What I use
The eternal developer question — “So what do you actually work with?” — answered here in detail. Updated whenever something changes.
Editor + terminal
I still have PhpStorm as my editor, but these days I mostly use it to check the AI’s assumptions and review code. The actual work happens mostly in Orca, where I work with the AI on several projects in parallel. What stayed is the Co-Author plugin, so that notes from colleagues in PR comments get attributed properly, because I don’t like taking credit for someone else’s work. For the terminal I have stuck with Ghostty, after using iTerm2 faithfully for years. It is simply a bit faster at everything.
Computers
My work machine is a MacBook Pro 16" with an M1 Max, years later still more than enough power for everything. I could probably have kept working on it for a long time, but by the end of the year the machine will be swapped for a MacBook Pro 16" with an M5 Max anyway. Next to it, for private use, sits a Windows PC that exists purely for gaming. It also keeps the line between work and time off nicely intact.
At the desk
In front of me are 3x 24-inch monitors from LG, a proud 13 years old by now and still bravely on duty. Typing will soon happen on a NocFree &, once my batch finally comes up. My mouse is a Logitech MX Vertical, to push ergonomics to the maximum in that department too. On my ears sit Sony WH-1000XM5, which give me the focus I need. All of that on a 2 meter wide, height-adjustable oak desktop (oiled by hand) and a DXRacer chair.
Development & local environment
Locally, everything runs in Laravel Sail or Docker, with Traefik in front as a reverse proxy, so the projects are reachable under clean local domains and there is no “but it works on my machine.” Into the database (MariaDB) I look with Sequel Ace, I test APIs with Postman, and for SFTP I reach for Transmit.
Hosting & services
Hosting happens at DigitalOcean and Hetzner. Professionally, I help build scoopOS. Mail runs through Outlook, private backups land on my own NAS. And even though I resisted it for a long time, there is a lot of Claude in the mix these days.
Smartphone
In my pocket is a Pixel 9. I have since replaced the display glass and the back myself, because I ruined both at different points in time. In exchange, the back is no longer black but pink.
Away from the computer
On the side, I am a passionate energy drink and soda tester — I just cannot remember all those names and my own ratings. Maybe I will have to build myself a little tool for that at some point. 😉 Other than that, I print beginner-level 3D printing things and every now and then enjoy building wooden “furniture”. And I am slowly training for a middle-distance triathlon.
The idea for a page like this came from Wes Bos, by the way, who made these “/uses” pages popular.