Table of Contents
- Computer: Recommended specs for computer.
- Dropbox: File storage.
- Windows Terminal: Terminal for Windows.
- Windows Subsystem for Linux: Run Linux on Windows.
- Scoop: Package manager for Windows.
- oh-my-posh: Better terminal prompt.
- Vim: Text editor to speed up your typing.
- Vimium: Google Chrome extension to speed up your Googling.
- Visual Studio Code: IDE to speed up your development.
- Git: Version control for champs.
- Docker: Container management.
- dotnet: .NET Core CLI for building .NET applications.
- Node: A JavaScript runtime.
- Python: Easy to read, learn, and use programming language.
- kubectl: Kubernetes CLI.
- kubectxwin: CLI for configuring Kubernetes contexts.
- kubenswin: CLI for configuring Kubernetes namespaces.
- Helm: Package manager for Kubernetes.
- Pulumi: Infrastructure as code.
- Lightshot: Screen capture tool.
- ScreenToGif: Screen capture tool, but GIFs.
- OBS Studio: Screen recording tool.
Computer
I use a MacBook Pro (M4 Max) with 64 GB of memory.
- Memory: 64 GB
- Chip: Apple M4 Max
- Disk: 1 TB
Google Drive
Google Drive is great for scanning documents. I keep a single ‘Documents’ folder with all my files and then just use search when I need to find something. I use the file name convention
YYYY-MM-DD Description so I can also look back historically. The mobile app scanner works really well.Installation
Windows Terminal
New terminal for Windows. Makes for a much better terminal experience.
Installation
Open the Windows Store and search for ‘terminal’. Then click ‘Install’.

Resources
Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)
Run Linux on Windows.
Installation
Open PowerShell and run
wsl --installInstall Ubuntu
wsl --install --distribution UbuntuUsage

References
Scoop
Package manager for Windows.
Installation
Set the execution policy.
Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -s CurrentUserInstall scoop.
iex (New-Object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://get.scoop.sh')Install sudo.
scoop install sudoThis allows you to run a command as an ‘Administrator’.
Add extras and versions buckets.
scoop bucket add extras
scoop bucket add versionsUsage
Search for packages
scoop search vimInstall a package
scoop install vimReferences
oh-my-posh
Better prompt.
Installation
Install with Scoop.
scoop install https://github.com/JanDeDobbeleer/oh-my-posh/releases/latest/download/oh-my-posh.jsonOpen your profile.
vim $env:PROFILEAdd the following line to the top of your profile to use the ‘paradox’ theme.
Invoke-Expression (oh-my-posh --init --shell pwsh --config "$(scoop prefix oh-my-posh)/themes/paradox.omp.json")References
Vim
Text editor to speed up your typing. It takes a little while to get used to but the persistence pays of in the long run.
Installation
scoop install vimUsage
Open vim in current directory.
vim .Open a file in vim
vim ./my-file.txtResources
Vimium
Google Chrome extension to speed up your Googling. Use Vim keybindings to navigate around the browser.
Installation
Head to Vimium homepage and click the ‘Install’ button. Or search for ‘Vimium’ in the Chrome Web Store and install from there.
Usage
j,k: used to scroll up and down respectively.d,u: used to page up and down respectively.f-{other}: used to show links on page and then navigate to{other}which was the shown link.?: show the rest of the keybindings and other help.
Visual Studio Code
IDE to speed up your development.
Installation
scoop install vscodeUsage
Open current directory in VS Code.
code .Open file in VS Code.
code ./my-file.txtReferences
Git
Version control for champs.
Installation
scoop install gitgit config --global credential.helper manager-coregit config --global core.autocrlf trueUsage
Initialize a new repository.
mkdir my-repo
cd my-repo
git initAdd a file to track.
echo "hello" > hello.txt
git add hello.txtCommit changes.
git commit -m 'added hello.txt'Docker
Container management.
Installation
Usage
View running containers
docker ps -aView local images
docker imagesPull image from DockerHub
docker pull bashRun a container
docker run -it bashdotnet
Cross platform toolchain for developing .NET applications.
Installation
scoop install dotnet-sdkUsage
Create a new F# console application
dotnet new console -lang F# -n my-fsharp-appRun F# Interactive
dotnet fsi
Microsoft (R) F# Interactive version 12.0.0.0 for F# 6.0
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
For help type #help;;
> let x = 1;;
val x: int = 1
> let y = 2;;
val y: int = 2
> x + y;;
val it: int = 3Node
A JavaScript runtime.
