12 ms·

Developer and Power Users Tool List for Windows

392 points by kissgyorgy 13y ago

patrickk 13y ago
A word of warning about TerraCopy- it can cause annoying errors when copying. I transferred many gigs of data from one computer to another over a LAN, some files transferred fine, others looked like they copied ok, but were actually 0kb in size on closer look. I'm not sure if it was a bug in that particular version or with the setup being used, but once I uninstalled TerraCopy the errors ceased.
- Havoc 13y ago
  TC occasionally bombs out if you queue too much stuff - i.e. it just closes ... and thus looks like its done when really its not. Maybe thats why you got 0kb files. Win7 + copying is decent enough for most non-lan purposes though. Speaking on copying failing - I stopped using TotalCommander for that reason. It just says disk full (not true) out of the blue. Messaged the author & got some bullshit response.
  - patrickk 13y ago
    You would think that queuing lots of files would be where TerraCopy really shines- faster copying combined with a nice view of the copy queue, with percentages and so on. I was disappointed to uninstall it because it worked well for normal copying on the same pc and the UI is very informative, but the bog-standard windows copying functionality can handle as much stuff as you can throw at it which is the whole point of a copy tool in the first place.
  - noinsight 13y ago
    > Win7 + copying is decent enough for most non-lan purposes though. It's not. If a single file fails on Win7 it cancels the whole operation (how is that possible on an OS released in 2009?! Fixed in Win8 though, that will never be used in corporations though), it fails if the path becomes longer than 255 characters etc. Robocopy works but I'd much rather use rsync which is not available on Windows unless you use hacked up versions with cygwin. A good reliable copying tool is sorely missing. Sure, there's all sorts of alternatives but I'm not willing to use it unless it's open source. The other comment on this thread talking about FastCopy got me curious, I'll have to try that (it's open source!).
    - tucaz 13y ago
      I'm trying swiss file knife for multi purpose file handling (including a somewhat delta copying) and it's proving to be a good tool.
    - jebblue 13y ago
      >> unless you use hacked up versions with cygwin I use standard Cygwin and rsync and ssh when I have to use Windows and use them to backup Windows to a Linux box and it works great.
    - Havoc 13y ago
      >If a single file fails on Win7 it cancels the whole operation No it doesn't? It pauses it & gives you an option to retry / cancel. So if another app is using the file you can close it & continue.
  - adamzochowski 13y ago
    The only time I had Total Commander stop a copy like that was with bad usb hubs/drives that can't sustain fast writes and need to be down throttled. This is the reason why tcmd has option to change how it handles drives, the size of the chunks it reads and writes, and the speed at which it does it.
- cpbotha 13y ago
  FastCopy does everything TeraCopy does, but faster and better: http://ipmsg.org/tools/fastcopy.html.en http://ipmsg.org/tools/fastcopy.html.en (this is the only tool I miss when working on Linux)
  - eps 13y ago
    On XP - perhaps, but on Windows 7 and up FastCopy and TeraCopy are both slower than or marginally comparable to robocopy, which is a built-in bulk copying tool. Microsoft did an amazing job with it in W7, robocopy is really damn fast.
    - InTheSwiss 13y ago
      I have used Robocopy to move over 300TB of data round recently and not a single error. Robocopy is at UNIX level stability. Really a kick ass tool.
    - cpbotha 13y ago
      Are you sure about that? It's hard to find benchmarks, but things seem to point in the direction of fastcopy still being faster. See e.g. http://www.sepago.de/e/helge/2011/05/17/fastcopy-free-file-copy-tool-runs-circles-around-explorer http://www.sepago.de/e/helge/2011/05/17/fastcopy-free-file-c... (robocopy comparison at the end) Would be great to see benchmarks of course! :)
      - eps 13y ago
        Yeah, positive. Just ran a quick test copying 3GB .iso from local HDD to USB3 drive. fastcopy - 152 sec (average of 3 fastest runs out of 4) robocopy - 65 sec Incidentaly, tried the same with my backup program and it's 62 seconds, faster than both.
  - noinsight 13y ago
    Thanks for mentioning this, I've been looking for such a tool for a while now. It's open source too (a requirement for me)!
  - 13y ago
peterkarson 13y ago
"Everyone collects utilities" Speak for yourself. I don't collect utilities.
- mamby 13y ago
  don't be junk!
Havoc 13y ago
Nice list. Can't say I agree with everything, but preferences vary. I'd add though: ninite, notepad++, foobar, windows snipping tool and maybe cdxpburner. NB both CDXPBurner and Imgburner come with Opencandy adware in some versions and are sneaky about it.
