shell if you feel more comfortable with it.
Use the client part to connect to ftp/sftp servers to transfer and retrieve files.
You can save your servers configurations and share them with your team.
Conclusion
This is the list of the main tools I use in my everyday work. If I have some free time, I often start by installing them all so I'll be ready when I need them.
Anyway, use the tools that suit you ! Save your configurations somewhere a make a list like this so you don't spend too much time when your next Windows installation will come !
I hope this article was useful for you. Don't hesitate to give me your feedback on these tools or to suggest me other ones.
You can share this on the comment section bellow or contact me directly on my Twitter !
Oldest comments (21)
I can add draw.io for UML Diagrams
Of course ! But it is a web interface right ? Or did they also release a laptop version ?
Yes, there is a desktop version, i used it with Ubuntu
Good to know then, I will check that 👍
Don't you think that some things are a little outdated? E.g. Screenpresso -> Windows Snip & Sketch, f.lux ->Windows Night light, cmder -> Windows Terminal, Python -> Powershell(maybe :-)).
Sorry for my English.
Agree for screenpresso, I didn't try the Windows Snip & Sketch 🧐
For f.lux, I like the customization level which is better than on the night light.
Agree again for Windows terminal but it is not available on one of my client corporate laptop 🙄
And I like Powershell too (with ISE) but sometimes Python is useful, not just for automation but also to work with datasets, data exploration tasks, lambdas...
This was for my specific needs but besides that, I mostly agree with your comment 👍
Take a look at
mremoteng.org/
faststone.org/FSCaptureDetail.htm (site isn't so fancy) lot of tools for an small size.
Nice ! Didn't know.
Very Nice List!
I would like to add 'search everything' if you are on windows.
I will give it a try, thanks !
most of these tool are in choco ! just use chocolatey.
Yes, that's the plan ! 😀
Nice list. Thank you!
well written, Florian :) Thank you
I could try yEd. I want a local app to make some flow diagrams and isolate them from my mind haaha.
Thanks for the recommendation.
I have created a tooling package manager - sparrowhub.io , so whenever I need terminal tools I have them there.
Interesting... Thank you👍
pgAdmin looks amazing. I will definitely give it a try when I need to mess with databases in the future. Thanks for sharing!
U r forgetting xampp or wamp...
I don't use it so much but indeed it would be a good addition !
you can use ninite.com/ to install a bunch of them very fast and easy