🔧 1. Code Editors & IDEs (Integrated Development Environments)
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Visual Studio Code (VS Code)
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All major languages
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Extensions, Git integration, debugging, IntelliSense, Live Share
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General-purpose coding, web, scripting, AI development
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JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA
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Java, Kotlin, Scala, etc.
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Smart code completion, refactoring, Spring support
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Enterprise Java, backend development
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PyCharm
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Python
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Django/Flask support, scientific tools, debugger
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Python development, data science
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WebStorm
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JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML/CSS
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Framework support (React, Vue, Angular), debugging
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Frontend and full-stack web development
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Android Studio
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Kotlin, Java, XML
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Emulator, Gradle integration, UI designer
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Android app development
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Xcode
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Swift, Objective-C
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Interface Builder, Simulator, SwiftUI
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iOS/macOS app development
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Vim / Neovim
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All (via plugins)
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Lightweight, modal editing, highly customizable
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Fast editing, remote development, minimal environments
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Emacs
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All (via extensions)
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Extensible, org-mode, built-in terminal
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Programmers who value customization and scripting
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Sublime Text
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All
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Fast startup, multi-cursor editing, syntax highlighting
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Lightweight editor for quick edits and scripting
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🛠️ 2. Version Control & Collaboration Tools
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Git
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Distributed version control system
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Track code changes, collaborate, branch management
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GitHub
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Git hosting + CI/CD + collaboration
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Open-source projects, team collaboration, code reviews
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GitLab
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Git repo + CI/CD + DevOps
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End-to-end DevOps, self-hosted options, DevSecOps
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Bitbucket
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Git/SVN hosting by Atlassian
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Jira integration, private repos for teams
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SourceTree
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GUI for Git
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Visual branching, merging, and history
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GitKraken
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Visual Git client
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Easy Git workflow visualization, team collaboration
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GitHub Copilot
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AI pair programmer
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Auto-complete code, suggest functions, learn from context
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Tabnine
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AI code assistant
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Local or cloud-based code completion, privacy-focused
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CodeSandbox
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Online IDE for frontend
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Rapid prototyping, shareable web app demos
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🖥️ 3. Terminal & Shell Tools
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iTerm2 (macOS)
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Enhanced terminal
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Tabs, split panes, search, theming
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Windows Terminal
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Modern terminal for Windows
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Multiple shells, GPU-accelerated, custom themes
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Alacritty
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GPU-accelerated terminal
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Fast, minimal, cross-platform
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Zsh + Oh My Zsh
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Shell with plugins
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Auto-suggestions, syntax highlighting, themes
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Fish Shell
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User-friendly shell
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Syntax highlighting, autosuggestions, no config needed
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tmux
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Terminal multiplexer
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Session persistence, split panes, remote work
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PowerShell
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Scripting and automation (Windows/Linux/macOS)
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Object-oriented pipeline, admin tasks
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Starship
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Cross-shell prompt
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Fast, customizable, shows git, runtime, etc.
