Tools I Use 2026

Table of Contents

AI Coding Assistants

AI-powered development has transformed how we write code. These tools understand context, accelerate workflows, and adapt to your coding style, acting as intelligent collaborators rather than simple editors.

What it does: Free, open-source AI coding agent that works with any large language model. With 60K+ GitHub stars and support for local models, it prioritizes privacy and flexibility over lock-in.

Key benefits:

• Works with Claude, GPT, Gemini, or self-hosted models—your choice
• Privacy-first architecture with no data storage on external servers
• Trusted by 650K+ developers building everything from scripts to full applications
• Open-source means you control your workflow without vendor restrictions

Pricing: Free (Recommended)

OpenCode

What it does: Advanced AI code editor that combines IDE functionality with AI agents capable of understanding your entire codebase and generating production-ready code.

Key benefits:

• Semantic search that truly understands your code structure and context
• AI agents can write full features, not just code snippets
• Built-in GitHub integration for automated PR reviews and Slack notifications
• Keyboard-driven workflow that rewards speed and learning

Pricing: Freemium (Pro plans with higher limits available)

Cursor

What it does: AI-powered application builder that generates React components and full applications from natural language prompts, complete with visual design mode and instant Vercel deployment.

Key benefits:

• Generate production-ready React components and full apps from simple descriptions
• Visual design mode for non-developers to iterate on generated code
• Deploy to Vercel in seconds, making idea-to-live extremely fast
• Component library and template system for building entire design systems

Pricing: Freemium (Credits required for premium generation)

V0

What it does: Anthropic's official CLI tool bringing Claude AI directly to your terminal and editor, enabling context-aware code assistance without leaving your development environment.

Key benefits:

• Direct integration with Claude's latest models
• Works seamlessly in terminal, editor plugins, and VS Code extensions
• Understands project context and provides genuinely helpful suggestions
• Built by Anthropic, so you get the best Claude experience available

Pricing: Freemium (requires Claude subscription for full features)

Claude Code

Code Quality & Review

Maintaining high code standards requires automated checks and intelligent reviews. These tools catch bugs early, enforce consistency, and ensure your codebase stays healthy as it grows.

What it does: Zero-config preset for Biome, ESLint, and Oxlint that formats and lints code specifically optimized for AI readiness. Works with Cursor, Claude Code, Warp, OpenCode, and every major AI coding agent.

Key benefits:

• Automatic editor configuration for VS Code, Cursor, and Windsurf with no setup required
• Code formatted this way works better with AI—agents understand structure and intent faster
• Trusted by Vercel, Adobe, Clerk, and thousands of open-source projects
• Zero configuration means you run one command and you're done

Pricing: Free (Cloud features available)

Ultracite

What it does: Ultra-fast Rust-based linter and formatter for JavaScript, TypeScript, JSX, JSON, HTML, CSS, and GraphQL—approximately 35x faster than Prettier on large codebases.

Key benefits:

• 35x faster than Prettier, meaningful when you have thousands of files
• 420+ linting rules with detailed explanations and auto-fix support
• 97% compatibility with Prettier configuration, near-zero migration effort
• Zero-config setup with sensible defaults, or extensive options for customization

Pricing: Free (Open source)

BiomeJS

What it does: AI code reviewer with full codebase context understanding for GitHub and GitLab that catches 3x more bugs than competitors through semantic analysis and learning.

Key benefits:

• Understands your entire codebase context, not just individual files
• In-line context-aware comments that explain why something is an issue
• Custom rules in plain English for team-specific standards
• Learns from your team's feedback and improves over time

Pricing: Freemium ($30/developer/month for team plans - currently on 3 Month Trial Plan.

Greptile

What it does: AI-powered code review bot with agentic reviews, automatic fixes, and customizable guidelines. Available in GitHub, CLI, and IDE with integration to 40+ linters and security scanners.

Key benefits:

• Works everywhere—GitHub, GitLab, CLI, VS Code, and JetBrains IDEs
• Agentic reviews can propose fixes and improvements automatically
• Integrates with 40+ linters and security scanners for comprehensive coverage
• 2M+ repositories trust CodeRabbit for their code review workflow

Pricing: Freemium (Enterprise plans available) - Currently using Free Plan.

CodeRabbit

What it does: AI code reviewer for complex codebases that catches hard-to-find bugs through deep learning and codebase scans. Learns from senior developer comments and integrates with Linear, Jira, and Asana.

Key benefits:

• Finds subtle bugs that slip past traditional static analysis
• Learns your team's coding patterns and architectural decisions
• Background agents continuously scan and suggest improvements
• Free for open-source projects, helping the community level up

Pricing: Freemium ($30/developer/month for team plans) - Currently on 3 Month Trial from 25 Days of Agents Special

Cubic

Prod Tools

These tools are specifically designed to support the development process, providing essential capabilities from documentation access to performance optimization.

