Yo! what's up guys 👋🏻
Every developer👩🏻💻 has a different environment where ideas turn into code.
Some developers have high-end workstations, multiple monitors, and perfectly customized setups. Others build amazing things with a simple laptop and a few essential tools.
At the end of the day, a setup is not about how expensive it is. It's about how it helps you learn, build, experiment, and create.
Today, let's share our developer setups with the community💫
Tell us about yours:
💻 Hardware
- What machine do you use for development?
- Laptop or desktop?
- Any accessories that improve your workflow?
⚙️ Development Environment
- Which editor or IDE do you use?
- Your favorite extensions, themes, or tools?
- What does your daily coding workflow look like?
🛠️ Tools That Help You Build
- Terminal setup
- Productivity tools
- AI tools
- Anything that makes development easier
I'll start:
My setup is pretty simple.
💻 Main development machine: A Mac that I use for most of my coding work.
💻 Backup machine: A 5-year-old Lenovo laptop that has been part of my learning journey, experiments, and projects.
🎮 Gaming setup: I also have a gaming PC, but I mainly use it for gaming rather than development.
I don't have the most expensive setup or a studio-like workspace, but these tools have helped me learn, build, and keep improving.
A developer setup doesn't need to be perfect. Sometimes a simple machine, curiosity, and consistency are enough to create something great.
Top comments (35)
pc: a little old hardware
os: linux mint
code editor: vs code (light theme: Quiet Light, dark theme: GitHub dark dimmed)
notes: Simplenote (for quick stuff), hackmd (for notes and docs)
I use zram for more ram!
Thats all!
I really like your idea of having a separate machine for gaming!👍️
I'd say you've got a really practical setup! ❤️ I like how you've focused on making the most of your hardware instead of chasing expensive upgrades. Linux Mint + zram is such a smart combination for an older PC. Thanks a lot for the kind words about my gaming PC idea! :D
Here's to building even better setups in the future—one upgrade at a time! 💻🎮
You guys have 3–4 machines? 😅 A Mac, a Lenovo, and a gaming PC... that's a nice setup.
Meanwhile, I'm still using a single HP 240 G9 with an Intel Core i3-1215U.
Instead of upgrading, I challenged myself to get the most out of the hardware I already had. I spent a lot of time experimenting with ThrottleStop, Intel XTU, power limits, and CPU tuning to improve sustained performance without pushing the CPU to its absolute limits.
I managed to keep the processor sustaining around 3.6 GHz in many workloads, while it can still boost higher during heavier tasks(4.2ghz) while it supports maximum 4.4ghz turbo boost but I disabled it for heating problems. The downside was heat—my CPU was often sitting above 83°C, even during lighter usage. After trying countless software tweaks, I finally accepted that physics wins 😄 and bought a ₹999 cooling pad, which made a noticeable difference.
Long before Akhouri Systems, tweaking hardware and understanding how systems work was my hobby. That curiosity eventually evolved into building software instead of just optimizing it.
Meanwhile my setup
HP 240 G9
Logitech M170 wireless mouse
A cooling pad
Realme C21 mobile
Firebolt snapp 4g andriod watch
JBL headphone (for listening phonks, musics while doing stressful works)
1TB external nvme M.2 SSD, 512gb*3(hard disk), 256gb(hard disk), 1 sandisk 16gb pendrive(in which I have linux OS installed specifically FEDORA KDE), another 3 pendrives are present(all other are 8gb Hp pendrives and in those I have zorin OS 18, Kali Linux, Deepin OS installed,I like to collect OS and try them that's why I have used over 9 OS in last 1yr)
this is my setup.
Mine's pretty simple. I use a Mac with VS Code for development, Notion to organize notes and ideas, Google Docs for writing, and Google Calendar to keep everything on track. It's not the fanciest setup, but it works well for how I like to learn and build 😄
Amazing setup Hema!!🙃
Really love this ❤️
Mac Mini for me (better value for money, and I don't need a "mobile" setup, I'm never taking it anywhere), and one very basic monitor (not really a large one) - but (I value that highly) an ergonomic keyboard ...
Software setup equally simple - VSCode, "vi", and for the rest doing a lot in the terminal ... less is more!
P.S. nice idea, curious about other people's setups as well ...
