Recommendations

Developer Essentials

• VS Code — my editor of choice, paired with Prettier (Tailwind plugin), ESLint, and GitHub Copilot Chat/Agents. Fast, extensible, and reliable for day-to-day work.
• pnpm — fast installs, disk-efficient, and better cache behavior for monorepos.
• GitHub — source control, pull requests, Actions for CI, and package hosting.
• Turborepo — task caching and pipelines that keep monorepos fast and maintainable.
• Nx — useful when generators and project-graph insights help, though I usually default to Turborepo for most mono-repo needs.
• ESLint — strict, opinionated linting (Airbnb + Next + TypeScript) to catch issues early and enforce consistency.
• Prettier — deterministic formatting, augmented with the Tailwind plugin for utility ordering.
• Husky — Git hooks made easy, with first-class support for TypeScript.

AI Tools

• ChatGPT — general-purpose large language model for drafting, ideation, and code explanations.
• Warp AI — terminal-first AI assistant for developer productivity and shell automation.
• Claude Code — alternative LLM focused on code understanding and reasoning.
• GitHub Copilot — in-editor code completion and pair-programmer suggestions.

Testing

• Jest + React Testing Library — focused unit and component tests that provide high confidence during refactors.
• Vitest — fast tests for design systems/packages.
• Playwright — E2E tests with robust cross-browser coverage.

Front-End Stack

• Next.js 15 (App Router) + React 19 + TypeScript 5 — scalable defaults for production web apps.
• Tailwind CSS 4 — token-first utilities paired with class-variance-authority and tailwind-merge for clear, composable component APIs.
• shadcn/ui , Headless UI , Radix UI — accessible primitives with full control.
• Heroicons / lucide-react — crisp, flexible icon sets.
• Framer Motion — light use for tasteful motion.

Data, Forms & State

• React Query (TanStack Query) — server-state management that reduces boilerplate and scales predictably (used in projects like TeamPulse).
• React Hook Form — performant, accessible forms at scale.
• Zustand — minimal and effective client state for larger applications.
• Zod — runtime validation and lightweight schemas for safe boundaries.

Content & MDX

• MDX — custom remark/rehype/recma pipeline: Shiki highlighting, heading slugging, section extraction, and smart image handling.
• FlexSearch + Algolia Autocomplete UI — fast client-side search suitable for small-to-medium content sets without external indexing costs.

Backend & Infra

• NestJS — structured, testable server framework (TeamPulse backend blueprint).
• Postgres + Prisma — reliable relational storage with pragmatic DX and migrations.
• Redis + BullMQ — predictable background processing for heavier loads.
• Docker & Docker Compose — local parity and reproducible environments.

Hosting & Deployment

• Vercel — front-end hosting for fast global deployments (this site runs there).
• DigitalOcean — reliable droplets and managed services for APIs and workers.
• Vultr — cost-effective compute and block storage for backend services.
• Render — solid choice for APIs and background workers.
• Coolify — self-hosting platform for small projects and experiments.
• Cloudflare — CDN, DNS, and edge security for performance and reliability.

Design & Media

• Figma — design and component exploration.
• Canva — quick social/meta images, light edits.
• GIMP — quick pixel edits and transparency fixes (yes, the eraser has lost to me before 😅).
• Sharp — scripts for responsive AVIF/WebP/JPEG assets and meta images.

Analytics, Monitoring & DX

• Google Analytics 4 — deferred loader + route-change pageviews.
• Microsoft Clarity — session recordings and heatmaps for qualitative UX insights.
• Sentry — errors and performance tracing (my boilerplates include it).
• OpenTelemetry — considered, incremental adoption for backend telemetry.

Productivity & Security

• Notion — goals, roadmaps, and content planning.
• Google Workspace — email, calendar, and collaborative docs that keep communication and ops simple.
• 1Password — credentials and SSH key management.
• Proton VPN — Swiss-based VPN with strong privacy defaults and trustworthy policies.
• Tailscale — secure, zero-config private networking built on WireGuard.
• Microsoft Authenticator — 2FA for critical accounts.
• HashiCorp Vault — secure runtime secrets for containerized deployments.
• MailerLite — newsletter subscription API for this site.

Finance & Travel

• Wise — cross-border freelance payments and currency conversion.
• Flighty (reference app) — inspiration for my open flight tracker ideas.
• FlightRadar24 — realtime flight tracking and reference for aviation data.
• Skyscanner — flight search and price comparison for global itineraries.
• Agoda — best hotel prices in Europe & Asia.

Books & Faith

• ESV Bible — my primary translation for reading and study.
• YouVersion — accessible Bible reading and study app (mobile + web).
• Kindle — frictionless long-form reading (theology, dev, history).

Web3 Toolkit (when relevant)

• Wagmi , Viem , RainbowKit — wallet UX and chain integrations I’ve used across EVM projects.
• MetaMask — browser/mobile wallet for EVM chains; useful for quick local testing and user flows.
• Ledger — hardware wallet for secure key custody (cold storage).
• Reown and WalletConnect — wallet-connector tooling I have integrated for client projects (connects dapps to mobile wallets).

Health & Fitness

• Hevy — workout tracking and simple progress logging (mobile-first).

Disclosure

No paid placements. If I ever accept money to recommend something, I will shout it from the rooftops (or at least add a note). Any future affiliate links will be clearly marked and only for tools I actually use or would recommend to a friend—provided that friend buys me coffee.

Got a suggestion, a hot take, or a must-try app? Email hello@thedanielmark.com. I read mail. Occasionally I reply.