In the current software development domain where everything changes so rapidly, keeping up with up to date tooling is essential to meet the tight deadlines and beat the competition.
Proper developer tools have the capacity to improve your workflow, speed-up routine tasks, and assist you in the most important thing, which is producing good software.
There are so many choices for tools available in the market that picking those that indeed can enhance your productivity might be a daunting task, especially for beginners.
I have gathered a list of 9 powerful developer tools from working with API, app deployment and flowchart creation to useful coding sandboxes and bug reporting solutions.
Each tool comes with a preview, short description, main features, and direct access link, making it easy and quick for you to identify which ones fit best your workflow. Let's dive in!
1. Postman β The ultimate all-in-one API platform
Postman is a powerful API platform designed for building, testing, documenting, and monitoring APIs, allowing developers to accelerate the workflow for the entire API lifecycle.
Some of the most valuable features for developers include:
π Collaborative API development: Rapidly prototype, document, test, and demo APIs with live team feedback and shared workspaces for higher productivity.
π§ͺ Powerful testing & automation: Develop and execute API automated tests, connect with CI/CD infrastructures, and track API performance to avoid breaking before release.
π Auto-generated documentation: Create and update interactive API docs automatically for easy onboarding and better partner collaboration.
π€ AI-assisted workflows: Assign Postbot, Postmanβs AI-powered bot, to tasks like drafting test scripts, producing collection tests, and interpreting your API data effortlessly.
π¨ They also just introduced some killer updates in their June drop π
βοΈ Jira cloud integration: provides a one-click option to create bug reports without switching tools.
π§βπ» VS Code integration: allows you to code and test APIs without leaving your coding environment.
π GitHub integration: keeps your specs and code in sync automatically, enabling parallel development.
Thanks to the Postman team for sponsoring this article!
π Website Link: https://www.postman.com/
2. Fly.io - Deploy apps closer to your users
Fly.io allows devs to deploy containerized apps worldwide on lightweight VMs with edge computing that has low latency, thus enabling quick start times, accurate scaling and region management.
Key features & why to use it:
Deploy globally with 30+ regions and Anycast load-balancing
Fast app boot times and respond to web requests (<250ms)
JavaScript, TypeScript, Bun, and Deno runtimes with VM provisioning
π Website Link: https://fly.io
3. Static.app - Host static websites via drag & drop
Static.app is an easy-to-use platform that allows developers to quickly and effortlessly deploy and host static websites with SSL, CDN and custom domains without the need of managing infrastructure.
Key features & why to use it:
Upload apps written in React, Vue, Angular, Express, Next, Node.js, Svelte, etc.
Store content for your website right in Static (like images, videos, docs)
Automatic SSL and global CDN for fast, secure delivery and custom domains
π Website Link: https://static.app
4. Livecodes - Code your app snippets in a playground
Livecodes.io is a coding sandbox with a wide coverage of languages and frameworks that enable developers to quickly write, test, share, and debug code and work on separate components.
Key features & why to use it:
Runs in the browser (client-side) with zero setup and configuration
Has a lot of features and integrations, and utilizes modules from npm
Supports around 90 programming languages, frameworks, and processors
π Website Link: https://livecodes.io
5. SQL Playground - Write and run MySQL & Postgres queries
SQLPlayground provides an engaging workspace to experiment with, verify, and understand SQL queries with immediate output, enabling developers to simplify the work with databases.
Key features & why to use it:
Query execution in real-time along with graphical data schema diagrams
Compatible with main SQL databases such as MySQL and PostgreSQL
Easy-to-use interface with ready templates for quick start
π Website Link: https://sqlplayground.app/
6. Flowchart - Generate flowcharts & diagrams from text
Flowchart is a web service that transforms simple text into compelling flowcharts, mind maps, and process diagrams to provide the visualization of concepts in a clear and efficient manner.
Key features & why to use it:
Text-based flowchart generation for rapid diagram creation
Supports mind maps and process diagrams and comes with various templates
No sign-up required; easy and intuitive interface with customizable themes and styling
π Website Link: https://flowchart.fun/
7. Capture - Report bugs visually with screenshots
Capture.dev is a bug reporting app that enables you to create more detailed, practical bug reports with screenshots, console logs, and network data in just one click, thus accelerating debugging.
Key features & why to use it:
Bug reports get enriched with text, annotations, and screen recordings
Error summaries are generated with the network data and console logs
Any device and any browser can be used to report - even mobile
π Website Link: https://capture.dev/
8. Astuto - Collect user feedback & create roadmaps
Astuto manages open feature voting and feedback channels to streamline the understanding of customer needs, for more informed product decisions as well as community engagement.
Key features & why to use it:
User-friendly feedback submission and voting system
Represent your brand with complete customization of style and appearance
Notifications and developer REST API for seamless integration
π Website Link: https://astuto.io/
9. Checkmate - Monitor servers with analytics & alerts
Checkmate is a self-hosted app to keep a record of server hardware, and the server's up time, response times, and also incidents in real-time through visualizations and a user-friendly interface.
Key features & why to use it:
Observe your websites for uptime, performance, and availability from different locations
Quick overview of ongoing incidents with detailed status and impact analysis
Deploy on your infrastructure for complete control and privacy
π Website Link: https://checkmate.so/
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Top comments (36)
Awesome article!
Thank you for including LiveCodes in this great list.
For details check docs: livecodes.io/docs/
Please note that LiveCodes is open-source and welcomes contributions: github.com/live-codes/livecodes
Thanks a lot for reading and keep up the great work with the project!
Thank you for sharing ππΎβΊοΈ
Fantastic
Thanks a lot for reading, hope these tools will be useful!
Great list. I feel I need to add one more item to the list: Webacus.dev - online toolset for web developers
Thanks a lot for the valuable addition!
Loved this roundup. Tools like Postman and Livecodes are my daily go-tos, but discovering gems like Astuto and Flowchart was a bonus. Thanks for curating such a helpful list for devs.
My pleasure, and thanks for checking these tools out!
Thank you for the Static.app !
Sure, my pleasure! Hopefully it's useful!
Currently down with a 521 error
I'm definitely keeping this article!
Thanks Madza.
Means a lot coming from you! Thanks a lot, Eleftheria!
Love how each tool is actually useful and not just fluff..
My pleasure to hear that!
Love this list, always looking for new tools to streamline my workflow. Has anyone tried integrating any of these with VS Code extensions for a smoother setup?
My pleasure to share with you and glad to hear they were helpful!
This was a great read!! Thank you for taking the time to put this together! I'm excited to get using these in my daily workflow!
My pleasure and thanks a lot!
Amazing article!
Thanks a lot for checking it out and I hope the tools will be useful for your workflow!
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