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things I use

I receive a lot of questions on stream about my setup and what I use. Here's a (probably very incomplete) list to make it easier to share.

hardware

  1. Chair: Ikaria Design Soul Seat

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    Chair: Ikaria Design Soul Seat

    I prefer to sit cross-legged when working. This weird chair has noticeably improved my posture and the strength in my back, and I love the flexibility it gives me to move around and switch positions throughout the day.

    More Chair: Ikaria Design Soul Seat details
  2. Keyboard: Mistel Barocco MD770 RGB BT w/ Cherry MX Brown Switches

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    Keyboard: Mistel Barocco MD770 RGB BT w/ Cherry MX Brown Switches

    I got into mechanical keyboards in summer 2020. My first purchase was the Keychron K2 RGB with Gateron Blue Switches. After hearing great things about the postural benefits of a split keyboard, I tried out an ortholinear split keyboard (borrowed from a friend). That made my brain hurt a little too much, so I moved to the Mistel Barocco.

    More Keyboard: Mistel Barocco MD770 RGB BT w/ Cherry MX Brown Switches details
  3. Machine: MacBook Pro

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    Machine: MacBook Pro

    My main machine is a Macbook Pro 16", Apple M1 Pro chip with 32GB RAM and 1TB of Flash Storage.

productivity

  1. Spectacle

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    Spectacle

    I've used Spectacle for years — it's one of the first apps I install on a new machine. It's unobtrusive, easy to use, and easy to configure.

    More Spectacle details
  2. Trello

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    Trello

    I use Trello to keep track of streaming and content ideas, and other life projects such as house renovations and meal planning.

    More Trello details

software

  1. axe DevTools

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    axe DevTools

    Axe dev tools is great for improving your knowledge of accessibility. Install the plugin, open then dev tools panel, navigate to the axe tab, and use it to understand how to improve accessibility on your websites.

    More axe DevTools details
  2. Brave Browser

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    Brave Browser

    Brave is my current cross-device browser of choice. It claims to be three times faster than Chrome, have better privacy by default than Firefox, and use 35% less battery on mobile. Brave uses Chromium under the hood, so the dev tools are familiar.

    More Brave Browser details
  3. Contentful

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    Contentful

    I manage most of the content on this website using Contentful — a headless CMS that delivers your data in JSON.

    More Contentful details
  4. f.lux

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    f.lux

    f.lux is an essential application for me — it's one of the first things I install on a new machine. I have pretty sensitive eyes and f.lux ensures that I am shielded from too much blue light throughout the day and late at night.

    More f.lux details
  5. Figma

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    Figma

    Figma is a collaborative interface design tool you can use in the browser. I use this primarily to work with designers to collaborate on ideas and assets.

    More Figma details
  6. GitHub CLI

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    GitHub CLI

    If you host your git repositories on GitHub, this is a great tool to manage your code without having to leave the command line. Create repositories, pull requests, issues and more in the terminal where you are already working with git and your code. It's a great productivity booster!

    More GitHub CLI details
  7. gitmoji

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    gitmoji

    ✨⚡️ If you like emojis and you use git, you'll love gitmoji. Install gitmoji on your machine (I used brew install gitmoji), run gitmoji --init in a git repository, and on each commit, gitmoji will prompt you to choose a category, which will prefix the commit message with an emoji. ⚡️✨

    More gitmoji details
  8. Homebrew

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    Homebrew

    Wherever possible I install software and packages using Homebrew. With Homebrew, it's easy to keep everything up to date on the command line with brew upgrade, or see a list of everything you have installed with brew list.

    More Homebrew details
  9. iTerm2

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    iTerm2

    My terminal of choice is iTerm2. I use a minimally configured Zsh setup, which includes some colour customisations, git branch display and some helpful aliases.

    More iTerm2 details
  10. lolcat

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    lolcat

    I use lolcat for a bit of fun in my terminal — it looks great on stream! Pipe things through lolcat and watch the rainbow appear.

    More lolcat details
  11. Miro

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    Miro

    I started using Miro in 2020 as a replacement for physical whiteboards when the world started working remotely. Whilst it's not a perfect replacement for the real thing, if you want cloud-collaborative software that's capable of visualising ideas and concepts in a digital space, or if you just want to stick a load of post-it notes somewhere, Miro is fantastic.