Installation
scoop install nvmList available versions.
nvm list available
| CURRENT | LTS | OLD STABLE | OLD UNSTABLE |
|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
| 17.8.0 | 16.14.2 | 0.12.18 | 0.11.16 |
| 17.7.2 | 16.14.1 | 0.12.17 | 0.11.15 |
| 17.7.1 | 16.14.0 | 0.12.16 | 0.11.14 |
| 17.7.0 | 16.13.2 | 0.12.15 | 0.11.13 |
| 17.6.0 | 16.13.1 | 0.12.14 | 0.11.12 |
| 17.5.0 | 16.13.0 | 0.12.13 | 0.11.11 |
| 17.4.0 | 14.19.1 | 0.12.12 | 0.11.10 |
| 17.3.1 | 14.19.0 | 0.12.11 | 0.11.9 |
| 17.3.0 | 14.18.3 | 0.12.10 | 0.11.8 |
| 17.2.0 | 14.18.2 | 0.12.9 | 0.11.7 |
| 17.1.0 | 14.18.1 | 0.12.8 | 0.11.6 |
| 17.0.1 | 14.18.0 | 0.12.7 | 0.11.5 |
| 17.0.0 | 14.17.6 | 0.12.6 | 0.11.4 |
| 16.12.0 | 14.17.5 | 0.12.5 | 0.11.3 |
| 16.11.1 | 14.17.4 | 0.12.4 | 0.11.2 |
| 16.11.0 | 14.17.3 | 0.12.3 | 0.11.1 |
| 16.10.0 | 14.17.2 | 0.12.2 | 0.11.0 |
| 16.9.1 | 14.17.1 | 0.12.1 | 0.9.12 |
| 16.9.0 | 14.17.0 | 0.12.0 | 0.9.11 |
| 16.8.0 | 14.16.1 | 0.10.48 | 0.9.10 |Install the latest LTS.
nvm install 16.14.2Use installed version.
nvm use 16.14.2Usage
Run JavaScript REPL.
node
Welcome to Node.js v14.17.0.
Type ".help" for more information.
> var x = 1;
undefined
> var y = 2;
undefined
> x + y
3Resources
Python
Easy to read, learn, and use programming language.
Installation
Install
pyenvscoop install pyenvList available versions
pyenv install --list
:: [Info] :: Mirror: https://www.python.org/ftp/python
3.8.9
3.8.10
3.9.0
3.9.2
3.9.6Install latest version.
pyenv install 3.9.6Set latest as global version.
pyenv global 3.9.6Usage
Check version.
python --versionRun Python REPL.
python
Python 3.8.2 (tags/v3.8.2:7b3ab59, Feb 25 2020, 23:03:10) [MSC v.1916 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> x = 1
>>> y = 2
>>> x + y
3References
kubectl
Kubernetes CLI.
Installation
scoop install kubectlUpdate your
KUBECONFIG environment variable and (optionally) add an alias.vim $PROFILE$env:KUBECONFIG = "C:\Users\<user>\.kube\config;"
Set-Alias k kubectlThen reload your profile.
. $PROFILEUsage
k get pods --all-namespaceskubectxwin
CLI for configuring Kubernetes contexts
Installation
Clone the repository.
git clone https://github.com/thomasliddledba/kubectxwin.gitAdd the executable to the PATH and (optionally) add an alias.
vim $PROFILE$env:Path += ";C:\<path to kubectxwin repo>\bin"
Set-Alias ktx kubectxwinReload your profile.
. $PROFILEUsage
View contexts
ktx lsChange context
ktx set docker-desktop
Switched to context "docker-for-desktop".kubenswin
CLI for configuring Kubernetes namespaces
Installation
Clone the repository.
git clone https://github.com/thomasliddledba/kubenswin.gitAdd the executable to the PATH and (optionally) add an alias.
vim $PROFILE$env:Path += ";C:\{path to kubenswin repo}\bin"
Set-Alias kns kubenswinReload your profile.
. $PROFILEUsage
View namespaces
kns lsChange namespace
kns set kube-systemHelm
Package manager for Kubernetes.
Installation
scoop install helmUsage
Install a chart (i.e., package).
helm install stable/postgresql --name my-postgresList charts.
helm listShow status of chart.
helm status my-postgresPulumi
Infrastructure as code.
Installation
Install using Scoop.
scoop install pulumiUsage
Create a new project.
mkdir pulumi
pulumi new kubernetes-typescriptPreview the changes.
pulumi previewUpdate the resources.
pulumi upResources
Lightshot
Screen capture tool. (Used for most of the images in this post.)
Installation
Usage
Take a screen shot by pressing the
PrtScr button on your keyboard. You can then select an area on your screen, add lines or arrows, and save or copy the image to your clipboard.Resources
ScreenToGif
Screen capture tool, but GIFs.
Installation
Usage
Start ScreenToGif.
Drag the window around the area you would like to record and press
F7 to start recording. Press F8 to stop recording.
Resources
OBS Studio
Screen recording tool.