- ProAm 13y ago
  I was really surprised that Notepad++ wasnt on the list.
- hobs 13y ago
  If you like windows snipping tool, http://getgreenshot.org/ http://getgreenshot.org/ is an open source software that does all the things that snipper does, and more (like a snagit replacement). Window, region, freeform windows. Uploads to various services. Configuration to allow automatic save locations and types. I use it every day!
  - morganherlocker 13y ago
    I second this one. I have used it for years as my default snipper.
    - zackboe 13y ago
      I've been a huge fan of ShareX (previously ZScreen) for quite awhile. I believe it incorporates Greenshot. http://getsharex.com http://getsharex.com
      - hobs 13y ago
        Oooh, I am going to take a look. I love greenshot, so interesting stuff built on top of it is worth some time. This is why OSS is the best.
  - michaelbuddy 13y ago
    big fan of greenshot here. They've added good features over time. Now it captures transparent rounded corners and you can add shadows, ripping effects. I still with their text feature was stronger but it's certainly does the job. You can also share to a dozen different sources.
rschmitty 13y ago
No idea why he would use Notepad2, ST3 loads up just as fast and provides way more features for text editing. Plus it is good with markdown syntax highlighting thus eliminating the need for MarkdownPad Also Github for windows or just Git bash covers the need for Gow Jabbr is ok, but I havent been able to give up mIRC Also he left off a good tabbed ssh/putty Great list, learned lots of new things thanks!
- shrikant 13y ago
  What?? I don't have access to a Windows install right now, but the last time I used ST3 on Windows, it took a heck of a lot longer (~2-3 seconds) to start up than Notepad2. For micro-edit sessions, Notepad2 is unbeatable.
  - jhasse 13y ago
    Just tested: less than half a second (it basically came up instantly). I have a SSD though.
    - MatmaRex 13y ago
      It takes a few seconds to start up for me too. And if it's already running, unrelated tabs appearing are annoying. I use Sublime usually, but Notepad2 when I just want to edit something quickly or have a scratch pad. (I actually replaced Windows' notepad with it.)
    - InTheSwiss 13y ago
      Using ST3b3059 on Windows 8.1 pro x64, 2.5Ghz Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 7200RPM Platter and the ST console logs "startup time: 0.0931221", it loaded as fast as vanilla Notepad.
    - Numberwang 13y ago
      ST2 takes 8 seconds for me to start on my laptop. Notepad++ starts in 0.5.
      - 13y ago
ericcholis 13y ago
Non-Windows users should still grep this list. There are some multi-platform tools listed.
nhebb 13y ago
> "NimbleText - Regular Expressions are hard and I'm not very smart. NimbleText lets me do crazy stuff with large amounts of text with it hurting so much [sic]." In case it's unclear from the description, NimbleText is a simple code generator. It's saved me a ton of time and keystrokes. Well worth the $20.
- JackMorgan 13y ago
  > "NimbleText - Regular Expressions are hard and I'm not very smart. NimbleText lets me do crazy stuff with large amounts of text with it hurting so much [sic]." I couldn't even read this part without laughing, all I hear is: "I'm too lazy to spend a few hours learning the free, extremely powerful tools available to me, so I'll use this weaker substitute instead. And it's only 20 bucks!" I overcame my eye rolling, and checked out the tool. It looks fine, but it seems like just a GUI over regex, right? Am I missing anything?
  - brudgers 13y ago
    If you're missing something, perhaps it is the use of literary license. The article is written for an audience not as a therapeutic journal. Sure regular expressions can be learned as quickly as one can type del *.* but a few hours of study isn't going to make much of their syntax stick two weeks later, and two weeks between uses is a lot more frequent than most computer users use them. Everyone ain't a programmer.
    - justinmk 13y ago
      > Sure regular expressions can be learned as quickly as one can type del *.* That is not a regex, it's a glob/wildcard pattern.
      - 6cxs2hd6 13y ago
        Well it's also a regexp: It's "del" followed by zero or more spaces followed by zero or more of any char. :) Although I feel competent with moderately complex regexps, I'm not sure I'd want to use them instead of globs while slinging my valuable files at the command line. Which I think goes back to the ancestor point -- is it crazy to use a GUI to make regexps for you? Although I too can get snooty about that, I think it's smart for someone who doesn't use regexps frequently in their work -- but on the rare occasions they need to, they need to get it right.
