Most “top tools” lists are noise.
If you’re actually building things—shipping fast, testing ideas, running AI workflows—you don’t need 50 apps. You need a tight setup that removes friction.
This is what I’ve ended up using daily.
1. Raycast (replace Spotlight completely)
If you’re still using Spotlight, you’re wasting time.
Raycast becomes your control center:
Open apps instantly
Run scripts
Manage clipboard history
Trigger workflows
It’s one of those tools where after a week, you can’t go back.
2. Arc Browser (context > tabs)
Arc changes how you think about browsing:
Spaces for different contexts (work, side projects, etc.)
Clean UI, no tab chaos
Feels closer to an IDE than a browser
If you’re juggling multiple projects, this matters more than you think.
3. TokenBar (this one fixed a real problem)
If you’re using AI tools a lot (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.), costs can get out of control fast.
That’s the problem I ran into.
TokenBar:
Lives in your Mac menu bar
Shows real-time token usage + cost
Tracks usage per session/day
Helps you catch runaway prompts before they burn money
It’s simple, but it solves something most people don’t notice until it’s too late.
If you’re building with AI APIs, you probably need this:
👉 https://tokenbar.site
4. iTerm + Oh My Zsh (don’t ignore your terminal)
Default terminal is fine, but upgrading gives you:
Better autocomplete
Cleaner prompts
Faster navigation
Small improvements compound when you’re in terminal all day.
5. Notion (or any lightweight brain dump system)
Doesn’t matter what you use.
What matters:
Quick capture of ideas
Lightweight planning
No friction
Over-structuring kills momentum.
The actual takeaway
The goal isn’t “more tools.”
It’s:
Less friction
Faster iteration
Awareness (especially with AI costs)
Most people optimize for aesthetics.
Good builders optimize for feedback loops.
If you’ve got other tools that genuinely improved your workflow (not just trendy ones), I’m interested.
Top comments (0)