Tools. Apps. Gear.

People often ask which tools and gear I use for testing and day-to-day work. This isn't a static page, it's a living document with everything I'm using nowadays.

Workstation

  • MacBook Pro M4, 16GB RAMThe main machine. Fast enough for everything I throw at it, quiet, and the battery actually lasts. Hard to complain.
  • LG Monitor (2K)Nothing fancy, mainly there so I can test at a different resolution without pulling out my phone. Does the job.
  • Keychron K2 HE WirelessMagnetic Hall Effect switches, custom layout. The best keyboard I have owned. Smooth, precise, wireless and zero wobble. Once you go Hall Effect you don't go back.
  • Logitech MX Master 3S AnywhereQuiet clicks, fast scroll wheel, works on any surface. The kind of peripheral you buy once and stop thinking about.
  • Apple AirPods 4 (ANC)On most of the day. Got specifically these because the silicone tip ones hurt my ears after a while. Open ear, active noise cancellation, no complaints.
  • IKEA chairSome random one. It exists, it holds my weight, I have no complaints. One day I will upgrade.
  • iPhone AirCompact, light, fast. Also useful as a test device for mobile web QA, which I tell myself justifies having the latest model.

Editor & Terminal

  • VS CodeDracula theme, obviously. Been using it for years and never felt the need to switch. The extension ecosystem is hard to beat.
  • Ghostty + zshMy current terminal. Fast, minimal and GPU-rendered. Switched from iTerm2 and haven't looked back. Custom aliases keep the day-to-day sane.
  • Beekeeper StudioGUI for MySQL and PostgreSQL. When I need to dig into a database visually this is the tool. Open source and clean.
  • ObsidianNotes, drafts, random thoughts. Everything goes in here. Local-first and stays out of the way.

Testing & QA

  • PlaywrightMy main automation framework. TypeScript, parallel execution, full browser control. Building E2E, API and database test suites with it daily.
  • BrunoReplaced Postman. Open source, stores collections as plain files in the repo, no cloud account required. Exactly what an API client should be.
  • Burp SuiteSecurity and API testing. Intercept, modify, replay. Essential when you need to go deeper than Bruno gives you.
  • k6Performance and load testing. JavaScript-based, easy to integrate into CI, and the metrics output is clean.

AI

  • Claude CodeMy primary AI coding tool. Built this entire site with it, pairing the whole way. It reasons about code, fixes its own mistakes, and explains why something broke. Still a little surreal to use.
  • CodexOpenAI's coding agent. I run both depending on the task. Having two different models approach a problem is useful when you are not sure which direction to go.

Apps

  • RaycastReplaced Spotlight a long time ago. Extensions, clipboard history, window management. Once you have it you cannot use a Mac without it.
  • FigmaDesign reviews, quick mockups, annotating bugs with visuals. A QA engineer needs to read designs, and Figma is where they live.
  • BitwardenPassword manager. Open source, syncs everywhere, and I actually trust it.
  • GrammarlyRuns in the background and catches the obvious stuff. Useful when writing in a second language.
  • SpotifyOn during most work sessions. Playlists vary by mood, usually something without lyrics when I need to concentrate.
  • SteamGaming is where testing started for me. I still play when I get the chance.

Mac Utilities

  • CleanShot XScreenshots and screen recordings. Annotate, crop, capture scrolling pages. Every QA engineer needs a good screenshot tool and this is the best one on Mac.
  • AltTabBrings proper window switching to Mac. Shows previews of all open windows exactly like Windows alt-tab. Should be built into macOS.
  • AmphetamineKeeps the Mac awake during long test runs and deploys. Simple, reliable, does one thing well.

Services

  • GitHub / GitLabCode, pipelines and pull requests. GitHub for personal projects, GitLab at work.
  • LinearIssue tracking done right. Fast, clean, keyboard-driven. Makes Jira look like a punishment.
  • NotionDocumentation and knowledge base. Flexible enough to use for almost anything.
  • CloudflareDNS, domain management and edge caching. Set it up once and forget about it.
  • VercelHosting for this site. Push to main, it deploys. That is all I need.
  • Google DriveFile storage, sharing CVs and documents. Boring but reliable.