PavlovsCat 13y ago
my 2 cents: - TreeSize ( and/or SequoiaView ) -- see where the big files/directories are on your harddrives - Piriform CrapCleaner -- deletes unwanted/unneeded files after booting; configure all of it, then add folders and log files manually (find good candidates with Treesize ;) I like all Piriform tools, they're small, quick and slick. I wish they made more things. - any SysInternals stuff you have a use for (Autoruns is a must have) - DirectoryOpus -- the best file manager I know - FreeFileSync -- backup/synchronize directories (locally, that is). Can also monitor directories for changed stuff (also for Mac and Linux)
- voltagex_ 13y ago
  I'd swap out Treesize for Windirstat (Free-er) and FreeFileSync for PathSync (which I really need to fork one day)
  - PavlovsCat 13y ago
    I never heard of WinDirStat before, it's like Treesize and SequoiaView rolled into one! Thanks a lot :)
    - voltagex_ 13y ago
      And this is why I still read every utilities/tools thread. Another cool one that needs a new maintainer is SelfImage: it can make a disc image of a running Windows system and even connect to a Linux network block device.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- contextual 13y ago
  Directory Opus is insane. Best software I've ever purchased.
jhasse 13y ago
Is anyone using TouchCursor (http://touchcursor.sourceforge.net/ http://touchcursor.sourceforge.net/ )? I really like the idea, but I'm not sure if I should try to stick with it.
- wx196 13y ago
  Thank you for mention of this wonderful software. I tried to do the same with Autohotkey, but it is much simpler with TouchCursor. So I have been working with it for 2 days, it is unusual for the first time, but not so hard. Now I have fast text navigation tool, much better than Home, End etc. keys.
to3m 13y ago
I don't know why people have such a blind spot in this regard, but Visual Studio's non-support for word-wrapping comments is obviously shameful. It's utterly ridiculous that you have to press Return while writing comments, and then more ridiculous yet that you have to go back and re-wrap them by hand when they change! - and the end result of course is that people usually don't bother, with the wrapping becoming steadily more ragged over time. Which looks shit. So, I'll recommend this addin, that fixes it pretty nicely: http://kynosarges.org/CommentReflower.html http://kynosarges.org/CommentReflower.html Though, you know... I've recommended this to numerous people over the years. And all of them have gone and ignored me. So perhaps I'm just unusual, and people like the raggedy look. Still, Comment Reflower gets my vote.
- TheAnimus 13y ago
  To be honest it's not a problem I have, I like to keep my comments short and punchy. If I'm writing war and peace, it will only ever be for the class comment at the top, for some reason I manually do my own line breaks then as I feel it can be used to break up thought and provide emphasis. However, I'm also a GhostDoc fan: http://submain.com/products/ghostdoc.aspx http://submain.com/products/ghostdoc.aspx So I appreciate some people consider me to be inherently evil/lazy.
  - noselasd 13y ago
    Even if it's a problem you'd have, you really have a luxury problem if having to press enter when writing comments is the thngs you worry about when delivering code.
    - pessimizer 13y ago
      Not if you kill yourself after the 9000th time you've had to do it. Death is a real hardship for people of all income levels.
    - corresation 13y ago
      That's very dismissive of a very real problem. When you add friction to comments, people either a) Don't write them in the first place. b) Don't keep them up to date (as to3m mentioned, it is utterly ridiculous when you need to update a comment and then need to reflow every following sentence. Many developers will simply not do it). Additionally another counterpoint seems to be "my comments are short anyways", which would make me question why comment in the first place? In most cases where I've seen short comments, they were completely unnecessary redundant restating of exactly what the code already tells you. The comments that really add real value don't try to pseudo-code the code, but instead tell you the why of the code. It is extremely hard to describe why in 80 characters or less.
wslh 13y ago
I suggested the author to review my company product SpyStudio that has a free version and is being used by Microsoft MVPs and VMware to troubleshoot Windows issues. If you need a trustworthy source, here is a video from Peter Björk ( http://blogs.vmware.com/thinapp/author/peter_bjork http://blogs.vmware.com/thinapp/author/peter_bjork ) showing how to troubleshoot a ThinApp package: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sLxeoB7Bho https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sLxeoB7Bho
- RBerenguel 13y ago
  Hmmm "the author" works at Microsoft, I'm not sure if you are aware of this
  - wslh 13y ago
    Yes, what's the issue with that?
    - RBerenguel 13y ago
      Somehow the way you stated "used by Microsoft..." seemed disconnected from this fact, and just in case you didn't know I wanted to point it out. Since you know, no problem anywhere :)
      - mhurron 13y ago
        He said 'used by Microsoft MVP's.' There is a difference, MVP's aren't Microsoft employees.
