---
layout: ../layouts/PageLayout.astro
title: Tools
description: …
intro: I enjoy learning how other people work, what hardware, software, tools, and gadgets they use. On this page, I present my tools.
---

import Toolbox from "../components/Toolbox.astro";
import { development, design, research, other } from "../data/tools.ts";
import { mapping } from "../mdx-components.ts";
export const components = mapping;

[Photo of my desk]

## Home Office

My desk is a [Jarvis Bamboo Standing](https://www.fully.com/standing-desks/jarvis/jarvis-adjustable-height-desk-bamboo.html) Desk by Fully in 140 cm. The chair is a [Capisco](https://www.fully.com/chairs/for-standing-desks/hag-capisco-chair.html) by HÅG with black leather. I use a [black leather desk pad](https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07PXDSSZP/) in 75 cm. I use an aluminum [MacBook stand](https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01F01DRW6/) and a [bamboo book rest](https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01M8HGTX8/) on my desk. The [BenQ Screenbar Plus](https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07GGVNXSW/) provides good lighting.

## Tech

My best computer is a [Mac mini M2 Pro with](https://www.apple.com/mac-mini/) 32 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD. It’s the fastest computer I’ve ever had. For work I use a [MacBook Pro](https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/) 16", and I have another older MacBook Pro 15".

I use two [Apple Magic Mouse](https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK2E3AM/A/magic-mouse-white-multi-touch-surface), one in white and one in black. My keyboard is a [Keychron K1 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard](https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-k1-wireless-mechanical-keyboard) with brown [Gateron Low Profile Mechanical Switches](https://www.keychron.com/products/low-profile-gateron-mechanical-switch-set). I bought a [wooden hand rest](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1258050864/) on Etsy.

The main display is an [LG 4K monitor](https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B08FBH1V9R/) with 31.5”, the notebook display is my second screen. For sound, I use two [Creative Pebble](https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07VVP8BGD/) loudspeakers, but I have a [Sonos](https://www.sonos.com/) sound system for music. When I am on the road, I use my [Apple AirPods Pro 2](https://www.apple.com/airpods-pro/).

I have an [iPhone 13 Mini](https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-13) that I use when I’m not at home and an [iPad Pro M2](https://www.apple.com/ipad-pro/) with an [Apple Pencil](https://www.apple.com/apple-pencil/) that I use on the Sofa or when I’m creating digital crafts or notes. I can switch my Keychron keyboard to type on my Macs or the iPad.

Besides that, I have a few backup hard drives for automatic Time Machine backups. I use a [Synology DiskStation DS220+](https://www.synology.com/en-us/products/DS220+) NAS with two 6 TB hard drives in a RAID system with Docker containers as a media server, cloud backup solution, and for network-wide ad blocking with [Pi-hole](https://pi-hole.net/). Additionally, I use a [Raspberry Pi 4](https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b/) with 8 GB and [Linux Ubuntu](https://ubuntu.com/) for redundancy for the DNS ad blocking.

## Development

[Neovim](https://neovim.io/) with [LazyVim](https://www.lazyvim.org/) as a plugin manager is my default code editor. I use it in the [Wezterm terminal emulator](https://wezfurlong.org/wezterm/) with the [Tmux terminal multiplexer](https://tmux.github.io/). Occasionally, I use [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) with the [Neovim extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=asvetliakov.vscode-neovim). I use [LazyGit](https://github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit) for Git.

<Toolbox tools={development} />

## Design

I love the [Affinity](https://affinity.serif.com/) suite by Serif and use it for all my creative work. I ditched Adobe a few years ago and never looked back. Furthermore, I use all Affinity apps on Desktop and iPad. Additionally, I use [Procreate](https://procreate.com/) on my iPad Pro for creative work. My favorite font app is [Typeface](https://typefaceapp.com/).

<Toolbox tools={design} />

## Research & Writing

My favorite writing app is [iA Writer](https://ia.net/writer), I write nearly everything with it, but another writing app I use for my note-taking is [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md/). [DEVONthink](https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/devonthink) is the app where I store everything, from PDF documents, to inspirational items to references. Everything is synchronized encrypted between all my devices.

[Raindrop.io](https://raindrop.io/) is my favorite app to save any bookmark and to find anything again in seconds. I have more than 25,000 bookmarks.

I consume all my content with the [Reeder](https://reeder.app/) app, from RSS Feeds, to Twitter or Reddit threads, to YouTube videos. From there, I transfer everything to [Readwise Reader](https://readwise.io/read) to read it and create highlights to remember and review later in [Readwise](https://readwise.io/i/stefan805).

<Toolbox tools={research} />

## Other

I use many extra tools, too many to name them all. Here are a few of my favorites. I’ve been using [Things](https://culturedcode.com/things/) as my to-do app for years; I appreciate its simplicity and design. [Raycast Pro](https://www.raycast.com/pro) is my most-used app, with its ChatGPT feature. I’m a fan of both browsers: [Arc](https://arc.net/) for its innovative features and [Brave](https://brave.com/) for its security, privacy, and built-in ad-blocking.

<Toolbox tools={other} />
