Essential Developer Tools and Productivity Software
Curated list of development tools, productivity applications, and online resources that help engineers work more efficiently every day.
The right tools eliminate friction from your daily engineering workflow. This page collects the software, online platforms, and resources used throughout this knowledge base — from database GUI clients to algorithm practice sites and diagramming tools.
Development
Editors, terminals, API clients, and version control GUIs.
Database Tools
GUI clients for MySQL, Redis, and Elasticsearch.
Diagramming
Tools for architecture diagrams, flowcharts, and documentation.
Learning Resources
Algorithm platforms, reference sites, and courses.
When you need to switch between versions of Go, Java, or Node.js on macOS:
# Go version managementbrew install go@1.21export PATH="/usr/local/opt/go@1.21/bin:$PATH"# Java version management with jenvbrew install jenvjenv add /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/temurin-17.jdk/Contents/Homejenv global 17# Node version managementbrew install nvmnvm install 20nvm use 20
TablePlus — cross-platform GUI with a clean interface, supports multiple connections and SSH tunnels.MySQL Workbench — official Oracle tool with EER diagrams, query analyzer, and server management.
# Connect from CLImysql -h 127.0.0.1 -P 3306 -u root -p# Common quick queriesSHOW PROCESSLIST; -- see active connectionsEXPLAIN SELECT ...; -- query execution planSHOW ENGINE INNODB STATUS\G -- InnoDB internals
RedisInsight — official Redis GUI with memory analysis, slow log viewer, and CLI.Another Redis Desktop Manager (ARDM) — lightweight open-source alternative.
# Connect from CLIredis-cli -h 127.0.0.1 -p 6379# Useful commandsINFO server # server statsMONITOR # watch all commands in real time (dev only)MEMORY USAGE key # memory cost of a keyOBJECT ENCODING key # internal encoding used
Kibana — official Elasticsearch UI with Dev Tools console for running queries.Elasticvue — browser extension for quick ES cluster inspection.
# Check cluster healthGET /_cluster/health# Index statsGET /my-index/_stats# Run a query from Dev ToolsGET /my-index/_search{ "query": { "match": { "title": "golang" } }}
For algorithm practice, start with LeetCode for interview prep, then move to Codeforces for competitive programming. Use OI-Wiki as your algorithm reference — it covers everything from basic data structures to advanced graph theory.