- j_s 13y ago
  Probably not included because 'SpyStudio Unregistered is free for non-commercial use' [emphasis mine]
  - wslh 13y ago
    The author says: Many/most are free some aren't. Those that aren't free are very likely worth your 30-day trial, and very likely worth your money.
hndl 13y ago
Does anyone know of (or have) a similar list for OSX?
- 8ig8 13y ago
  Here ya' go: http://carpeaqua.com/2013/10/27/my-ultimate-developer-and-power-users-tool-list-for-os-x-2013-edition-/ http://carpeaqua.com/2013/10/27/my-ultimate-developer-and-po... My Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List for OS X (2013 Edition) > The idea for this list was shamelessly ripped off from Windows developer Scott Hanselman whose list has long been an enjoyable read when he updates it.
suhair 13y ago
Cmder[http://bliker.github.io/cmder/ http://bliker.github.io/cmder/] from that list changed how i view a windows commandline. My best windows tool discovery in 2013.
- toni 13y ago
  That's just a repackaged ConEmu. Nothing earth-shattering under the sun.
  - suhair 13y ago
    "Looking sexy from the start" is what it matters for me
    - toni 13y ago
      Still, it is nothing new, just a repackaging of old software.
      - suhair 13y ago
        I dont understand why repackaging is bad for Cmder. I was desperately looking for cmd alternative and found Console 2 a few years back. Then heard about ConEmu but it didn't made me even to try but Cmder did.
        alok-g 13y ago
        How would you compare Cmder and Console2?
      - asveikau 13y ago
        My theory: cmder is more palpable to the HN crowd because it fits several hipster criteria: * The name, while not as cool as these examples -- cmdr, cmd.io, cmd.ly, cmdhub -- is much more hip than ConEmu. * Design snob approved website, complete with almost Apple marketing levels of condescension: you won't see those other projects talking about "amazing software" or how you can "carry it with you ... anywhere you go". In all seriousness though, if I hadn't seen cmder mentioned on HN I probably wouldn't have heard of the interesting stuff it is based on, so I give them some credit. (Though I looked at some source code, and cringed a little bit on how these things work: injecting foreign code into the existing cmd.exe process... Yikes.)
kirtijthorat 13y ago
Scott Hanselman's list is amazing! A must-have for everyone in the tech industry. A decade worth of work at your fingertips. These are all well loved and often used utilities. I have curated my own list of utilities out of this humongous list. I truly appreciate the amount of hard work and many hours of research put together in making this list by Scott Hanselman.
raveli 13y ago
Great list of suggestions. While many of us on HN prefer Linux or OS X for any development work, it doesn't mean we don't at least occasionally work on Windows machines. Knowing how to make that experience more smooth definitely helps. Going through the list of suggestions there was one particular item that stopped me to think. Living close to the arctic circle where sun never rises with the winter solstice approaching, trying F.lux (http://justgetflux.com/ http://justgetflux.com/) felt at first a bit depressing with the app interpreting it's night even though it was noon. But then again, I guess most things have a tendency to feel depressing at this time of year.
- abrowne 13y ago
  I used F.lux for a long time, but now prefer Redshift[1][2] on OS X and Linux. (I think it has Windows support too, although I haven't tried it.) F.lux seemed to use a lot of CPU considering what it was doing. [1] Linux: try your package manager or <https://github.com/jonls/redshift/> https://github.com/jonls/redshift/> [2] OS X fork <https://github.com/geofft/redshift> https://github.com/geofft/redshift>
cowkingdeluxe 13y ago
I agree having Paint.NET on this list, it is pretty good. I used paint shop pro 6 (yes, the one made in 1999) and switched to Paint.NET last year. It has really expanded my capabilities with regard to art for game development. To get the most out of Paint.NET check out their plugins (http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/forum/7-plugins-publishing-only/ http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/forum/7-plugins-publis...). It seems like there is a plugin for anything you can think of.
- sergiotapia 13y ago
  Another vote of confidence for Paint.NET from me. It's gotten to a point where I know the shortcuts by heart and can cut, resize, apply tweaks to images very very quickly and it integrates perfectly with windows. It doesn't look horrible like GIMP. Please donate if you can, even $5 helps!
  - k3n 13y ago
    IMO it has a different place than GIMP, and they actually co-exist on my system. GIMP is more of a PhotoShop clone, whereas Paint.NET is more of a PSP clone and/or MSPaint on steroids. I've found that PS/GIMP are usually best for creating a production-quality image from scratch or for touching up full-color photos, but Paint.NET is best for doing informal graphical work (mock-ups, screenshot annotations, etc.)
