# Your dev environment matters less than you think DevFeed: [Your dev environment matters less than you think]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Itamar Turner-Trauring Published: 2020-06-25T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Itamar Turner-Trauring]() Topics: [Development](), [toolchain](), [Programming](), [Tool]() Tags: [dev](), [development](), [programming](), [techniques](), [tool](), [toolchain]() ## AI overview This opinion article argues that developers should not overfocus on choosing the ideal development environment. Beginners should select tools that are popular, easy to start with, and good enough, then refine their choices as they gain experience and understand their working preferences. ## Source excerpt How do you setup your dev environment? Depending on your language there are many choices of editor, package manager, build tool, linter, on and on. And every article you find will have a different combination of suggested tools, each of which claiming that their list is The Right Way To Do Things. So which do you choose? The short answer: it doesn't matter. Your choice of dev environment is meaningless. The slightly less flippant answer is that, yes, there are some contraints on which tools you should pick, but otherwise you should just pick something and move on. Let's see why dev environments don't matter that much in the end, and what limited constraints you should apply when choosing your tools. Learning how to cook Imagine you're training to become a chef. You will need to learn how to use a knife correctly, to chop and dice safely and quickly. And yes, you need a sharp knife. But when you're starting out, it doesn't matter which knife you use: just pick something sharp and good enough, and move on. After all, the knife is just a tool. The people eating the food you cook don't care about which knife you used: they care how the food tastes and looks. After six months in the kitchen, you'll start understanding how you personally use a knife, what cuisines you want to pursue, what techniques you want to vary. And then you'll have the knowledge to pick a specific knife or knives exactly suited to your needs. But remember: the people eating your food still won't care which knife you used. Choosing a dev environment When you use a website, you don't care which build tool the programmer used. When you run an app, you don't care which editor they used. You want the software to work, to do what it says, to be easy to use, to get out of your way--and you don't care how they did it. And that applies just as much to the users of your code: they don't care which tools you used. And when you're starting out, whether programming in general or a new language or framework, you d