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fzf
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Fuzzy finder
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Fast file/command/Git branch search
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bat
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catwith syntax highlighting |
Better file viewing in terminal
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exa
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Modern
lsreplacement |
Color, icons, Git status, tree view
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🐳 4. Containerization & Virtualization
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Docker
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Container runtime
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Package and run apps in isolated environments
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Docker Compose
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Multi-container orchestration
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Define and run multi-service apps (e.g., app + DB)
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Podman
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Docker alternative (no daemon)
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Rootless containers, secure deployments
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Kubernetes (K8s)
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Container orchestration
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Scale and manage containerized apps in production
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Minikube / Kind / K3s
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Local K8s clusters
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Development and testing Kubernetes apps
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Lima / Colima
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Linux on macOS via VM
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Run Docker/Kubernetes natively on Apple Silicon
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Vagrant
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VM environment automation
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Reproducible dev environments (legacy but still used)
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Multipass
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Lightweight VM manager (Ubuntu)
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Quick Ubuntu instances for testing
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☁️ 5. Cloud Platforms & DevOps Tools
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AWS (Amazon Web Services)
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Cloud computing
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EC2, S3, Lambda, RDS, EKS
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Microsoft Azure
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Cloud platform
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AI, hybrid cloud, enterprise integration
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Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
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Cloud services
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BigQuery, AI/ML, GKE, Firebase
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Terraform
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Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
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Define cloud resources in code (multi-cloud)
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Pulumi
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IaC using real languages (Python, TS, Go)
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Modern alternative to Terraform
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Ansible
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Configuration management
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Automate server setup, app deployment
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Chef / Puppet
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Legacy config management
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Large-scale infrastructure automation
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SaltStack
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Remote execution & config
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Fast, scalable automation
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Vault (by HashiCorp)
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Secrets management
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Securely store API keys, passwords, certificates
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Consul
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Service networking & discovery
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Microservices communication, health checks
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🔄 6. CI/CD & Automation Tools
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GitHub Actions
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CI/CD built into GitHub
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Automate testing, deployment from PRs
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GitLab CI/CD
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Integrated CI/CD
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Full pipeline in GitLab (build, test, deploy)
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Jenkins
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Extensible automation server
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Highly customizable pipelines (Java-based)
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CircleCI
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Cloud-based CI/CD
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Fast builds, Docker support, parallel jobs
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Travis CI
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Legacy CI (phasing out)
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Open-source project testing
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Argo CD
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GitOps for Kubernetes
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Sync K8s manifests from Git repo
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Tekton
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Kubernetes-native CI/CD
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Build pipelines on K8s
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Drone CI
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Lightweight, container-native
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Simple YAML-based pipelines
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🐞 7. Debugging & Profiling Tools
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Chrome DevTools
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Web (JS/HTML/CSS)
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Debug frontend, inspect DOM, performance
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Firefox Developer Tools
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Web
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Alternative to Chrome DevTools
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Postman
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API testing
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Send HTTP requests, test REST/GraphQL APIs
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Insomnia
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API client
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Clean UI, GraphQL, environment variables
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curl / httpie
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CLI HTTP clients
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Quick API testing in terminal (
httpieis more user-friendly) |
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Wireshark
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Network protocol analyzer
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Inspect network traffic, debug APIs
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Charles Proxy / Fiddler
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HTTP debugging proxy
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Monitor and manipulate HTTP(S) traffic
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Valgrind
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C/C++
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Memory leak detection, profiling
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gdb / lldb
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C/C++/Rust debugging
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Low-level debugging, core dumps
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Py-Spy
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Python
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Sampling profiler (no code changes)
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pprof
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Go, Java, Node.js
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Performance profiling (CPU, memory)
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🧪 8. Testing Tools
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JUnit
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Java
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Unit testing
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pytest
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Python
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Simple, powerful testing framework
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Jest
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JavaScript/TypeScript
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Unit and integration testing (React-friendly)
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Mocha / Chai
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JavaScript
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Flexible testing with assertions
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Cypress
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JavaScript
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End-to-end browser testing
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Playwright
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JS/TS/Python/Java/C#
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Fast, reliable browser automation (multi-browser)
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Selenium
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Multiple
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Legacy browser automation
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TestNG
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Java
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Advanced testing (parallel, data-driven)
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Mockito
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Java
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Mocking framework for unit tests
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unittest.mock
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Python
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Built-in mocking library
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JMeter
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All (HTTP-focused)
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Load and performance testing
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k6
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JavaScript
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Modern load testing, cloud-native
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📊 9. Monitoring, Logging & Observability
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Prometheus
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Metrics collection
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Monitor system and app metrics
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Grafana
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Visualization
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Dashboards for Prometheus, Loki, etc.