- alan_cx 13y ago
  Yeah, good bit of software, usually end up installing it. However.... As I currently dont have it installed I thought I would do so having been reminded by this. Highlighted paint.net and right clicked. Of course chrome wanted to go to paint.net, rather than search for it. Far enough, but absent mindedly I clicked in "go to", and my AV software went mental. The site paint.net seems to be highly dodgy. So, yes, great bit of software, people should use and support it. Just be careful about where you go to get it. As should be obvious by this thread people need http://www.getpaint.net/ http://www.getpaint.net/
  - 13y ago
japaget 13y ago
Great list. I'd add one more program: Agent Ransack at http://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/ http://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/ . It's a file search utility that is orders of magnitude better than the utility built into Windows.
- Joeri 13y ago
  Yes, the problem i have with the built-in windows search is that I never really know what it's searching and therefore i don't know how exhaustive its results are. Agent ransack has a very precise ui, you know exactly what you're searching for and which folders you're searching in. It's great for when you have to trawl through millions of lines of code across dozens of projects to find the references to a database column to be migrated. I use it depressingly often for that, but it does it really well.
thearn4 13y ago
For python development, I'd also add Python(x,y) and/or Anaconda distributions for windows. They're binary installers that give you cpython interpreters + the kitchen sink when it comes to third party libraries and development tools. Also, I have to disagree with the author about recommending µTorrent. It's become more and more adware ridden with each new update. Deluge is pretty good though.
- wslh 13y ago
  You can't forget Python tools for Visual Studio http://pytools.codeplex.com/ http://pytools.codeplex.com/ !
  - McP 13y ago
    It is indeed rather nice. However I just started using PyCharm and it's on a whole other level: http://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/ http://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/
    - wslh 13y ago
      I tried both, why do you prefer PyCharm? Personally I like the Visual Studio IDE. The main concern I found with the VS extension is that is using 1/4 of the CPU all the time but with PyCharm I saw a similar behavior.
      - smortaz 13y ago
        [ptvs proj lead here] - thanks wslh! is the cpu really going at 25% the entire time? this should definitely /not/ happen. what will happen is that when you 1st install PTVS the analyzer will run in the background for a while until the completion database is ready for pkgs you've installed. after that it should be incremental as you add new pkgs. the initial analysis may take a while if you have a very large distro (15-45m) & run up the cpu. but after that it should be pretty flat. if you could file an issue w the list of your pkgs (if possible) we can look into it. bugs: http://pytools.codeplex.com/workitem/list/basic http://pytools.codeplex.com/workitem/list/basic thx!
oliwary 13y ago
My favorite tool on the list is Everything search, which instantly finds all files. It has completely changed the way I use the file system, to the point where I will rarely even open the Windows Explorer.
aktau 13y ago
Even though I barely touch windows these days, when I do, I invariably use "everything" (http://www.voidtools.com/ http://www.voidtools.com/) to find where everything is. So fast, so minimalistic. It's like locate on crack (because it shows you stuff as you type and it automatically updatedb's).
- sz4kerto 13y ago
  Windows 8.1 built-in search kind of makes this redundant.
  - gabrielrdz 13y ago
    no way windows search will ever replace Everything. Windows search is slow and it will not find whatever document you want 90% of the time.
    - sz4kerto 13y ago
      Well, it's very-very fast in 8.1. I don't know why it does not find the document you want - it works quite well for me, YMMV obviously.
      - maxerickson 13y ago
        Have you used Everything? It is instant file name search. I guess recent Windows could have improved file name searching, but it has classically been pretty bad.
        nightski 13y ago
        Actually not really if you set up an index on C:\ it is quite fast, which is basically the main difference. But there is not one by default so you need to add it.
    - alan_cx 13y ago
      "will not find whatever document you want 90% of the time" Absolute rubbish.
michael_fine 13y ago
Does anyone know of a list similar in scale and scope for Mac users?
- rkudeshi 13y ago
  Justin Williams has an 'Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List for OS X': http://carpeaqua.com/2013/10/27/my-ultimate-developer-and-power-users-tool-list-for-os-x-2013-edition-/ http://carpeaqua.com/2013/10/27/my-ultimate-developer-and-po...
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- rbanffy 13y ago
  1 item: macports Seriously, that's all you need.
  - mikeevans 13y ago
    I have stopped using macports since I tried homebrew. Is there any reason for me to switch back?
