Hidden Gems: Must-Have Developer Tools & Apps That Changed How I Work (and Can Change Yours Too!)

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

Written by Massa Medi| April 30, 2025

Is there anything more satisfying than discovering a tool that solves an annoyance you didn’t even realize you had? For me, that joy is singular. Last year I released a video covering some unheard-of (but underrated) tools that streamlined my workflow, and, to my delight, you all absolutely loved it. The flood of feedback convinced me to dig deeper and film a sequel. So, I went back to my arsenal, assembled a stack of my current favorites, and got filming. And then, as fate would have it, a tidal wave of news intervened—so this one's been waiting in my drafts for a bit. My apologies if you, like me, can't resist trying out helpful tools for both your developer and non-developer routines.

If you’re ready to supercharge your toolkit, you’re in the right place. Every tool I mention here is one I use every single day. I hope you come to rely on them as much as I do. Now, let's dive in!

Refined GitHub: The Extension You Didn’t Know You Needed

Let's start with a game-changer for anyone living inside GitHub: Refined GitHub. This browser extension tackles countless everyday frustrations in GitHub's interface—so well, in fact, that I was shocked I hadn’t tried it sooner. (Don't worry, it’s starred now!)

What makes it special? It’s all about tiny, cumulative improvements that completely shift your workflow:

Issue & PR Colors by Recency: See at a glance what’s fresh and what’s old, by color-coding updates.
Default Pull Request Sorting: For busy repositories (like my own project Quick Pick, which caused quite a stir), it changes the default sort of pull requests to “most recently updated” instead of “most recently opened.” This should be the standard!
Clear Status Indicators: It shouts (in big letters) when you’ve requested changes and when a PR was last updated. In busy, multi-contributor projects, this polished interface cuts your time spent sorting out merge chaos by orders of magnitude.

If you've felt the pain of managing mountains of pull requests, Refined GitHub is your new best friend. Give it a go—you'll instantly see the difference.

T3 Chat: Your New AI Companion (and a Quick Sponsor Shout)

If you've watched any of my videos, you might recognize my favorite AI assistant, T3 Chat. But here’s the real story: I built it because every other AI chat app out there frustrated me endlessly.

Since launching T3 Chat, tens of thousands use it daily and swear they can’t go back to the alternatives (which, frankly, are a drag to use). So, why do people love it? Here’s a whirlwind tour:

Model Picker: Choose literally any modern model (yes, all of them) with a click. No weird restrictions.
Image Generation: It works! You get 100 OpenAI image generations a month—no hoops to jump through.
Generous Free Tier: 1,500 messages/month to most models; stick to lightweight ones like Gemini 2.5 Flash, and you might never need to pay.
Affordable Premium: Want it all? $8/month unlocks everything. Trust me, I’m not trying to bankrupt us, but it really is the best deal in AI tools, period.

Pro tip: For new users, use code Cool-Tools at checkout and the first 300 will get a month of Pro free. (Don’t try cancel-and-resubscribe tricks; Stripe’s not playing around, and it really mucks up our analytics. This one’s for new folks only.)

Long story short: I use T3 Chat every day. Try it for yourself and see why—I think you’ll be hooked.

Excalidraw: Diagramming, Whiteboarding, and the End of Penmanship Nightmares

Next up is the tool that single-handedly changed my approach to communicating ideas: Excalidraw. If you’ve ever been haunted by bad handwriting (like I was—nearly held back in elementary school over it!), you know the existential terror of whiteboarding in job interviews or team meetings.

Excalidraw eliminated those anxieties for me. Imagine digital whiteboarding where your handwriting no longer matters, and diagramming is as quick as your thoughts. This wasn’t just a personal win; it changed workplace culture around me. At Twitch, everyone started diagramming ideas, not just talking about them. My friends, my streams, my viewers—Excalidraw became my primary language, and some of my top videos are basically me “Excalidrawing” my thoughts for the world to see.

Why is Excalidraw so indispensable?

Open Source: You can embed canvases into your own apps, play with its code, and customize it endlessly.
Pro Features: For about $5/month, you get multiple canvases, team collaboration, and more—plus you’re directly supporting the creators.
Light & Dark Mode: Whether you prefer crisp whiteboards or need to save your retinas (like most of my fans), it’s all here—one toggle away.

I genuinely don’t know if I’d have become a content creator without Excalidraw. If you think visually but despise pen-and-paper, download it immediately.

Bruno & Yak: The New (Open Source) Standouts for API Testing

If you’re still mourning the decline of Insomnia (the once-beloved open source API tool, now crumbling since its acquisition), don’t despair. Bruno is here, rising fast as the open alternative everyone’s talking about.

Why do I rely on Bruno?

