All articlesDevTools for productivity
This may sound crazy, but developers are lazy. I know, unbelievable. Some of us are, we need to automate lots of our tasks because repetition can be tiring. So let me show you some tools I find extremely useful, either because they make my life easier or because they push me to write more accessible code.
We've all done it. Type
lsyou lazy, lazy person !
These tools will either be browser/IDE extensions, web apps or CLIs.
Web apps
Bundlephobia
You'd like to use a new dependency but you're not sure if it'll have a major impact performance-wise?
➡️ bundlephobia
Coolors
Looking for a cool color combination for a personal project and you're tired of looking around the room for inspiration?
️➡️ coolors
Carbon
You'd like to share a code snippet with style for a presentation?
➡️ carbon.now
Snippet generator
You have a live-coding session and you'd like to use code snippets to be more efficient?
Generate them using this tool & add them to your IDE of choice.
Wolfram Alpha
You have a complex mathematical problem on your hands? Or a complicated if statement you'd like to simplify? Input it in this tool and retrieve its truth table, venn diagram & other useful data to make your life easier !
DevHints
You keep on forgetting the syntax of that one framework or tool?
➡️ DevHints
Caniuse
Want to check if a feature is supported by a specific browser?
➡️ caniuse
Browser extensions
headingsMap
Are your headings accessible to screen readers? Do you want to see if your headings are in the wrong place?
➡️ Chrome
➡️ Firefox
WCAG Color contrast checker
Looking to avoid contrast problems with your application? Do you want an understanding of which elements of your screen have a bad contrast ratio at a glance?
➡️ Chrome
➡️ Firefox
Screencastify
Want to record your web app for a demo?
➡️ Screencastify (for Chrome only)
Axe
Want to execute automated accessibility tests very easily? (Axe won't test every accessibility concerns you may have, manual testing is also recommended)
➡️ axe
VSCode extensions
Bracket Pair Colorizer
Lost in a forest of { and }?
Git graph
Sick of living in the console for your Git commands?
➡️ Git Graph
GitLens
Want to see who introduced that weird line of code?
➡️ GitLens
Live Share
Want to live-edit a file collectively in your IDE?
➡️ Live Share
CLIs
ngrok
You're working on a project and want to show your local environment to someone who's not here?
➡️️ ngrok
svgo
Want to optimize your svg files and remove all the noise?
➡️ svgo
tldr
Someone told you to RTFM (as much as I hate this expression) and you despise the usual man display?
➡️ tldr
fkill
Want to kill that pesky process but kill won't do it?
➡️ fkill
gitmoji CLI
Want to easily commit something following the gitmoji syntax?
➡️ gitmoji CLI
I hope you've found at least one tool that will make your life easier. If you'd like to share one of your own, feel free to share them with me on Twitter @christo_kade!