~/richie/uses
What I actually use
The tools I actually open every day — not an aspirational list. Updated whenever something earns or loses its place.
Editor & terminal
- Visual Studio Code
- Main editor. Dark+ theme, Fira Code with ligatures on.
- Claude Code
- Pair programmer in the terminal for refactors and scaffolding.
- Windows Terminal + Git Bash
- POSIX habits on a Windows machine.
- GitHub Desktop
- For reviewing diffs visually before I commit.
Languages & frameworks
- Python + Flask
- Where I am most fluent. Blueprints, SQLAlchemy, Jinja2.
- TypeScript + Next.js
- What this site is built on. Learning it properly in 2026.
- Tailwind CSS
- Design tokens in one place, no stylesheet archaeology.
- PostgreSQL / MySQL
- Relational by default. I reach for a schema before a document store.
Design & planning
- Figma
- Wireframes and component sketches before any code.
- Excalidraw
- Whiteboarding architecture and data flow.
- Notion
- Module notes, project briefs, and a running reading list.
Hardware
- Windows 11 laptop
- Daily driver for coursework and side projects.
- External 1080p monitor
- Editor on the laptop, browser and docs on the second screen.
- Wired earbuds
- No pairing, no battery, no excuses.
Shortcuts worth stealing
- Ctrl + P
- Fuzzy file open. I almost never use the file tree.
- Ctrl + Shift + L
- Select every occurrence and edit them at once.
- Alt + ↑ / ↓
- Move a line without cutting and pasting it.
- F2
- Rename symbol across the whole project safely.