ctrlsze
¶ Uses

What I use.

Hardware, software, and the principles behind the choices. The tools that build CTRLSZE and the things that ship out of it. Updated when something changes.

Hardware

  • MacBook Pro M5

    The whole studio runs off this. No external monitor, no second machine. One screen forces focus.

  • iPhone 17 Pro

    Primary test device for HIBUD. Also where most of my reading and most of my doomscrolling happens.

  • AirPods Pro

    On for most of the workday. Noise-cancelling makes a dining-table office viable.

  • Dining table

    Not a desk. Bigger surface, better light, harder to disappear into. I think it keeps me honest about hours.

Daily software

  • Claude

    Default thinking partner. Architecture, code review, drafting, planning. The CTRLSZE platform was scoped end-to-end here.

  • Claude Code

    For implementation in the repo. Multi-file refactors and tests.

  • VS Code

    For the CTRLSZE platform — Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind.

  • Xcode

    For HIBUD. SwiftUI. The only Apple-platform reason I open Xcode.

  • Gemini

    Second opinion when I want a different model's take, especially on long-context tasks.

  • Higgsfield

    Generative video and image work for content.

  • Terminal

    Default macOS Terminal. Tried iTerm and Warp; neither stuck. Less is more.

  • Safari

    Lighter on battery, better on Mac than Chrome. I switch to Chrome when DevTools demand it.

  • Google Docs

    Where most non-code writing lives — drafts, planning, notes.

Stack

  • Next.js 15 + TypeScript

    Server-rendered for SEO and AEO, single codebase for public + admin.

  • Postgres on Neon

    Serverless Postgres, scales to zero. Free tier carries you a long way.

  • Drizzle ORM

    TypeScript-native, schema lives in the repo, no separate DSL to learn.

  • Tailwind v4

    Utility classes for layout, design tokens for everything that should be consistent.

  • Vercel

    Hosting, wildcard subdomains, OG image generation, preview deploys. The defaults are right.

  • Cloudflare

    DNS, registrar, email routing. The boring infrastructure I want to forget about.

  • Resend

    Transactional and newsletter email.

  • Stripe

    Subscriptions and outgoing invoices when I get there.

Principles

  • Boring tech

    Postgres over the cool new database. Tailwind over the new framework of the month. Save your novelty budget for the product.

  • Server-rendered everything

    Search engines and AI assistants need real HTML. Client-only React is a tax I refuse to pay.

  • AI in the loop, not in charge

    Agents propose, I approve. Auto-publish is a fast way to ship something I'd be embarrassed by.

  • One thing at a time

    Currently building HIBUD. Everything else is on a list, not a tab.

Caveats

Tools change. Opinions about tools change faster. This page is a snapshot, not a manifesto. If you're here trying to decide what to use yourself: pick the boring option, ship something, then optimise.