    - johncoltrane 13y ago
      What was your reason to switch away in the first place?
gchucky 13y ago
A great list overall. One alternative I'd offer: he recommends Github for Windows and Tortoise as Git clients. I've been using SourceTree for Windows (http://www.sourcetreeapp.com/ http://www.sourcetreeapp.com/) and it's excellent. They've done a great job maintaining and keeping it up to date.
- PavlovsCat 13y ago
  SmartGit is also nice: http://www.syntevo.com/smartgithg/ http://www.syntevo.com/smartgithg/
  - kingkool68 13y ago
    Woo hoo! Another SmartGit user. I love it! And SmartSVN and SmartSynchronize.
- adamors 13y ago
  SourceTree is such a great program. It's also very intuitive and nooby friendly, as opposed to Github for Windows which never seized to confuse me and I've been using Git for years. With SourceTree, people completely new to Git and version control can get things done.
  - moron4hire 13y ago
    "seized to confuse" love it. that is better than the original.
- JonoBB 13y ago
  Git Extensions is by far the best windows git client that I ever used.
  - boxerab 13y ago
    Yes! I even gave the developer a small donation; introducing git extensions stemmed a mutiny on my team: they wanted to switch from git to TFS
wil421 13y ago
Does anyone have a list similar to this for OS X?
- AsymetricCom 13y ago
  OSX has Linux CLI
dyml 13y ago
http://tabstospaces.com http://tabstospaces.com I often copy code from my IDE to my blog or other Markdown formatters. I always have to add four spaces or convert tabs to spaces so that it gets formatted as code block. This extremely fast and simply site just brings a simple and easy solution to my problem.
- isxek 13y ago
  For multiple files: TABS2Spaces (http://bluefive.pair.com/tabs2spaces.htm http://bluefive.pair.com/tabs2spaces.htm), which is a GUI application, and tabspace (http://stefanstools.sourceforge.net/tabspace.html http://stefanstools.sourceforge.net/tabspace.html), which is a CLI one. The latter also removes trailing whitespace (though it can be told not to via the /leaveeol parameter).
gus_massa 13y ago
Two additional utilities y like: * 7+ Taskbar Tweaker ( http://rammichael.com/7-taskbar-tweaker http://rammichael.com/7-taskbar-tweaker ): allows you to configure various aspects of the Windows taskbar, for example reorder and regroup the programs in the taskbar. * Network Activity Indicator (http://www.itsamples.com/network-activity-indicator.html http://www.itsamples.com/network-activity-indicator.html ): displays the old 'two monitors' icon in Windows 7 that flashed blue to show network activity. (Well, this don’t belong to the OP list because the only purpouse is to clutter the systray, but I like it.)
strick 13y ago
Great list! I would also include http://www.expandrive.com/expandrive http://www.expandrive.com/expandrive which lets you mount any server with SSH as a local hard drive.
stusmall 13y ago
What's the best hex editor on Windows these days? I'm rarely on it but when I am I usually use the Notepad++ plugin for it but love to hear about something better
- RoyalGroove 13y ago
  Try 010 Editor, it's very feature-rich.
- to3m 13y ago
  I use HxD (http://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd/); http://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd/); it's freeware and doesn't suck. (Previously I used XVI32 (http://www.chmaas.handshake.de/delphi/freeware/xvi32/xvi32.htm http://www.chmaas.handshake.de/delphi/freeware/xvi32/xvi32.h...) and frhed (http://frhed.sourceforge.net/en/ http://frhed.sourceforge.net/en/), which are both usable. They both have somewhat non-standard UI though.
wrongc0ntinent 13y ago
AutoHotkey is a great way to get your kids coding. Not sure if there's anything like it for what kids use most nowadays, iOS and Android tablets, but having them make macros and letting them manipulate their favorite piece of software in ways they didn't think possible is usually an eye opener. Edit: I'd add SpaceSniffer to this list.
- dave1010uk 13y ago
  Tasked is like an Android version of AutoHotKey. You can even use it to create APKs, which you can distribute in the Play store. I've used it to do loads of things, like unlock my phone based on WiFi, send automatic responses, and log the GPS coordinates when I leave the car. http://tasker.dinglisch.net/ http://tasker.dinglisch.net/
  - wrongc0ntinent 13y ago
    Thanks, looks great.
