A Minimal Dev Setup That Just Works

I spent years chasing the perfect editor theme and the perfect keybinding layout, and none of it made my code any better. What actually helped was cutting things down: one terminal, one editor, and a handful of git aliases I actually remember.

My whole toolchain now fits on one monitor. I run tests with a single make test command, format on save, and keep linting errors visible in the gutter instead of a separate panel. Less context switching means fewer excuses to open a browser tab and get distracted.

If you're evaluating a new tool, ask whether it removes a step or just moves it somewhere else. The best additions to my setup this year were the ones that let me delete something else.