This year I’ve tried a lot of AI tools in search of that perfect workflow. And I went back to the basics.
My current setup is intentionally boring. Just one Ghostty instance with:
- Tab 1: A few panes running different processes
- Tab 2: LazyGit for quick Git operations and worktree management
- Tab 3: Helix (which I’ll ditch for NeoVim if they don’t release the plugin system this year)
- Tab 4: OpenCode without any real configuration
I’m intentionally careful not to couple my development process with AI. It’s very tempting to let it take over. I look at Herdr, FirstMate, Hunk, SuperWhisper and I think, “How cool is that?”. I could be like Iron Man talking to Jarvis!
But chasing that fantasy costs real money. My employer might not care about spending boatloads of money on AI, but I don’t feel comfortable relying on a workflow that costs double or triple digits per feature.
And when I switch to my own stuff, I most certainly don’t have the same budget, and I don’t want my muscle memory to reach out for something I can’t afford.
I don’t want my development workflow to depend on whether someone else is footing my AI bill. If my credits ran out tomorrow, I still want to be coding.