# Simplifying a Personal Developer Toolset by Consolidating Apps and Switching Editors

DevFeed: [Simplifying a Personal Developer Toolset by Consolidating Apps and Switching Editors](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/this-year-i-shall-simplify-25329.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://kau.sh/blog/simplify/>)

Author: Kaushik Gopal

Published: 2023-04-22T22:53:13Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Kaushik Gopal's Site](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/kaushik-gopal-s-site.md>)

Topics: [Obsidian](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/obsidian-md.md>), [Zsh](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/zsh.md>), [Terminal](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/terminal.md>), [Vim](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/vim.md>), [friendly interactive shell](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/fish.md>), [IntelliJ IDEA](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/intellij-idea.md>), [Visual Studio Code](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/visual-studio-code.md>), [Ansible](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ansible.md>), [Android Studio](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/android-studio.md>), [jetbrains](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/jetbrains.md>)

Tags: [android-studio](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/android-studio.md>), [automation](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/automation.md>), [intellij](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/intellij.md>), [jetbrains](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/jetbrains.md>), [plugins](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/plugins.md>), [productivity](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/productivity.md>), [terminal](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/terminal.md>), [tools](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/tools.md>), [vim](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/vim.md>), [vscode](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/vscode.md>)

## AI overview

The author describes simplifying a personal developer toolset by consolidating Things 3 and note-taking in Obsidian, switching from iTerm to Terminal and fish to zsh, using Raycast alongside limited Keyboard Maestro automation, and moving from VSCode toward Vim and JetBrains editors.

## Source excerpt

I'm always trying out new tools to make my life easier. In a cruel twist of irony however, I've found myself customizing and maintaining multiple tools leading to unnecessary complexity and a hit in productivity. So this year, I've made a resolution to simplify and eliminate redundant tools. Nothing is safe from the chopping block! Here are some of the major transitions I've made or plan to make, and I'll be sharing more about each of them in upcoming posts. Things 3 -> Obsidian Notes ## This one surprised me the most. I switched from Things 3 as my Todo app and Obsidian for my notes to using Obsidian for both. While Things 3 has a beautiful UI, I discovered that I could use Obsidian as effectively (if not more) to get things done with the addition of one plugin. Stay tuned for a detail write up on this one. iTerm -> Terminal ## Next, I switched from iTerm to Terminal. This transition was easy since I wasn't relying too heavily on iTerm customizations anyway. The big reason I used iTerm was mostly just for horizaontal split tabs. I dusted off my tmux skills and now am back to just using Terminal.app. fish -> zsh ## Moving from fish to zsh -- on the other hand -- was the most challenging transition since I had years of accumulated scripts and functions that I had to painstakingly port over to zsh. However, I'm happy I made the change since zsh is the default on a new Mac, making it easier to use across different devices. Alfred + Keyboard Maestro (+ Pastebot) -> Raycast ## As an avid user of Alfred and Keyboard Maestro, I was hesitant to switch to Raycast. But after watching a video on its capabilities, I realized that Raycast could replace several of the tools I was using. I was particularly impressed by how easy it was to expand its functionality and add new snippets or quick URL searches. Keyboard Maestro is going to be around for those quick automation macros but I'm going to try and not have it running constantly. More for one-off automation jobs. VSCode -> (Neo)Vim (&