My setup and tools

This page lists the current software and hardware I use.

• Visual Studio Code
• iTerm 2
• Sequel Pro
• Transmit
• Sketch 3
• Affinity Designer
• Affinity Photo
• Ulysses
• Bear
• MindNode
• Pages
• Todoist
• 1Password
• Slack
• Spotify
• Soulver
• Tweetbot
• Qbserve
• Google Chrome
• Utilities

Software

Visual Studio Code

VS Code has been my editor of choice for over a year now. It’s solid, reliable, fast, regularly updated. Similar to Sublime Text or Atom. Has built in terminal, task runner, and Git support.

iTerm2

Terminal app of choice.

Sequel Pro

A fast and easy-to-use interface for working with MySQL databases.

Transmit

The best FTP client I’ve tried. Works great for FTP and SFTP and also useful for Amazon S3 if you use that for storage.

Sketch 3

My design app of choice. Although slightly buggy, the clean and simple interface coupled with some really nice features make Sketch a winner.

Affinity Designer & Affinity Photo

Finally stopped paying for Adobe CC.

RAWPower

Raw processing.

Ulysses

The vast majority of the writing that I do is in Ulysses. I really like the way documents are stored as stacks of sheets and of course it supports markdown.

Bear

Notes app.

MindNode

A minimal mind mapping tool, great for getting ideas out quickly.

Pages

For proposals and longer form document.

Todoist

Does everything I want from a task manager.

1Password

One of my most used apps. Every password for every service I use is unique thanks to 1Password. I use Dropbox to sync between Macs and my iOS devices.

Slack

Team chat tool.

Google Chrome

Browser of choice

Utilities

• Alfred
  Alfred is always the first app I install. Mac OS X doesn’t feel complete until Alfred is installed. Replaced TextExpander.
• f.lux
  If you’re regularly up working late, you’ll probably like f.lux. It adjusts the colour of your screen based on the time of day, making it easier on your eyes.
• Magnet
  Allows you to easily move and zoom windows.
• Quitter
  Close apps
• Arq
  Backup
• Bartender
  Hide dock icons
• Dropshare
  Share files
• Icon Slate
  The best way I’ve found to export (retina) icons in different formats and sizes.
• ImageOptim
  Compresses PNG, JPEG and GIF files. Takes seconds and can hugely improve the load time of a website.
• Sip
  A colour picker that can be called via a keyboard shortcut. Outputs the colour in your desired format.
• Spotify
  Pretty much the only way I listen to music these days is via streaming services.
• Soulver
  More like a spreadsheet than a traditional calculator, Soulver is a great way to work with numbers. The iOS app is great too.
• Tweetbot
  social
• Qbserve
  Tracking time

Hardware

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2013)
Laptop

Ikea Standing Desk
On my desk I have:

• 2x Dell UltraSharp U2414H 24”
• Das Keyboard Professional 4
• Magic Trackpad Trackpad
• Trackpad
• Ikea Chair

For on the go, I use:

• Rooster Stand
• Magic Mouse
• Bluetooth keyboard

iPhone 7

Updated: Oct 2018

Hat tip to Harry Roberts and Wes Bos for the idea.