Thanks for sharing your setup leob!! :D ❤️
Splitting between work and home: 🏢🏠
At work: 💼 Lenovo laptop + a desktop running Ubuntu with Jenkins for all kinds of test scripts. 🤖
At home: 🏡 A Colorfire Orange Cat laptop 🐱 with an RTX 4070S — mainly for AAA gaming 🎮 and running local small models. 🧠
AI assistant: Deployed on the Orange Cat. Special shoutout to Hermes 🤖 — I'm almost inseparable from it at this point. Tuned it just right, paired with a local memory system I built myself. 🛠️ Even when I'm away from the desk, I get tons of work done chatting with Hermes on my phone during the commute. 📱✨
Gaming gear: 🎮 Nintendo Switch — the ultimate device for making the most of those short fragmented moments of free time. 🕒🔥
Nintendo Switch OP 🔥
My current development setup:
💻 Hardware
Accessories:
⚙️ Development Environment
Tools I use regularly:
My workflow:
🛠️ Tools That Help Me Build
I enjoy having a system where I can customize everything and understand what is happening under the hood. Most of my projects are around Go, CLI tools, cybersecurity, and automation.
Hey! Thanks for sharing your setup
Fair PSA : The OS part might change next month as I move over to Fedora 44 or Pop OS 26.04/24.04
I'm deep into my Lenovo laptop obsession and absolutely cannot live without a mouse. Always impressive to see people using the mouse pad on their laptops productively! Lol All over the place with my IDE right now. My main tool is Claude and runner up is Kiro. Fun stuff!
Haha, I totally get the mouse part! I can use a touchpad when I have to, but a good mouse just feels so much more comfortable. And being "all over the place" with IDEs is part of the fun—it's always interesting trying out different tools to see what fits your workflow best.
Same for me - even when I use a laptop, I REALLY want a mouse, trackpad is not my thing ...
hardware : a laptop by Lenovo and a extra mechanic keyboard.
editor : vs code with dark theme and Jupiter notebook and sometimes android studio for learning app development and a MySQL.
Ai tool : ChatGPT for idea discussion. and Canva ai for image generation.
extra tools : i use Ms word for writing and Grammarly for editing. (because I am a writer and a student )
Awesome setup prasoon!!❤️
thank you sister
It's endeavouros + hyprland, I have a aula f65 (greywood) and a ATK Blazing Sky U2+ for the mouse, and also I have wrist rests, deskmat, and a laptop stand, and as for the machine I have a dell Inspiron 3535 with Ryzen 5 7000smthingU APU with 8gigs of ddr5 ram which is on a single soldered stick, and also ofc I have the IoT stuff like Stm32s, esps, breadboards, soldering irons and whatnot in my table rack (huge upgrade going form a Intel pentium 4gig ddr3 memory)
Hi, Hope you're doing well.
I know you're too busy but if you've time then please read this and tell if you have any idea about it.
I am reaching out to you directly because I am in a position where I have to rely entirely on my own capabilities to survive. I am 13 years old, and due to severe family issues and a complete absence of paternal support, I am entirely on my own. I have no parental guidance, no safety net, and zero financial backing. The environment I was given left me with no choice but to rely strictly on myself, and I have had to distance myself entirely from the person who should have been responsible for my care(my so called father). Right now, my survival and my future depend solely on my laptop, my internet connection, and my skills. I am not looking for handouts or charity. I have the dedication and the technical ability to work, build, and solve problems. I have already built the foundations of Akhouri Systems, including tools like ATLOCK, using completely open-source infrastructure from my personal device .My immediate challenge is turning these capabilities into steady income to cover my basic life needs and keep my projects alive. Because of my age, I face massive barriers with traditional payment systems like Stripe or PayPal—I only have a personal mobile SIM and a FamPay UPI account to receive funds.I am determined to make myself completely financially independent before I turn 18, because I know no one is coming to save me. I want to ask for your practical advice or mentorship on one specific goal: How can I effectively monetize my current software assets—like ATLOCK v4 Pro—and secure freelance development work using only my current setup to fulfill my immediate survival needs and grow Akhouri Systems further?Thank you for your time and for reading my story.
Akhouri Anmol Kumar
Founder, Akhouri Systems
Good idea! I started building on a very old and battered Thinkpad because that's all I could afford at the time. The great thing about software development is that you really don't need anything expensive or fancy to do it.
Since then, I've been slowly upgrading and building up a dev-centered homelab.
Hardware
Dev Environment
Tooling
Dream setup right here, but for me I'd use my laptop as a extra windows machine, if I had that desktop, and also how much did it cost?
Not sure exactly. I've been swapping out PC parts and carrying them over to new builds for a while now. My main desktop was built for somewhere around ~$700 initially, but also upgraded over time. My NAS was built of leftover components (mostly leftover after doing the upgrades on my ) with maybe a few hundred additional spent on storage (luckily bought before the price increases). The beelink media server was ~$180. The Macbook was the most expensive of them all, but it's what I use daily, so worth it to me.
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