completely different coding setups individuals use for programming. On this article, I’ll take you thru my private coding setup and the instruments and purposes that I take advantage of to realize most effectivity when programming.
This can be a setup that I’ve created by intensive testing and experimenting myself by trial and error. Whereas testing, I’ve tried to make use of a number of completely different purposes for programming, and every of them has benefits in numerous settings.
I’ll take you thru the present coding setup I’ve, although it’s, in fact, topic to vary quickly sooner or later with the fast development of LLM expertise.
I’m not sponsored by any of the tooling talked about on this video, and it’s merely the tooling I take advantage of on a day-to-day foundation as a programmer.
Why optimize your coding setup
As a programmer, your coding setup is likely one of the most necessary components you may optimize. That is the place you spend most of your time fixing completely different issues. Due to on a regular basis you spend together with your coding setup, you must spend time ensuring it’s optimized to your private workflows.
Personally, I at all times search for alternatives to make my setup extra environment friendly. For a protracted time period, I used Cursor each day because the platform from which I did all my coding. A couple of weeks in the past, I all of a sudden shifted to utilizing purely Claude Code by Warp, which primarily makes up nearly all of my coding setup.
The change from utilizing Cursor to utilizing Claude Code by Warp was some of the vital productiveness will increase I’ve skilled since I first observed how environment friendly brokers might program for me. Warp + Claude Code has helped me massively in my each day work as a knowledge scientist in a startup engaged on doc AI.
Strolling by my coding setup
On this part, I’ll stroll you thru the completely different tooling, strategies, and approaches I take advantage of to optimize my coding setup. I’ll cowl the purposes I take advantage of on a day-to-day foundation, but additionally how I make the most of and get essentially the most out of those purposes and different necessary tips I take advantage of to make my coding as efficient as doable.
All the ideas I’ll cowl on this part have a big influence on my productiveness as an engineer.
Tooling
To begin with, I wish to cowl the tooling I take advantage of. I take advantage of Claude Code and Warp for nearly all of my coding. If I wish to verify some manufacturing logs or if I wish to repair a bug or implement a brand new function, I’ll primarily at all times use Claude Code in Warp.
Inside Warp, I’ve the next setup. I’ve every tab in Warp as a separate folder I’m working in. So if I’m working in folder A, that’s my first tab in Warp. And if I’m working in folder B, that’s my second tab. Now, I usually discover myself having a number of brokers working inside the similar folder. On this case, I make a cut up pane utilizing CMD + D in Warp, so my tab is cut up into a number of panes. Relying on the duty I’m engaged on, I might have as much as 5 brokers working inside the similar repository. After which I’ve completely different repositories in numerous Warp tabs.
I wish to observe one exception the place I take advantage of Cursor as an alternative of Claude Code: After I want full management of the code. For instance, if the function is of vital significance or part of vital infrastructure. Additionally, usually once I run necessary migration scripts or backfilling scripts, I’ll additionally do it in Cursor as a result of this offers me extra management of the code. I may also run the code myself by interactive home windows with Python.
Git worktrees
As I discussed in my earlier part, I usually discover myself working a number of brokers inside the similar repository. When you have a number of brokers updating information on the similar time in the identical repository, you’ll run into issues with brokers colliding with one another. To resolve this drawback, you should use Git Worktrees.
Git worktrees are primarily copies of Git repositories which you could make to have brokers run utterly separate from one another. So at any time when I spin up a brand new agent, I inform it to start out a brand new git worktree for what it’s engaged on. and that agent can now work utterly individually from all different brokers working in the identical repository.
That is an important function if you wish to work with parallel brokers in Claude Code (which is likely one of the main advantages of working with Claude Code). Thus, you must undoubtedly be using Git Worktrees in your day-to-day programming with parallel brokers.
Slash instructions
Slash instructions are one other very highly effective function. Slah instructions are primarily saved prompts, so you may shortly entry a immediate that you’ve saved on a earlier event. For instance, when you’ve got a really repetitive immediate, you must retailer it as a slash command. Some examples of this are:
Slash instructions are extremely highly effective, and I’ve lined them in one in all my earlier articles. The advantage of slash instructions is twofold. To begin with, you save time by not having to jot down out the immediate each time. So as an alternative of getting to jot down out a protracted immediate, telling the mannequin that it must:
- Pull the most recent dev department and rebase on prime of it
- Run precommit checks
- A superb PR description
- Make a pull request from a function department to dev
As a substitute of getting to jot down out all of this, you may merely retailer this immediate in a slash command and entry the immediate immediately.
The second benefit is that you simply get to be extra constant when writing your prompts. For instance, when creating pull requests to dev, as I discussed, you would need to run a sequence of checks (pull newest dev department, rebase, run precommit checks, …). In case you write this out each time, you danger forgetting components of the immediate. This isn’t an issue when you use slash instructions, nevertheless, since you’ll at all times be using the identical immediate, and also you’ll be extra constant.
Slash instructions make you each quicker and extra constant
Low threshold to fireplace off brokers
One other matter I wish to cowl is that you must have an excellent low threshold to fireplace off brokers to carry out duties for you. At any time when you may consider a brand new process or get a brand new drawback you need to remedy, you must simply hearth off an agent. For instance, if I discover a button that’s misaligned, some textual content in my software that must be up to date, or translations that should be up to date. I merely hearth off a brand new agent, let it run absolutely autonomously, and create a pull request for me.
The principle level is that you must have a low threshold to fireplace off brokers as a result of it’s so low-cost to run and prices you so little time. The price of firing a brand new agent is actually spending time writing out a great immediate and, in lots of circumstances, answering a couple of questions the brokers have so that you can correctly perceive the duty you gave them.
There are actually many instruments on the market that provide loads of token utilization for a comparatively low worth. For instance, I’m utilizing the $200 Claude Code subscription, which is a set quantity monthly, and I’ve by no means run into charge limits. This implies I can hearth off as many brokers as I can with out further price.
Make the most of one of the best fashions
One other tip I’ve may sound very apparent, however I at all times advocate utilizing one of the best fashions everytime you work with programming. The rationale for that is that in the long run, this protects you each money and time.
Sure, one of the best fashions are usually the costliest fashions per token and are additionally the slowest fashions. Nevertheless, it seems that when you use cheaper fashions, they may extra usually make errors, which takes further time so that you can repair and iterate on, which once more makes the mannequin make the most of much more tokens. Thus, in the long run, it usually seems that utilizing a less expensive, smaller mannequin really seems to be dearer and time-consuming.
You need to subsequently be using the frontier fashions akin to Gemini 3 Professional, Claude 4.5 Opus, and GPT 5.2 Codex. There are additionally some up-and-coming open supply fashions performing nicely on the coding benchmarks, although I haven’t achieved the identical success with open supply fashions as I’ve achieved with frontier closed supply fashions.
Conclusion
On this article, I’ve lined tips on how to have a most effectivity coding setup. I’ve mentioned the coding setup I take advantage of on a day-to-day foundation, the place I take advantage of the Warp terminal with Claude Code. Moreover, I take advantage of particular strategies akin to organizing Warp with cut up panes and tabs by the folder I’m engaged on. I’m additionally ensuring to at all times use the most recent and greatest coding fashions. I imagine spending time optimizing your coding setup is an excellent use of time. As a programmer, your coding setup is likely one of the stuff you spend essentially the most time with, and if you may make that a couple of proportion factors extra environment friendly, it’ll possible repay in the long term.
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