What are the 5 tools you simply couldn't do your work without?

For me right now it’s:

1. Cursor — fast app/project editing

2. Factory — agent-style coding workflows

3. Codex — code changes and repo tasks

4. Claude — long-context planning and review

5. ChatGPT — product planning, launch work, debugging, and second opinions

Honorable mentions: VS Code, PowerShell, GitHub, and Devin AI.

I’ve also been working on a local-first Windows clipboard vault because I reuse a lot of snippets, paths, prompts, commands, links, screenshots, and release notes across these tools. It made me realize how much of my workflow is really about keeping reusable work organized.

Claude, chatgpt a keyboard for polishing the text... onedrive because i use windows and is very good for windows

1. cursor for code. 2. linear for tickets. 3. figma for design. 4. TAM Network for the work record. 5. notion for everything else. building TAM Network myself so it is the one i am most invested in seeing scale. receipts replace resumes.my five.

1. claude for thinking out loud and turning a half formed idea into a draft

2. linear for tracking what is actually shipping

3. figma for staying close to the product when I am away from code

4. raycast for stopping context switches before they happen

5. obsidian for the long memory the other four do not have

1. Notion – my second brain since my first one is full of song lyrics

2. Figma – because words alone can't explain my chaotic vision

3. ChatGPT – my 3 AM coworker who never complains

4. Spotify – white noise for focus, lo-fi for pretending I'm in a montage

5. The "Do Not Disturb" button – the most underrated tool in existence

My top 5 are:

KIRO
Claude
ChatGPT
Teams
Outlook

Google Antigravity – It has fundamentally changed how I build products. What used to take days of development, debugging, and iteration can now often be accomplished in hours.

Claude Code – My go-to partner for architecture decisions. It helps me think through complex technical problems and often catches edge cases I would have missed. My co-developer!

Supabase – The backbone of almost every product I build. Authentication, database, storage, and APIs are all handled in one place, letting me focus on the product instead of infrastructure.

ChatGPT / Gemini / Claude/Perplexity – My virtual team for brainstorming, research, debugging, content creation, and challenging assumptions. They help me move from idea to execution much faster.

Figma – Where every product starts. From rough concepts to polished experiences, it's still the fastest way for me to think, explore, and communicate ideas.

As a designer building products, these tools have dramatically reduced the gap between an idea and a launched product. What once required a team can now often be accomplished by a single person with the right toolkit.

1. Claude – strategy, copy, and untangling my own messy thinking. Basically a co-founder I can argue with at 2am.

2. PostHog – buried in retention funnels right now, it's where most of my uncomfortable truths come from.

3. Jitter – batching short-form video for TikTok/IG/Reels without needing a video editor.

4. Figma – quick graphics and mockups, same as you.

5. Loops – email that doesn't make me want to cry.

My 5:
I use ChatGPT / Claude for brainstorming ideas, drafting content, and just thinking through things when I’m trying to figure something out.

NotebookLM helps me keep everything organized, whether it’s research, notes, or turning scattered information into structured insights.

Cursor is my go-to tool for coding with AI support and speeding up development workflows.

ProResumes I use for career guidance, resume writing, and improving job applications.

Zapier makes automation simple by connecting different tools so I don’t have to handle repetitive tasks manually.

Overall, this setup pretty much covers everything I need, from thinking and planning to building and automating work.

Interesting question! I’ve been learning about various AI applications recently, and here are my 5 most frequently used apps:

1. Claude/Chatgpt: I have extensive conversations with it to brainstorm and find creative inspiration for my work.

2. Gemini: I use it for all sorts of creative experiments, such as music creation and other innovative attempts.

3. WeChat (claw): My primary tool for handling daily work tasks, communication and administrative arrangements.

4. Reddit: I browse plenty of community posts here to learn new insights and communicate with like-minded people.

5. Doubao: I use it habitually to answer all kinds of questions, as well as synchronize and process web page information efficiently.

1. Codex — for coding, making changes, and checking the result.

2. Lark — for notes, docs, product decisions, and daily communication.

3. MD+HTML Reader — my own tool, but I really do use it every day. It helps me read the Markdown and HTML files generated across project folders without digging through all the source code and build files.

4. Android Studio — for Android development, debugging, builds, and device testing.

5. Proxyman — for checking API traffic when I need to understand what happened between the app and backend.