Uses

PhpStorm is my IDE of choice for open source and personal projects. At work we use VSCode , but for my own projects, PhpStorm’s advanced features and deep integrations are unmatched.

Themes

• Dark Mode: Theme: Night Owl Material, Color Scheme: Natty (it’s a custom adaptation of the VSCode theme made by myself)
• Light Mode: Theme: Light with Light Header, Color Scheme: Atom One Light (Material) .

Font

I use MonoLisa at size 15. It’s clean, readable, and perfect for long coding sessions.

Favorite Plugins

• A plugin I can’t live without is Laravel IDEA . It’s a paid extension, but it’s worth every penny for Laravel developers. It provides code completion, navigation, and various tools specifically tailored to Laravel projects, significantly speeding up development.
• IdeaVim is another plugin I use. It’s a Vim keymap for PhpStorm, allowing me to use Vim commands and shortcuts within the IDE. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great way to get some of the Vim experience in PhpStorm.

Visual Studio Code is the editor I use at work. At burningflame.it , we write code directly on a server using the SSH remote feature in VSCode, which makes collaboration and deployment straightforward.

Themes

Like my PhpStorm setup, I sync VSCode’s themes with my macOS system preferences:

• Dark Mode: Natty
• Light Mode: Inspired Github

Font

I stick with MonoLisa at size 15 for consistency and readability across all my tools.

Favorite Extensions

Two extensions I rely on heavily are:

• Vim for VSCode : It brings Vim keybindings and editing capabilities into VSCode, making navigation and coding faster and more efficient.
• NERDTree : A file tree explorer inspired by the original Vim plugin, helping me manage project files easily.

I plan to write an in-depth article about my VSCode settings (shoutout to Caleb Porzio’s “Make VSCode Awesome” course—it’s fantastic!) and why I love using Vim within VSCode. Stay tuned!

MAMP PRO is the local development environment I use for now because it’s what we use at burningflame.it . While it works fine for managing local PHP and database projects, we plan to switch to Laravel HERD in the future for its more modern features and streamlined workflows.

GitButler is a tool that simplifies Git workflows. I use it for managing branches, pull requests, and commits.

Ray is a debugging tool that simplifies the process of understanding and fixing issues in code. I use it to debug PHP applications and analyze how my code behaves during execution.

Tinkerwell is an amazing application - basically it’s “php artisan tinker” on steroids. It lets me test and explore PHP code snippets without running a full application. I use it for quick prototyping and debugging.

Postman is an API platform for building and testing APIs. I use it to send requests, monitor responses, and ensure my APIs work as expected.

TablePlus is a modern database management tool. It supports multiple databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite. I use it for managing and querying databases during development, as its interface is clean and easy to navigate.

Google Chrome is my primary browser. I love how seamlessly it integrates with the Google ecosystem—tools like Calendar, Keep, Tasks, Gemini, Sheets, and Docs are essential to my daily workflow. Its speed, reliability, and wide extension support make it a solid choice for both work and personal use.

I use Safari primarily for testing web applications across different browsers, especially to ensure proper rendering and behavior on WebKit-based engines.

Warp is my terminal of choice. Its modern, fast, and GPU-accelerated interface brings a fresh experience to the command line. I especially appreciate features like the input editor, built-in workflows, and AI command suggestions, which help me stay productive without leaving the terminal. Warp strikes a great balance between power and usability, making it an essential part of my daily development setup.

Raycast is a productivity tool that acts as a launcher and workflow manager. I use it to quickly access apps, files, and commands.

Rectangle is a window management tool that helps me organize my screen layout efficiently.

Slack is a communication tool I use for team collaboration and project discussions.

Asana is a task management tool I use to organize projects and track progress.

Dropbox is my file storage solution for sharing and backing up important files.

1Password is a password manager I use to securely store and manage login credentials.

CleanMyMac is a utility I use to optimize and maintain my Mac’s performance.

ScreenFlow is my go-to tool for screen recording and video editing. It’s perfect for creating high-quality tutorials and presentations. If you’re looking to take your screencasting skills to the next level, I highly recommend checking out Screencasting.com by Aaron Francis. His course is an excellent resource for learning how to produce professional, polished screen recordings.

YouTube Music is my go-to music streaming service. I love how it blends traditional music streaming with the vast library of live performances, remixes, and unofficial content available on YouTube. The personalized recommendations are surprisingly good, and having everything under the same Google account makes it easy to manage across devices. It’s a flexible and convenient choice for both casual listening and deep music discovery.

Apple Podcasts is where I listen to podcasts for learning and relaxation.

Bear is my go-to app for jotting down quick ideas, code snippets, and meeting notes. It’s a beautiful, powerfully simple Markdown-based note-taker with flexible tag-based organization. I use it daily to write naturally, attach images or PDFs (even scanned handwritten notes thanks to OCR), and organize content with nested tags. Features like iCloud sync, individual note encryption, export to formats like PDF, HTML or DOCX, and widgets on iOS/macOS make it indispensable for capturing and reviewing ideas seamlessly.

Google Calendar keeps me on top of deadlines, meetings, and schedules. I benefit from features like multiple calendar views (day, week, month, schedule), event colors, customizable notifications, recurring events, and privacy controls. I also use "Appointment schedules" to let others book slots based on my availability, and integrate events directly from Gmail messages. It syncs across devices and works perfectly within the Google ecosystem.

Gmail is my email client for managing both personal and professional correspondence. Its powerful search and conversation threading help me quickly find messages. Labels and filters help organize the influx of mail, while Spam/phishing protection and confidentiality features keep things secure. I rely on Smart Compose, Smart Reply, scheduled send, undo send, snooze, and templates to streamline email workflows. The integration with Calendar and Meet—plus AI-powered enhancements via Gemini—make it my perfect hub for communication and coordination.

Transmit is a great FTP client by Panic.