What it does: Up-to-date documentation repository specifically optimized for AI models and code editors. Provides current library and framework docs via API and chat interface.

Key benefits:

• Current documentation for 1000+ libraries and frameworks
• Specifically formatted for optimal AI understanding and retrieval
• API integration brings docs directly into your dev tools
• No stale or outdated information—always current

Pricing: Freemium (API plans available) - Currently on Free Plan.

Context7

What it does: Performance optimization tool for React applications that automatically detects rendering issues and unnecessary re-renders without requiring any code changes.

Key benefits:

• Zero code changes required—install and get immediate insights
• Visual highlighting shows you exactly which components are rendering unnecessarily
• Works via script tag or npm package, flexible for any project
• Used by Shopify, Perplexity, and Faire for production optimization

Pricing: Free (Open source)

React-Scan

Infrastructure & DevOps

Building and deploying fast requires infrastructure that gets out of your way. These tools handle everything from edge computing to CI/CD, allowing you to focus on code.

What it does: Global connectivity cloud with 60+ interconnected services: Workers (serverless), Pages (static hosting), R2 (object storage), D1 (SQLite at the edge), and growing AI capabilities.

Key benefits:

• Blocks 234 billion cyber threats daily, protecting you and your users automatically
• 20% of all websites run on Cloudflare, giving you proven infrastructure at scale
• Workers and Pages make deployment globally simple—push code, it's live everywhere
• Unified platform means networking, security, performance, and AI in one place

Pricing: Freemium (Enterprise plans with custom pricing) - Currently utilizing Workers Paid.

Cloudflare

What it does: GitHub Actions runner replacement on bare metal GPUs that's 2x faster hardware than standard runners and provides 40x faster Docker builds through optimized caching.

Key benefits:

• 75% cost savings compared to standard GitHub Actions pricing
• Instant runner provisioning means no waiting for resources
• Built-in observability with a comprehensive console dashboard
• SOC 2 certified for security-conscious teams

Pricing: Freemium (3,000 free minutes/month, then usage-based) - Currently using free plan.

Blacksmith

Utilities

These essential tools enhance daily productivity, from communication and browsing to workflow optimization and knowledge management.

What it does: Open-source alternative to Loom for screen recording with async collaboration, AI auto-captions, S3 bucket support, and cross-platform native apps for macOS and Windows.

Key benefits:

• 4K, 60fps recording with minimal CPU overhead
• AI automatically generates captions for accessibility and searchability
• Deploy to custom domain or use Cap's infrastructure
• 25,000+ teams trust Cap for product demos, tutorials, and async communication

Pricing: Freemium ($58 lifetime desktop access, $8.16/month Pro) - Currently on Free Plan.

Cap

What it does: Voice-to-text AI that transcribes speech into polished writing across 100+ applications and 100+ languages, with intelligent auto-editing that understands context.

Key benefits:

• 4x faster than typing—220 words per minute vs. 45 wpm with keyboard
• Works seamlessly in Slack, GitHub, VS Code, and 97+ other applications
• Personal dictionary and snippet library for consistent terminology
• Intelligent auto-correction that actually understands what you're trying to say

Pricing: Freemium (Backed by $81M in funding)

WisprFlow

What it does: All-in-one bookmark manager with full-text search of saved content, organized collections, intelligent tagging, and automatic permanent page copies for archival.

Key benefits:

• Unlimited bookmarks and devices with cloud sync across platforms
• Full-text search means you can find anything you've ever saved
• Automatic permanent copies of pages protect against link rot
• Powerful collections and tags create a searchable knowledge base

Pricing: Freemium (Pro plan available)

Raindrop

What it does: Modern terminal with integrated AI agents ranked #1 on Terminal-Bench for automating your entire software development lifecycle—from writing code to deploying to production.

Key benefits:

• Ranked #1 in Terminal-Bench for performance and automation capabilities
• Ranked #5 on SWE-Bench Verified, proving real-world problem-solving ability
• Full terminal use with code generation, testing, and deployment automation
• Command palette and workflow recording for team collaboration

Pricing: Freemium (Pro subscription available) - I am using the Free Model no AI.

Warp

What it does: Privacy-first web browser built on Chromium with built-in ad and tracker blocking, !bangs for instant web navigation, and zero third-party cookies by default.

Key benefits:

• Best privacy by default without configuration—no compromises
• 10K+ !bangs mean you can search any site instantly from the address bar
• Fully open-source so you can audit the code yourself
• Lightweight and efficient, respecting your system resources

Pricing: Free (Open source)

Helium

Disclaimer

This post reflects tools I actively use and genuinely believe in. Some links may be affiliate links, which may help support my work or grant me free credits at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I use regularly and trust—if you have questions about any of them, feel free to reach out on X, Discord, or via Contact.