My Setup and How I Use It

I’m not going to walk you through my entire setup, but I do want to highlight the stars of the show. This isn’t a step-by-step guide—think of it as a list of recommendations. As a self-taught dev, I picked up most of these tools while troubleshooting completely unrelated problems. Maybe they’ll help you too.

📝 Chapter 1: Note-taking & Offloading My Brain

TL;DR: I can’t recommend Obsidian enough. I don’t use it to replace my brain, just to offload some of the mental clutter.

If you’ve ever dabbled in organization, project management, or even been a Game Master (iykyk), you might have heard of Obsidian. At its core, it’s a note-taking app—but what makes it special is its approach. Obsidian is a JavaScript-based app that stores your notes as Markdown files on your computer.

Plugins I use

🛤️ Chapter 2: Alias Everything

If you work in the terminal and find yourself typing the same commands over and over, you need to start using aliases.

An alias is a shortcut for a longer or more complex command. It saves time and keystrokes. Even for simple commands, I use aliases to make my workflow smoother.

Besides git, the most commonly aliased command is ls. Here are my favorites:

Bash

alias ll='ls -lh'   # Long format, human-readable sizes
alias la='ls -la'   # List all files, including hidden ones
alias l='ls -CF'    # List files in columns

🔨 Chapter 3: Modern Command Line Toolkit

When I was a junior dev, I focused on mastering programming and did things the hard way for a while. Eventually, I discovered newer CLI tools that made my life so much easier. You can stick with the classics, but modern alternatives often improve on the old tools like ls, cd, grep, and find.

Eza: A Better ls

• Why I like it:
  • Pretty colors and syntax highlighting
  • Stack and grid layouts (eza --grid)
  • File icons (eza -l --grid --icons)
• Docs: eza.rocks

FZF: Fuzzy Finder for Everything

Ever forget the name of a file or config? fzf is a fuzzy finder that searches files, folders, and even command history. I stopped using Spotlight after I found this (until I discovered Raycast, but that’s another story).

Zoxide: Smarter cd

zoxide remembers your most-used directories and lets you jump to them instantly. No more typing out long paths—just type z <folder> and you’re there.

tldr: Simple CLI Help

Ever see a command you don’t recognize? tldr gives you simple, community-driven explanations and examples for CLI tools. It’s like having a helpful dev friend on call.

🚀 Aerospace: Simple Window Tiling Manager

If you’re reading this, you’re probably a power user (or on your way). Once you try a window tiling manager, you might become a fanatic like me. A tiling manager organizes your open windows into non-overlapping tiles, maximizing screen space and improving workflow.

Why use one?

• Assign windows to workspaces and switch with hotkeys
• Arrange windows in your preferred layout
• Create a keyboard-driven dev experience
• Make the most of large screens

Heads up: If you prefer minimal open windows, this might not be for you. But for my ADHD brain, it’s a lifesaver—I can keep everything open and visible, so nothing gets forgotten.

Peace out! 🫶🏻