Chrome and Firefox are fast and have debugging consoles that are critical for web developers. You should still test in Internet Explorer (and soon Microsoft Edge), as well as in Safari, but you should get work done using Chrome or Firefox.
Think of Alfred as a turbocharged version of OSX’s Spotlight. Alfred serves as a command line for your entire computer, helping you launch apps, play music and perform searches, from anywhere, with a universal hotkey. The free version comes with almost everything, but once you instinctively use Alfred dozens of times a day, you’ll probably splurge for the $20 powerpack.
With so many distractions and possibilities in your digital life, it’s easy to get scattered. RescueTime helps you understand your daily habits so you can focus and be more productive. Rescue Time runs securely in the background on your computer and mobile devices. It tracks time spent on applications and websites, giving you an accurate picture of your day and gives you detailed reports and data based on your activity to help you become more productive every day.
You can also set goals to help keep you on track and further improve your productivity. Your progress can be viewed on your dashboard, in a weekly email report and in a goals report.
Don’t maximize, minimize or drag windows — manage their positions with hotkeys! Spectacle saves time when you want to position two windows next to one another. It can also cycle windows between monitors, which is perfect if you use multiple screens. Divvy works even better, but Spectacle is free.
Text editors work fine for working with simple scripts, but once your project gets complicated, you should switch to an Integrated Development Environment. A good IDE will offer version control, testing, javascript linting, and diff tools. Most importantly, it will offer sane default configurations. JetBrains makes great IDEs for JavaScript, Ruby, Python, and PHP.
GitHub’s free text editor is great for writing small scripts or manipulating files too big for IDEs. It allows you to use macros and other time-saving text editing techniques. Sublime Text works even better, and may be worth the $70 to register if you use it a lot.
If you spend any time in terminal at all, this is worth the download. ZSH color codes output from your command line. It also shows important visual cues, like which git branch you’re on, and at what time your last command finished running. Its tab completion and autocorrect are huge time savers as well.
Take screenshots (or partial screenshots) with a global hotkey, then quickly mark up your screenshot with arrows and big text (the default color is hot pink!). You can easily export to various formats, or drag and drop screenshots to other apps. Since Evernote owns skitch, it will automatically back up all your screenshots there.
This is the best graphic user interface for Git out there, and it’s free (though you’ll have to register it to an email address). Even if you do a majority of your Git from the command line, Source Tree is still helpful when you need to perform more complex Git tasks (like reverse commits, complicated merges or cherry picks).
This virtual KanBan is great for managing small products with small teams. Trello is much more visual (and tactile) than Jira, and less dogmatic than Pivotal Tracker. It can be used for everything from a fancy to-do list to an API-enabled sprint story coordinator.
Those hundreds of times you reach for the arrow keys each time add up. This 90 second video could save you days of your waking life. These universal shortcuts work throughout OSX (as well as when you’re SSH’d into a Linux box).
Free (included in OSX)
13. ScreenHero
If you do any remote pairing at all, you definitely want to use Screen Hero. It’s cheaper than enterprise alternatives (Citrix, LogMeIn), and faster than Skype. Each user gets his or her own mouse and keyboard, too! Only one person needs to have a paid Screen Hero account in order to use it. Team Viewer has similar functionality and is free for personal use.
Be sure to enable File Vault, OSX’s built-in hard drive encryptor. This way, even if your laptop is stolen, your identity, code and data are secure.
Free (included in OSX)
15. Time Machine
OSX includes a hassle-free backup system called Time Machine. Even if you’re storing all your files in Dropbox, Evernote or Google Drive, you probably don’t want to spend hours reconfiguring your development environment. Put an external hard drive on your desk and plug it in once every once in a while to automatically back everything up. Time Machine will start reminding you do so every 10 days.
Free (included in OSX)
16. Cloud Storage
Cloud storage not only allows you to easily share files when collaborating with colleagues, it also serves as a fire-proof backup precious photos and videos (in many servers in many places around the world.) Space gets cheaper every year. For example, additional space on Google Drive is only $0.25/gigabyte/year.
The average person wastes hours each year resetting passwords they’ve forgotten. Password tools like these save time and mental energy by storing and autofilling your passwords. They also allow you to have long, unique passwords for each site, making it almost impossible for hackers to crack your password.
A lot of people don’t realize this exists, but you can easily hide your identity from websites when browsing. In Google Chrome, press Command+Shift+N. In Firefox, press Command+Shift+P. As a bonus, this is helpful for running two browser sessions on the same computer, and it can sometimes help you to get around pay-walled sites like NYTimes.com.
Free (included in Chrome and Firefox)
19. A Messaging Tool
Our team has looked at and tried many different Messaging tools. Of all them we like, Gitter is the best for an ongoing chat room, sending private messages, creating user channels specific to groups need’s and simple file sharing. Unless you need a private room with more than 25 people, Gitter is completely free. Gitter helps you keep everyone in sync as you move between your desktop and mobile devices.
It’s tough to imagine programming in the pre-2008. That’s when engineers put down the first strips of the duct tape that now holds the software engineering profession together by creating StackOverflow. And now there’s ServerFault, SuperUser and, our personal favorite, UX Exchange. There’s a good chance whatever error message you google will lead you to Stack Overflow post, and for good reason. Create an account and pay it forward by answering questions and upvoting helpful answers.
If you’ve ever had trouble sleeping after a long night of staring at your computer screen, Flux is for you! Your circadian rhythm can’t tell the difference between sunlight and the glow of a monitor. This free tool gradually changes your computer’s colors during and after sunset.
Without LinkedIn, you are simply off most employers’ and recruiters’ radars. Some quick LinkedIn tips: 1) connect with everyone you can. 2) Go into detail on your work history, online courses you’ve taken and certifications you’ve earned. 3) If you receive irrelevant or unwelcome messages from recruiters, don’t whine about them. Just respond politely or simply ignore them.
There’s no faster way to build your professional network and get exposure to new ideas than to attend evening talks, mixers and hack nights. Many of these events are free, and they usually start around dinner time. Some even include food! Go to Eventbrite.com or Meetup.com and browse the events in your area.
While Twitter makes it possible to share every thought that pops into your mind, it’s real value is real-time communication. Many people you’ll want to talk with have Twitter accounts, and you’ll be surprised at how often (and quickly) they’ll respond to a tweet from you. Be sure to use a profile photo (headshots work best) with a short, relevant description. And keep things positive!
It is often said that the most productive coders google early and often. Chances are someone has encountered whatever problem you’re stuck on, and posted an answer on a blog or StackOverflow. If you can articulate your problem, you can usually search up a solution.