  - Tyr42 13y ago
    There's on{X} [1], but I haven't used it myself. [1]: https://www.onx.ms/#!landingPage https://www.onx.ms/#!landingPage
ijoyce 13y ago
I would add scoop. http://scoop.sh/ http://scoop.sh/
Afforess 13y ago
Great post. However there is 1 great utility missing: Clover: Chrome-like tabs for your file explorer. No more having dozens of file windows up. Just one. http://ejie.me http://ejie.me
- MarkTee 13y ago
  Awesome! I love being able to middle-click to open something in a new tab, especially the folder that I'm currently viewing.
pagade 13y ago
Although he mentions Hyper-V Virtual Machines, the real winner for me is VMware Player (http://www.vmware.com/in/products/player/ http://www.vmware.com/in/products/player/). Its just like a audio/video player but for Virtual Machines.
bberrry 13y ago
I love checking out lists like this.
pkrumins 13y ago
Here's my list of tools: http://www.catonmat.net/blog/must-have-windows-programs/ http://www.catonmat.net/blog/must-have-windows-programs/ Must Have Windows Programs
- isxek 13y ago
  This was written in 2010. Any plans for updating this list? (e.g., the link for "tclock2" is dead).
ghh 13y ago
IMDisk, a virtual disk driver and disk image mount utility that is lightweight, ad-free, and actually supports Windows 2000 to 8.1 [1]. It's also open-source. [1] http://www.ltr-data.se/opencode.html/ http://www.ltr-data.se/opencode.html/
alan_cx 13y ago
Just a couple of things. uTorrent got iffy once it was bought out. IIRC, you want version 0.6 This was very small, fast and unmolested. VLC. For years used to be absolutely fantastic. When it came out, a god send. I'd tell anyone listening to use it. Sadly, recently its caused me loads of sync problems, and various other minor niggles. As a result, I have had to reverted to CCCP. When VLC works for me, it is the best, but when it doesn't, CCCP fills the gap. In fairness, maybe a recent VLC update will cure my problems. Dunno. Foobar2000 needs a mention, especially with Winamp going. My PC is connected to my amp directly via USB, and FLAC files sound incredibly good. (These days, hifi wise, MP3 is, to me, awful. They kinda sound dead. You lose so much detail and depth. But that's a whole new discussion) You can also get a great little app for Android that you can remote control foobar2000 with over your lan.
- k3n 13y ago
  Foobar2000 is a great project, it's tremendously efficient (I think it uses 10-20mb when running), and the plugin feature allows you to extend it however you wish.
polskibus 13y ago
There's a lot about asking people not to copy the list to their own blogs which kind of spoils the first impression to me - especially that the note is before the fold. Does the HN crowd have an opinion on this? Did you find the note a bit weird ?
- porker 13y ago
  No - copy and pasting is endemic, and if he wants to keep a list that's his (rather than have it shared on 50+ 'latest might-get-ad-clicks content' websites), then good for him.
  - jzwinck 13y ago
    But his appeal will not stop those copiers, and it does annoy his intended audience.
- Throwadev 13y ago
  I don't see any issues with it. He's trying to preserve credit for a work he created. Yes, even a blog post like this one is work. In the past, some of Scott Hanselman's has been ripped off. I think it was a talk or post about working from home, or something related to how to be productive.
- xivSolutions 13y ago
  A day or two before he posted the list, he had to go through a run-around with some dude who apparently had copied a whole bunch of his (10 years+) blog content to their own, no attribution, nothing. I believe he deals with this type of thing frequently. I also think this tools list is a popular item for such "re-blogging," In this particular case, it appeared the offender simply didn't understand proper "nettiquette" and once pointed out, promptly removed the content (although he appears to still have a whole bunch of OTHER people's stuff copied up there, so who knows?).
curiousDog 13y ago
Does anyone know of a similar list for OSX?
shocks 13y ago
Disappointed that clink [1] didn't make it onto this list. :( Clink brings Bash's powerful command line editing to Microsoft Windows' cmd.exe! 1: http://code.google.com/p/clink/ http://code.google.com/p/clink/
- shanselman 13y ago
  I think it's in Cmder but I will update to include it because I know I use it.
  - guiambros 13y ago
    Another vote for clink. Makes Windows command prompt a lot more digestible.
    - shanselman 13y ago
      It's built into CMDER. But I've added it to the list to make it clear. Thanks!
  - shadowfox 13y ago
    It is included in ConEmu. So it should be in Cmder too
ufmace 13y ago
Nice list! I see a few things I already have, and a bunch more that I'll check out. A question for those who spend more time doing front-end web development: What do all of these much-touted Firefox development plugins like Firebug do that Chrome developer tools doesn't do?
