Tools I Actually Use
Not a best-of list. A short, honest one — what I use, what I use it for, why it stayed, and where it genuinely annoys me. Nothing here because it's popular or pays commission.
AI & Development
4 tools
Anthropic's AI assistant, used here through Claude Code.
What I use it for: Implementation — repository work, longer coding tasks, and working through a staged development plan without losing the thread. This website's V2 rebuild was done this way, stage by stage.
Why it stayed: It can hold a multi-step plan across a long session and actually execute it, not just describe what to do next.
Trade-off: Suited to structured, staged work — not where I go for quick open-ended brainstorming.
OpenAI's AI assistant.
What I use it for: Research, analysis, planning, comparing options, challenging my own decisions, and refining writing, copy and prompts.
Why it stayed: A different working style suits that kind of back-and-forth thinking better than an implementation-focused tool.
Trade-off: Doesn't hold a full repository or a long staged plan the way Claude Code does — not where I do implementation work.
Where my code actually lives.
What I use it for: Version control and hosting for real repos — this website, HGV HUB, and everything else I build.
Why it stayed: It's the default for a reason. Nothing about my workflow needs anything more than what it already does.
An Arch-based Linux distribution with performance-oriented package builds and the wider Arch ecosystem.
What I use it for: My daily desktop and development environment — project work, local tooling, and AI-assisted development.
Why it stayed: The Arch/AUR ecosystem gives me the tools I need without adding another layer in the way, and CachyOS keeps the desktop itself performance-focused.
Trade-off: Still inherits Arch's maintenance expectations — updates deserve attention, not a zero-maintenance desktop.
Self-Hosting & Infrastructure
7 tools
The OS running my home server.
What I use it for: Hosts nearly everything — Nextcloud, Jellyfin, Immich, n8n, and the infrastructure behind TRON and Family Command Center.
Why it stayed: A real apps-as-containers model over real ZFS storage, handling a genuinely mixed workload — family apps and personal infrastructure side by side — without drama.
Trade-off: A real learning curve if something breaks. This isn't a plug-and-play NAS.
Container runtime.
What I use it for: Nearly everything I self-host runs in a container.
Why it stayed: Makes it possible to run a genuinely varied stack on one server without everything fighting over dependencies.
Trade-off: Doesn't remove the work of actually understanding what's running — just packages it.
Self-hosted file sync and storage.
What I use it for: My personal knowledge system syncs through it — the same one behind this website's own content.
Why it stayed: My files, my server, no third party in the loop.
Trade-off: Not as polished as the big hosted alternatives — sync occasionally needs a nudge.
Workflow automation platform.
What I use it for: Automating real workflows I don't want to run by hand.
Why it stayed: Self-hostable, and flexible enough for genuinely different jobs rather than one narrow use case.
Trade-off: Self-hosting it means the uptime is on me, not a vendor.
Self-hosted media server.
What I use it for: Family media, streamed from my own server.
Why it stayed: No subscription, no recommendation algorithm, just the library I actually have.
Trade-off: Needs the source content organised properly to work well — the software won't do that part for you.
Self-hosted photo and video library.
What I use it for: Family photo backup and library, off my own server instead of a cloud photo service.
Why it stayed: A genuine alternative to Google Photos or iCloud that keeps the data at home.
Trade-off: Still moving fast as a project — updates occasionally need real attention.
Matrix client.
What I use it for: The actual interface for the self-hosted Matrix homeserver I run for family communication.
Why it stayed: Does what a chat client needs to do, against a server I control.
Security & Privacy
2 tools
A self-hosted, Bitwarden-compatible password manager.
What I use it for: Family password management, run on my own home server.
Why it stayed: Keeps the password vault under my own control rather than relying on a hosted password-manager service.
Trade-off: More setup and ongoing responsibility than just using hosted Bitwarden — a deliberate trade-off, not an accident.
Chromium-based browser with tracking protection built in.
What I use it for: Daily browser.
Why it stayed: Blocks most tracking by default — a comfortable daily driver without extension setup.
Trade-off: Still Chromium under the hood, so it's not a clean break from that ecosystem.
No paid placements or affiliate links. If it's here, it's because I actually use it. This list is maintained personally and updated as things change — if something's wrong or you have a suggestion, get in touch.