If you’ve been coding for a while, you probably have your go-to tools — your favorite IDE, terminal, version control setup, and maybe a few extensions or plugins you can’t live without. But the developer world evolves fast, and new tools are emerging constantly that can seriously boost your productivity, improve code quality, and even make development fun again.
Here are some underrated or lesser-known developer tools that deserve a spot in your toolbox:
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1. Zed Editor
Category: Code Editor
Why it’s great: Built by the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter, Zed is a lightning-fast, collaborative code editor with native performance and modern UX. Think VS Code meets Google Docs.
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2. Warp Terminal
Category: Terminal
Why it’s great: A modern Rust-based terminal built for speed and productivity. Features like block-based command history, autocomplete, and clickable output make it feel like the terminal finally caught up to 2025.
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3. Raycast
Category: Productivity Launcher
Why it’s great: More than just a Spotlight replacement for macOS, Raycast helps you launch apps, run scripts, search docs, and even manage GitHub PRs — all from your keyboard.
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4. Liveblocks
Category: Real-time Collaboration
Why it’s great: Want Figma-like multiplayer collaboration in your app? Liveblocks gives you the infrastructure to build live cursors, presence, and live data editing with minimal setup.
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5. turso
Category: Edge Database
Why it’s great: turso is a distributed SQLite database built for edge functions. Great for serverless apps that need fast, low-latency access to data across the globe.
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6. Replay
Category: Time-Travel Debugging
Why it’s great: Replay records everything in your browser — DOM, network, JS execution — and lets you debug backwards. It’s like having a rewind button for bugs.
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7. Codux
Category: Visual React IDE
Why it’s great: Codux gives you a visual way to build and edit React components, including live previewing and editing props/styles — all in sync with your code.
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8. Fig (now part of Amazon)
Category: Terminal Autocomplete
Why it’s great: It adds autocomplete to your existing terminal without changing your shell. Supports Git, npm, Docker, and more with visual menus and suggestions.
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9. Sturdy
Category: Git Collaboration
Why it’s great: It rethinks the Git workflow for teams. Sturdy allows real-time collaboration on branches without worrying about pull requests or rebases.
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10. Codeium
Category: AI Code Assistant
Why it’s great: A fast and free alternative to GitHub Copilot with support for dozens of languages and editors. If you're curious about AI pair programming, this is worth a try.
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Final Thoughts
Exploring new tools is one of the fastest ways to level up your workflow. Even adopting just one of these could save you hours a week or help you build better software. Give them a try — you might wonder how you ever coded without them.