Seamless API Testing: Point it at your project’s folder. Instantly replay events and interrogate endpoints, all with a UI that’s refreshingly clean.
Git Integration: Keep API schemas and test cases version-controlled—workflows feel modern and lightweight compared to Postman.
No Postman Quirks: Bruno steers clear of all that variable-management weirdness that's made Postman a headache for so many.

And thanks to my live chat, I’ve learned about Yak: crafted by the original developer of Insomnia. It’s open source, still in heavy development, and beloved by early adopters. I haven’t tried Yak myself yet, but if you’re looking to stay on the cutting-edge of API tooling, check it out.

Raycast: Reimagining Productivity on Mac (and a Bit More)

Spotlight fans, brace yourselves. If you love Mac’s built-in command-space launcher, Raycast is a jaw-dropping upgrade. I literally rebound my Spotlight hotkey to launch Raycast, and at this point, I don’t think I could survive otherwise.

It’s got everything:

Lightning Math: Built-in calculator lets you punch in equations, hit enter, and—bam—the result is copied to your clipboard. With a handy history, no less.
App Switching: Assign hotkeys (like Ctrl+1, 2, 3) to instantly pop between your favorite apps (browser, editor, terminal).

Raycast is free (there’s a pro version with extra goodies) and the productivity boost is immense. Whether you use it for quick calculations, launching apps, or anything else, it’s an essential Mac companion.

SVGL: The Secret SVG Utility for Creators (Especially via Raycast)

Quick tangent: If you ever need to grab SVG assets for development or design—say, for YouTube thumbnails or quick mockups—SVGL is the holy grail. Built by Pablo and open sourced for the community, it delivers:

Lightning-Fast SVG Copy: Search (for example, the Typescript or Bluesky logo), hit enter, instantly copy—that logo’s now on your clipboard.
Raycast Integration: Type “svg” in Raycast, hit search, and copy logos in seconds. No more endless Google image searches or wonky drag-and-drop from browser windows.

For making high-quality thumbnails, presentations, or app mockups, SVGL has saved me hours, easily. A massive thank you to Pablo (and supporting contributors) for bringing this tool to life.

OrbStack: Docker, But Actually Bearable on Mac

Docker Desktop’s ARM transition was, frankly, painful. So if you’re hunting for a less bloated, much faster alternative for managing Docker containers on Mac—make OrbStack your new default.

Launching containers is instant. The interface? A breath of fresh air. No more sluggish launches or battery-draining bloat. Plus, if you need extras (like spinning up an Olama web UI for local AI models), OrbStack makes it nearly effortless.

It’s free for personal use, and for commercial devs, the paid tier is well worth it.

Legcord (formerly ArmCord): A Discord Client That Actually Works for Mac

Here’s a weird one: For years, there was no proper ARM-native Discord client for Mac. Instead, the official app ran through Rosetta emulation, meaning poor performance and wasted battery.

That’s where Legcord (originally called ArmCord) came in—a minimal, Electron-based Discord app that eventually gained all the native features you’d expect. Its backstory is wild: they got DMCA’d by ARM Holdings for the name, so it was reborn (with a leg up, pun intended) as Legcord.

Performance is superb, updates are less intrusive, and resource usage is way down. If Discord is central to your work or social life on Mac, make the switch. You’ll wonder how you ever dealt with the original client.

Cursor: The AI-Powered Editor I Now Swear By

Let me say this as plainly as possible: Cursor is my go-to code editor. Yes, it’s a fork of VS Code, but it’s so much smarter and more productive—especially if you’re constantly switching between languages, frameworks, or projects.

Example: On my One App, Five Stacks project (building the same app across different stacks), I’d write code in the Phoenix (Elixir) version, then use Cursor’s Composer to instantly adapt it for the Rails version. I’d ask it questions, request rewrites—the editor just handled things.

Combined with Claude (the AI model), Cursor is the best productivity investment I’ve made in ages. If you’re skeptical, I was too! (I churned twice before falling in love.) So give it a whirl—my endorsement isn’t given lightly.

Minimal Theme for Twitter: Social Media, Sans Clutter

Last but absolutely not least: Twitter’s interface, but cleansed. The Minimal Theme Chrome extension, by Typefully (the amazing folks behind a Twitter drafts manager and analytics suite), strips away ads, collapses annoying sidebars, and just generally makes Twitter usable again.

Replies are more readable. Sidebars stay out of the way (unless you hover, though sometimes the hover detection, admittedly, is finicky). And yes, there’s a bug: in certain screen resolutions, navigation buttons break. My wish to Typefully: please fix it! I’ve poked at the code myself, but it’s a beast to wrangle. Still, the productivity boost (and cleaner mental energy) this extension brings is worth the occasional hiccup.

What’s Next? CLI Tools, Maybe…

That’s a wrap for this round of daily-driver tools—but the command line lovers among you, listen up: I’m planning a future release focusing solely on CLI power-tools. Got favorite terminal utilities? Let me know—you might see them featured.

Until next time, stay curious and keep building!
Peace, nerds.