Cool Tools I’ve Been Using Lately (and Why They Stuck)

Written by Massa Medi| April 30, 2025

Tools. Some folks love them, others secretly despise them, and plenty just binge-watch reviews on YouTube—maybe even on my own channel! But today, we're diving into the tools I genuinely use. That might surprise some people, because I have a reputation: I'm that YouTuber who doesn't clutter their daily workflow with a thousand trendy gadgets. Yep, I'm known for keeping my Mac setup absolutely minimal. My “boring” setup isn't some badge of stubborn minimalism; it's a genuine philosophy. In fact, I have a hard rule: if I ever need a new machine from the Apple Store, I challenge myself to get it set up and productive—just as I like it—in under an hour, from scratch. That’s how little I actually rely on stuff outside the basics. You never know when disaster might strike, so this principle is my safety net.

But... times change. Recently, I have been experimenting more. Go ahead—raise those eyebrows! While I tend to keep my digital space on “boring mode,” I can’t resist the urge to try new things and keep up with what’s happening in tech. What surprises me is that lately, a bunch of the tools I’ve dabbled with have actually stuck. And it’s not just developer tools on today’s list. This article is a bit different from my usual content focused just on devs—I’ll be mixing in non-dev tools too. Dev tool, not-dev tool, dev tool, not-dev tool—every dev is also a person, after all, and a lot of these will be useful no matter who you are.

Interested in more of this kind of breakdown? Let me know, because I’ve got a ton more to share in future content. But for now, let’s deep-dive into my new favorite tools I use every single day.

Drizzle ORM: The “Tailwind” of SQL

First up is a developer tool, and this one is a real game-changer for anyone who works with TypeScript on the server side: Drizzle. If you’re a full stack TypeScript dev—or even just dabbling on the backend—you may have heard of other ORMs like Prisma. Prisma’s got a solid reputation, pushing the boundaries for type safety and robust ORM workflows. But Drizzle? It takes everything good about modern ORMs and packages it in a minimal, fast, and arguably more reliable experience.

I’ve been using Drizzle as my ORM of choice across projects for over a year. Aside from the fact that their testimonials section once included a tongue-in-cheek “Drizzle sucks—I love Drizzle—I hate Drizzle” (which shows their sense of humor), Drizzle really delivers. They call it the “Tailwind of SQL,” which I think is spot-on: fast (Prisma in Bun gives you about 1.4 MB/s, Drizzle clocks in around 10), with sleek syntax that works in every environment I need.

Studio Mode: Database Admin, the Easy Way

One feature I particularly love: Drizzle Kit Studio. With a single command (pnpm run db studio), you fire up a web-based UI for your database. Imagine you have a web gallery storing loads of images. Instead of manually tweaking SQL or rewriting migration scripts to, say, rename a file or adjust a row, you just use the GUI. All your database tables appear in the sidebar. Changing a field—say, renaming image1.png to hello-world.png—is as simple as editing a cell and clicking save. Your backend reflects the change instantly. Efficiency at its finest. The Chrome extension takes this further, slotting into platforms like PlanetScale’s UI for seamless, direct database management.

SQL-Like Syntax, But TypeSafe

On the coding side? Drizzle makes your queries almost a 1:1 mapping with SQL itself, but with all the type safety you’d expect from modern TypeScript dev. Example:

db.delete(images).where(eq(images.id, id), eq(images.userId, user));

If you’ve ever fumbled with verbose query builders, you’ll appreciate how concise and readable this is. Need authentication checks? Need to manipulate fields directly? It’s all mapped out in simple, logical code. If you haven’t tried Drizzle, honestly—give it a go.

Superhuman: The Fastest Email You’ll Ever Use

Next, I have to talk about something a little intimidating: my email client, Superhuman. I use it for all my email, and I’ve been on board for a year now. It’s explicitly not for everyone. At $30/month, it’s an investment, but for power users (and anyone spending an hour or more a day in their inbox), it could be life-changing.