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ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana)
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Log management
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Centralized logging and analysis
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EFK Stack (Elasticsearch + Fluentd + Kibana)
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Kubernetes logging
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Log aggregation in containers
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Loki (by Grafana)
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Log aggregation
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Lightweight, Prometheus-like logs
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OpenTelemetry
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Observability framework
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Collect traces, metrics, logs (vendor-neutral)
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Jaeger
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Distributed tracing
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Trace microservices requests
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Datadog
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SaaS monitoring
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Full-stack observability (APM, logs, infra)
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New Relic
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Application performance
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Real-time app monitoring
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Sentry
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Error tracking
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Catch and debug crashes in web/mobile apps
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💾 10. Databases & Database Tools
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PostgreSQL
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Relational
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Robust, open-source, JSON support
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MySQL / MariaDB
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Relational
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Web apps, LAMP stack
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SQLite
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Embedded
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Lightweight, local storage (mobile, CLI tools)
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MongoDB
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NoSQL (Document)
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Flexible schema, JSON-like documents
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Redis
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In-memory key-value
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Caching, sessions, real-time apps
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Elasticsearch
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Search engine
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Full-text search, analytics
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Cassandra
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Wide-column NoSQL
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High availability, large-scale data
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DynamoDB
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AWS NoSQL
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Serverless, auto-scaling
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Prisma
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ORM for Node.js
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Type-safe database access
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Drizzle ORM
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TypeScript ORM
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Lightweight, schema-first
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DBeaver
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Universal DB client
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GUI for SQL databases
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TablePlus
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Modern DB GUI
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Clean interface, supports many databases
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pgAdmin
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PostgreSQL admin
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Web-based management tool
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🤖 11. AI & Machine Learning Tools (2025)
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TensorFlow / Keras
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Deep learning
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Neural networks, research, production models
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PyTorch
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Deep learning
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Research, dynamic computation graph
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Hugging Face Transformers
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NLP models
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Pre-trained models (BERT, GPT, etc.)
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LangChain
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LLM orchestration
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Chain prompts, tools, memory for AI apps
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LlamaIndex
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Data indexing for LLMs
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Connect private data to LLMs
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AutoGPT / BabyAGI
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Autonomous agents
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Experimental AI agents (use with caution)
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Weights & Biases (W&B)
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Experiment tracking
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ML model training visualization
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MLflow
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MLOps platform
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Track experiments, manage models
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ONNX Runtime
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Model inference
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Run models across frameworks and devices
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Hugging Face Inference API
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Cloud-based AI
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Deploy and serve models easily
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Google Colab / Kaggle Notebooks
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Cloud Jupyter
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Free GPU access for ML prototyping
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🌐 12. Web & Frontend Development Tools
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Node.js + npm / yarn / pnpm
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JavaScript runtime + package managers
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Build JS apps, manage dependencies
|
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Vite
|
Frontend build tool
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Fast dev server, optimized builds
|
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Webpack
|
Module bundler
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Bundle JS/CSS/assets (legacy but still used)
|
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ESBuild / Parcel / Snowpack
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Fast bundlers
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Zero-config, high-speed builds
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React / Vue / Angular / Svelte
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Frontend frameworks
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Build dynamic user interfaces
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Next.js / Nuxt / SvelteKit
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SSR/SSG frameworks
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SEO-friendly, full-stack web apps
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Tailwind CSS
|
Utility-first CSS
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Rapid UI development with classes
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Figma / Sketch / Adobe XD
|
Design tools
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UI/UX design, handoff to developers
|
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Storybook
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Component dev & testing
|
Isolate and test UI components
|
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Prettier
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Code formatter
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Enforce consistent code style
|
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ESLint
|
JavaScript linter
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Catch bugs, enforce best practices
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🔐 13. Security Tools
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OWASP ZAP
|
Web app security scanner
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Find vulnerabilities (XSS, SQLi)
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Burp Suite
|
Penetration testing
|
Professional web security testing
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SonarQube / SonarCloud
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Static code analysis
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Detect bugs, code smells, security issues
|
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Snyk
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Dependency scanning
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Find vulnerabilities in npm, pip, etc.
