15 Years of Windows Dev: My Productivity Inventory

Productivity | Windows , Tools / Jul 8, 2026

Originally posted in Obics.io

Windows might not be what the cool kid use these days, but I’ve been using it for software development for the last 15 years and have gotten some kick-ass projects done on it.

As a productivity nerd, I’ve got a bag of tools that I’ve gathered over the years. I always love hearing about other people’s workflows and favorite tools, so let me share mine. Hopefully, you’ll find something useful.

For context, my tech stack these days includes the following:

  • My main project is a microservices web app written in React, TypeScript, Python, and Rust.
  • Claude Code is my main AI assistant.
  • I’m using Kubernetes in production, local Docker with WSL, and Supabase in the cloud.
  • For terminal work, I’m using CMD and Git Bash. No love for PowerShell here.

Of course, I use the mainstream tools like Visual Studio Code, Notepad++, Windows Terminal, and Docker. But what’s more interesting are the lesser-known gems that I’ve discovered over the years.

My Favorite Developer Tools

  1. FreeCommander - I worked with the built-in Windows File Explorer for a long time, but it has so many problems and missing features that I don’t know where to start. After a lot of trial and error, I landed on FreeCommander , a pretty neat Norton Commander clone that I came to love. FreeCommander has tons of features, shortcuts, and customization options, including panels, tabs, file filters, file search that actually works, and much more. Having said that, I’ve been trying lately to rely more on Git Bash and work from the command line.

  2. WhisperTyping - With natural language prompting, I’m using the IDE less and less. I think voice typing makes a lot more sense. We speak faster than we type, even if you’re a very fast typist. More importantly, I suffer from Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), and it really helps. The built-in Windows voice typing is terrible, so I reviewed a number of third-party tools and landed on WhisperTyping. As the name suggests, it uses OpenAI’s Whisper model, which is excellent even with my half-Russian, half-Hebrew accent. OpenWhispr is also good and free with local models, though it’s quite slow on my PC.

  3. Microsoft Edit - My go-to editor has historically always been Notepad++, but I’m obsessed with performance, and the 500-millisecond startup delay became just a little too much for me. The new Microsoft Edit program, on the other hand, is built in Rust and feels instantaneous. Moreover, it opens inside the terminal rather than as a separate window, which I like.

  4. Vimium - This is a Chrome extension , not a Windows tool strictly speaking, but it’s so useful that I just have to share it. Due to my RSI, less mouse movement and fewer button clicks are a big deal for me. Vimium provides exactly that for anything in the browser. With minimal keystrokes, you can navigate pages, click links, select text, and much more. Even if you don’t suffer from RSI, it just makes everything faster.

  5. AutoHotkey - This neat tool allows you to bind keyboard shortcuts to do pretty much anything you want. My main use case is abbreviations. In my setup, instead of writing “pull request,” I just type “prr” and AHK replaces it with “pull request.” I also have a bunch of two-letter combinations that output my email addresses and phone number. I use AHK key bindings to move the mouse, scroll the mouse wheel, and minimize Remote Desktop.

  6. Obsidian and Notion - I’ve been a big Notion fan for a long time. I could go on about all the great things it does, but it’s still an Electron app with pretty terrible performance. I recently moved to Obsidian, which is amazing at what it does. Admittedly, it doesn’t do nearly as much as Notion. It’s basically a Markdown editor with a small file explorer, but for most of my daily tasks—note-taking and managing a to-do list—Obsidian is awesome, and it’s been much more enjoyable to use.

  7. Focus 10 - I’ve been using the Pomodoro Technique for about 10 years now. It’s a simple time management strategy where you work for 25 minutes, take a short break, then work for another 25 minutes, and so on. The requirements for this kind of app are pretty simple, but this is the only one I’ve found that does a decent job. Link to MS Store .

  8. Git Extensions - This is one of many Git UI tools, and the one I’m hooked on. Frankly, I’m reluctant to recommend it since I haven’t reviewed many of the alternatives. It sometimes lags, and it’s occasionally buggy, but at this point I know it so well that I’m locked in. Kind of like my relationship with Windows.

  9. Hoppscotch - Everyone knows Postman as the go-to API client, but I grew frustrated with its performance and the amount of junk and ads they throw at you. Hoppscotch is a much simpler version of Postman and basically lets me get the work done without feeling like someone’s constantly trying to monetize me.

  10. json-clippy - This is a small tool that I created, available on GitHub . Copy any kind of broken or unformatted JSON to the clipboard, and the script will fix the indentation and open it in a text editor of your choice. For example, something like:

good results: [\{\"name\": \"Specific\", \"pattern\": \"Step result:\", \"multiline\": false},{\"name\": \"Medium\", \"pattern\": \"Step result\", \"multiline\": false}]

will open in Notepad++ as:

good results:
[
  {
    "name": "Specific",
    "pattern": "Step result:",
    "multiline": false
  },
  {
    "name": "Medium",
    "pattern": "Step result",
    "multiline": false
  }
]

I’ve set up a jj.bat script in my PATH so I can launch it from any directory.

  1. pull-requester - This is another small script by yours truly, available here . It speeds up the creation of pull requests. Start from a repository with your feature branch checked out and run the script. First, the branch is pushed to origin. Then, a cheap LLM model generates a PR description. Finally, a GitHub CLI command creates the pull request and opens the PR in your browser.

That’s my toolbox as it stands today. Ask me again in six months and half of it will probably be different. Developer workflows evolve constantly, and finding a tool that genuinely saves you time is one of the most satisfying parts of the job.

If you’ve got a hidden gem that deserves more attention, I’d love to hear about it. I’m always looking for the next tool to obsess over. You can find me on LinkedIn .