Ignore the AI hype—they advertise AI features heavily, but I’ve barely touched them. For me, Superhuman excels because it’s the fastest email experience. Think “Vim for your email”—hotkeys for everything, including navigation (J/K for up/down, if you’re a Vim aficionado), powerful auto-reminders, a universal “command bar,” templates, and more.

Hotkey Magic & Smart Interface Tricks

Here’s a subtle example of their interface genius: we all know Command+A selects all. In Superhuman, if you hit Command+A while focused on a specific message, it selects from that point downward, not the whole page. It’s such an intuitive UI evolution, you’ll wonder why no one did it before. When composing, you can trigger emojis via : (colon) and get real emoji autocomplete. Sending emails? Use templated snippets—super handy for routine replies, regular investor updates, you name it.

Downsides? Well, yes, it’s not cheap, and I wouldn’t recommend it for casual, “just-checking-on-Spotify-promos” email users. But for business, it’s brilliant. If you’re curious, I do have an affiliate link that lowers my bill—and maybe yours, too.

Super Maven: Blazingly-Fast AI for Code Completion

Still in the realm of productivity magic: Super Maven. I’ve tried loads of AI code assistant/copilot solutions, but Super Maven left me seriously impressed. It integrates right into VS Code, analyzes your specific codebase, and trains itself with every change you make. Every time you tweak your code, it adapts—learning incrementally from the latest changes.

Anecdote: My co-founder recently used Super Maven while refactoring console logs. After making a single change, Super Maven predicted and offered completions for all similar changes—immediately—because it was actively learning from his workflow, not just generic web knowledge. Subtle, adaptive, and frighteningly fast.

Live Demo: It’s Seriously That Fast

When you write something like:

export async function renameImage(...) { ... }

Super Maven instantly starts filling in arguments, logic, and boilerplate as you type—almost always on-point for repetitive, codebase-specific work (think Tailwind class manipulation, database functions, etc). If you want generic solutions to big, open-ended algorithm challenges, it’s less likely to be perfect—but for your workflow, it shines. So much so that I’m actually considering an investment and deeper collaboration. Highly recommended if you code in VS Code!

Synology NAS: Your Own Homegrown Cloud

Next, a curveball: Synology DiskStation DS1821+. If you’ve never used a NAS (Network Attached Storage), let me paint the picture. It’s a big box with bays for hard drives—a “server” that just lives on your local network, holding terabytes of your data.

I was skeptical. Synology is not cheap, it’s closed source, and I didn’t know their file system. But one arrived (thanks to Synology for shipping it over; full transparency: they saved me about $2K, but I happily spent $4K of my own money upgrading it!).

Now, it’s integrated into every facet of my workflow: from content archiving (think: raw video VODs, assets for YouTube) to cross-device backups, to seamless syncing with Dropbox and Google Drive using the Cloud Sync plugin. Any new file in my Dropbox vault automatically appears on the NAS, and vice versa. And thanks to my 10 Gigabit local network, shuffling giant assets is basically instantaneous.

Not Just Storage: Docker-Ready Home Server

Here’s the kicker: the Synology OS lets me run full Docker containers. Need a quick local test server or even a Minecraft world? Just pick a container image and spin it up—it’s all managed via a web GUI in your browser. Local, resilient, and flexible. Yes, the Synology hardware and big drives are an investment. But, if you need reliable, expandable, private storage—and you geek out about containerization—it’s worth every penny.

Pretty TypeScript Errors: Error Messages that Don’t Make You Cry

Circular back to dev productivity: I am not a big VS Code plugin person. In fact, I keep my extension list ultra-short. So when I say Pretty TypeScript Errors is a must-have, I mean it.

Readable, Actionable, and Context-Aware

Let’s be honest: plain TypeScript errors can be dense, cryptic walls of text. “No overload matched this call. Gave the following errors… etc.” It’s overwhelming. Pretty TypeScript Errors (by Yoav, a pillar in the dev community) transposes error output into beautifully formatted, understandable tooltips right in your editor. You get links directly to relevant TypeScript TV documentation and even a translation of your problem to human-readable explanation via tserrortranslator (by Matt Pocock).