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Dependabot (GitHub)
|
Automated dependency updates
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Keep packages secure and up-to-date
|
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Trivy
|
Vulnerability scanner
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Scan containers, code, IaC
|
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Bandit (Python)
|
Security linter
|
Find common Python security flaws
|
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Brakeman (Ruby)
|
Rails security scanner
|
Identify vulnerabilities in Ruby apps
|
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Let’s Encrypt
|
Free SSL/TLS certificates
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Secure websites with HTTPS
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📦 14. Package & Dependency Management
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npm / yarn / pnpm
|
JavaScript
|
Manage Node.js packages
|
|
pip / pipenv / Poetry
|
Python
|
Install and manage Python packages
|
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Maven / Gradle
|
Java/JVM
|
Build automation and dependency management
|
|
Cargo
|
Rust
|
Rust package manager and build tool
|
|
Go Modules
|
Go
|
Native dependency management
|
|
NuGet
|
.NET
|
Package manager for C#, F#, etc.
|
|
Homebrew
|
macOS/Linux
|
Install dev tools and libraries
|
|
Chocolatey
|
Windows
|
Package manager for Windows apps
|
🧰 15. Miscellaneous Developer Tools
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Notion / Obsidian / Logseq
|
Knowledge management
|
Docs, notes, personal wikis
|
|
Jira / Linear / ClickUp
|
Project management
|
Track bugs, tasks, sprints
|
|
Slack / Microsoft Teams
|
Team communication
|
Real-time chat, integrations
|
|
Zoom / Google Meet
|
Video conferencing
|
Remote collaboration
|
|
Excalidraw
|
Diagramming tool
|
Hand-drawn style architecture diagrams
|
|
Mermaid.js
|
Text-based diagrams
|
Flowcharts, sequence diagrams in Markdown
|
|
1Password / Bitwarden
|
Password managers
|
Secure credentials, SSH keys
|
|
Tmuxinator / Zellij
|
Session management
|
Predefined tmux layouts
|
|
lazygit
|
Git TUI
|
Terminal UI for Git commands
|
|
delta
|
Syntax-highlighted diff
|
Better
git diffoutput |
✅ Bonus: Emerging Tools (2025 Trends)
|
Cursor.sh
|
AI-first IDE
|
Built-in AI for code generation, refactoring
|
|
Warp
|
AI-powered terminal
|
Natural language commands, shared sessions
|
|
Zed
|
Collaborative code editor
|
Fast, multiplayer, offline-first
|
|
Nushell
|
Modern shell
|
Structured data pipeline (like PowerShell)
|
|
Docker Scout
|
Security & compliance
|
Analyze container vulnerabilities
|
|
GitHub Codespaces
|
Cloud dev environments
|
Full dev env in browser
|
|
Gitpod
|
Cloud IDE for GitHub
|
One-click dev environments
|
|
Bun
|
JavaScript runtime
|
Fast alternative to Node.js + npm
|
📌 Summary: Tool Stack by Role (2025)
|
Frontend Developer
|
VS Code, React, Vite, Tailwind, Prettier, ESLint, Chrome DevTools, Figma
|
|
Backend Developer
|
IntelliJ/PyCharm, Docker, PostgreSQL, Redis, Postman, GitHub Actions
|
|
DevOps Engineer
|
Terraform, Kubernetes, Ansible, Prometheus, Grafana, Jenkins, AWS/Azure
|
|
Data Scientist
|
Jupyter, Python, PyTorch, Pandas, Hugging Face, VS Code, Colab
|
|
Full-Stack Developer
|
VS Code, Next.js, Node.js, MongoDB, Docker, GitHub, Postman
|
|
Mobile Developer
|
Android Studio / Xcode, React Native / Flutter, Fastlane, Firebase
|
|
AI Engineer
|
PyTorch, LangChain, LlamaIndex, Hugging Face, Weights & Biases, Docker
|
✅ Tip (2025): Focus on AI-augmented tools, cloud-native development, security-by-default, and collaborative environments. Automation, observability, and reproducibility are critical.
