Uses
What I actually reach for
Not an aspirational list. These are the tools open on a normal working day, with a line on why each one is there.
Editor and terminal
- VS Code
- Daily driver for Python, JavaScript, and everything web.
- IntelliJ IDEA
- For anything Java and Spring Boot. The refactoring tools are worth the context switch.
- Jupyter Notebook
- Exploring a dataset before deciding what the pipeline should do to it.
- Git and GitHub
- Small commits, descriptive messages, pull requests even when working alone.
Backend
- FastAPI
- Default choice. Typed request and response models, and OpenAPI docs for free.
- Pydantic
- Validation at the boundary, so bad data never reaches the database.
- SQLAlchemy
- Schema and queries. Explicit sessions, no magic.
- Django
- When a project needs an admin interface and an ORM on day one.
- PyTest
- Fixtures over setup methods, and tests that read like documentation.
Front end
- React
- Hooks and context. I reach for a state library only once the app has earned it.
- Astro
- For content sites where shipping no JavaScript is the feature. This site is Astro.
- Postman
- Checking the contract before any interface is built against it.
Infrastructure
- AWS
- EC2, S3, Lambda, API Gateway, Cognito, IAM, and CloudWatch for anything that has to stay up.
- Docker
- Same environment locally and in CI, which removes an entire category of bug report.
- Jenkins and GitHub Actions
- Pipelines that run the tests before anything reaches a branch that deploys.
- PostgreSQL
- First choice. MySQL, Oracle, and SQL Server when the project already has one.
Checking the work
- Lighthouse
- Performance, accessibility, best practices, and SEO on every build of a public site.
- axe DevTools
- Catches the accessibility problems a Lighthouse score does not surface.
- Swagger UI
- If the generated docs are confusing, the API design is confusing.
Next step
Looking for someone to own this end to end?
I am open to full-stack engineering roles and to contract builds. Tell me what you are trying to solve and I will tell you honestly whether I am the right person for it.
- Replies: Within two working days
- Based in: the United States
- Open to: full time, contract, remote or hybrid