The technical hack behind it? The extension renders error content as SVG icons in tooltips, allowing syntax highlighting and layout magic. It’s the kind of improvement you instantly miss when it’s gone. Can’t praise it enough; grab it on GitHub or find it on the VS Code extension marketplace. Everyone needs this.

Rectangle: Window Management, Mac-Style Minimalism

Sometimes, great productivity isn’t about flashy features—it’s about getting out of your way. Enter Rectangle: window management for Mac that just works. With Control + Option + Arrow Keys, you can resize or tile any window instantly—left, right, bigger, smaller. It’s like taking i3 Linux-style controls and making them delightfully simple on macOS.

Rectangle is open source (though you can support them by buying the App Store version). You don’t need to tinker with multi-space desktops or exotic setups—just instant tiling where you want it and minimal friction between windows. Pair Rectangle with handy Mac hotkeys (Command + Tab for switching apps, Command + ~ to swap between windows within the same app) and you’ve got nearly all the power of Linux workspaces, with none of the headaches. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to control their workspace without giving up macOS comfort.

PostHog: Analytics and Session Replay for Modern Teams

Here’s another developer-friendly gem: PostHog. Full disclosure: they’re now a sponsor, but this is not a paid endorsement—I started as a fan and power user. PostHog is open source, fully self-hostable, and offers product analytics, web analytics, and session replay—all out of the box. (I don’t even use all their features like feature flags or data warehouses, but those exist if you want them.)

Why is this such a big deal? Everything’s built on ClickHouse SQL, meaning you get crazy-fast, customizable dashboards and event insights. Setting up product analytics or tracking conversions in apps like Next.js is straightforward and doesn’t require specialized “data ops” experience. Want daily active users? Funnel tracking? Custom dashboards? All easy—and if PostHog ever disappears, you control your own data.

Some small UI quirks exist; really specific visualizations sometimes require you to drop into SQL rather than the drag-and-drop dashboard. But the balance between power and approachability wins. Even leaders in the React community—like Sebastian, from This Week in React—use PostHog (despite only tapping a fraction of the features). That’s a good sign.

ARC: The Browser That Finally Surprises Me

Last but not least, let’s talk browsers. I do all of this—browsing, managing, coding, and more—in Arc. I was hesitant at first, bouncing off Arc after only a few days to retreat to the familiar embrace of Chrome. But then my co-founder went all-in, and I took a second look.

Profiles, Tab Hierarchy, and Sidebar Bliss

What won me over? Arc lets me create unique profiles for each part of my life: work, content creation, live streams, tutorials. Switching is lightning-quick (hotkeys everywhere), and their sidebar-centric approach to tabs is a revelation. Tabs above a certain line are “pinned,” semi-permanent; below, they’re “ephemeral” (they’ll get cleared out). Forget traditional bookmarks—they’ve built a new form of navigation hierarchy that actually works.

The full-screen sidebar, picture-in-picture video handling, plugin management—it all feels thoughtful. And tools like a one-click terminal, quick screenshots, and special dev awareness (local sites auto-toggle extra options) make daily life easier.

Bangs, Search Power, and Platform Notes

Oh, and “bangs.” They’re the killer feature from DuckDuckGo (my search engine of choice). When you prepend a search with !gi, it jumps to Google Images; !yt, YouTube; and so on. Once you use these, it’s hard to tolerate anything else.

One caveat: Arc is Mac-only for now, with Windows in early access (Linux support? Who knows). But if you’re inside the Apple ecosystem, Arc is optimized for you.

And That’s My Everyday Toolbox!

That’s the short list of tools shaping my daily workflow. Trust me—there are more I want to discuss, but that’s a story for another time (and your attention span). If you made it all the way here, give me a shout in the comments. Are you interested in more deep dives on my workflow? Let me know!

Until next time—stay sharp, stay curious. Peace, nerds.