    More Miro details
  12. npx license

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    npx license

    I use npx license to add licenses to my GitHub repositories from the command line without having to install any additional packages.

    More npx license details
  13. Visual Studio Code

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    Visual Studio Code

    My current IDE of choice is Visual Studio Code. It's free, built on open source, and runs everywhere.

    More Visual Studio Code details
  14. Wave Accessibility Evaluation Tool

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    Wave Accessibility Evaluation Tool

    Wave has has helped incredibly in improving my knowledge of semantic HTML, page structure and aria labels. Install the plugin, activate the extension, and use it to understand how to improve accessibility on your websites.

    More Wave Accessibility Evaluation Tool details

streaming

  1. Elgato Collapsible Green Screen

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    Elgato Collapsible Green Screen

    I love how easy this green screen is to pull out and fold away. Another bonus is that it's always wrinkle free. The only downside is that it's a trickier to chroma key in OBS than the standard chrome key green screens.

    More Elgato Collapsible Green Screen details
  2. Elgato HD60 S Capture Card 1080p

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    Elgato HD60 S Capture Card 1080p

    I code on a MacBook Pro and live stream from a custom PC that runs Windows. I use the Elgato Capture card to send the output of my main monitor (which is plugged in to my MacBook Pro) to my streaming PC. The screen capture is added as a source in OBS, and this is how you see me coding whilst I stream.

    More Elgato HD60 S Capture Card 1080p details
  3. Elgato Key Light Air (x2)

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    Elgato Key Light Air (x2)

    I use two WiFi-controlled Elgato Key Light Airs whilst streaming. As well as providing great broadcast quality lighting, they're also great as desk lamps when set at a low intensity if you're working in low light at night.

    More Elgato Key Light Air (x2) details
  4. Elgato Ring Light

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    Elgato Ring Light

    At the centre of my lighting setup is a WiFi-controlled Elgato ring light. I mount my streaming webcam at the centre of the light.

    More Elgato Ring Light details
  5. Elgato Stream Deck

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    Elgato Stream Deck

    This Elgato stream deck is connected to my coding machine. I use it to trigger some quick actions such as opening GitHub, Twitter, and my Twitch dashboard.

    More Elgato Stream Deck details
  6. Elgato Stream Deck XL

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    Elgato Stream Deck XL

    The Elgato Stream Deck XL has been instrumental in improving the production of my streams on Twitch. I use it to control everything! It's definitely a big investment, so if you're just starting out, I would recommend giving the Elgato Stream Deck Mini a try.

    More Elgato Stream Deck XL details
  7. Elgato Wave 1 USB Condenser Mic

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    Elgato Wave 1 USB Condenser Mic

    The Elgato Wave 1 doubles as an audio interface, and the WaveLink software allows me to control any number of audio channels and their levels, and feed them into OBS as one audio input.

  8. Logitech Streamcam 1080p HD 60fps

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    Logitech Streamcam 1080p HD 60fps

    This is the webcam I use whilst streaming. It's USB C and pretty reliable!

    More Logitech Streamcam 1080p HD 60fps details
  9. Neewer Portable Photography Lighting Kit

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    Neewer Portable Photography Lighting Kit

    I use these lights to illuminate the bottom of my green screen to get a more even chroma key in OBS.

  10. OBS

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    OBS

    I use OBS to broadcast my streams. It's free and open source.

    More OBS details
  11. Pretzel

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    Pretzel

    I use Pretzel to play music whilst I'm live streaming to avoid DMCA issues. It comes with a great selection of music, Twitch chat integration, and can be optimised for YouTube and Twitch.

    More Pretzel details
  12. Rode PSA 1 Swivel Mount

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    Rode PSA 1 Swivel Mount

    I use this in combination with the Elgato Wave 1 USB mic, which is held by an Elgato shock mount.

  13. Streaming PC (custom build)

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    Streaming PC (custom build)

    For streaming I use a custom PC build running on Windows. Notable specs: i7 6700k, 32GB RAM, 970 Evo 500GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980, Fractal Node 804 case.