- avenger123 13y ago
  I've used both and for some reason on another the Firefox ones just seem more user friendly. Maybe its because I started with Firebug in some ways but the Firefox tools seem better implemented from a usability perspective.
iaskwhy 13y ago
A few more I use: SSH Tunnel Manager (open source). I don't really like managing tunnels via cmd so here's a GUI to do just that. https://code.google.com/p/ssh-tunnel-manager/ https://code.google.com/p/ssh-tunnel-manager/ CryptSync (open source). This keeps a folder in sync with another one but encrypts the content of the destination folder. It's extremely useful to use with Dropbox where I keep everything encrypted. http://stefanstools.sourceforge.net/CryptSync.html http://stefanstools.sourceforge.net/CryptSync.html Greenshot (open source). I use this to get screenshots of a particular area of the screen like I would do on OSX with CTRL+SHIFT+4. http://getgreenshot.org/ http://getgreenshot.org/ Prepos App. A generic preprocessor for everything web (js, css, etc). http://alphapixels.com/prepros/ http://alphapixels.com/prepros/ SPlayer (open source). I have no idea with I enjoy this video player more than VLC but I do. http://www.splayer.org/index.en.html http://www.splayer.org/index.en.html VistaSwitcher. It's an ALT+TAB replacement. http://www.ntwind.com/software/vistaswitcher.html http://www.ntwind.com/software/vistaswitcher.html
- Tyr42 13y ago
  Did you know about the snipping tool included with Win7? I think it replaces Greenshot.
  - iaskwhy 13y ago
    I prefer Greenshot because I can do some magic like autosaving each shot in a particular format and folder. It also allows me to save and copy to clipboard so I can with just one click have it available to paste into a new Gmail message while keeping it saved on the disk. I use this a lot every day.
RexRollman 13y ago
I don't use Windows all the time but I do have some favorite programs: Firefox Notepad2 7zip Faststone Image Viewer Foobar2000 Mame ExactAudioCopy FLAC LAME Jhead
MichaelMoser123 13y ago
I recommend far manager - http://www.farmanager.com/ http://www.farmanager.com/ It looks and acts like Norton commander for windows - in text mode; it has many plugins, can't live without it. Another one missing is vim / gvim.
ionelm 13y ago
I'm surprised AltDrag[1] didn't make it in the list. It's incredibly useful ! [1] http://code.google.com/p/altdrag/ http://code.google.com/p/altdrag/
m0skit0 13y ago
One question: why would I bother installing all that when I can simply use a UNIX clone which on top of that is absolutely free? And as always with Windows: oh you got PowerShell, so adorable... Here, check bash/zsh
- artmageddon 13y ago
  Not everybody has the option of running a UNIX clone..
- recursive 13y ago
  No one is suggesting installing all of that. If you're happy with a UNIX clone, no one's telling you to do otherwise.
AlexDanger 13y ago
So has anyone found a decent Windows text/XML editor for large files? Notepad++ is great but I've noticed it a bit unwieldy with 50MB+ XML files. I find myself using svndiff if I need to compare large XML files. The performance is much better.

392 points by kissgyorgy 13y ago

A word of warning about TerraCopy- it can cause annoying errors when copying. I transferred many gigs of data from one computer to another over a LAN, some files transferred fine, others looked like they copied ok, but were actually 0kb in size on closer look. I'm not sure if it was a bug in that particular version or with the setup being used, but once I uninstalled TerraCopy the errors ceased.

Havoc 13y ago
TC occasionally bombs out if you queue too much stuff - i.e. it just closes ... and thus looks like its done when really its not. Maybe thats why you got 0kb files. Win7 + copying is decent enough for most non-lan purposes though. Speaking on copying failing - I stopped using TotalCommander for that reason. It just says disk full (not true) out of the blue. Messaged the author & got some bullshit response.
- patrickk 13y ago
  You would think that queuing lots of files would be where TerraCopy really shines- faster copying combined with a nice view of the copy queue, with percentages and so on. I was disappointed to uninstall it because it worked well for normal copying on the same pc and the UI is very informative, but the bog-standard windows copying functionality can handle as much stuff as you can throw at it which is the whole point of a copy tool in the first place.
- noinsight 13y ago
  > Win7 + copying is decent enough for most non-lan purposes though. It's not. If a single file fails on Win7 it cancels the whole operation (how is that possible on an OS released in 2009?! Fixed in Win8 though, that will never be used in corporations though), it fails if the path becomes longer than 255 characters etc. Robocopy works but I'd much rather use rsync which is not available on Windows unless you use hacked up versions with cygwin. A good reliable copying tool is sorely missing. Sure, there's all sorts of alternatives but I'm not willing to use it unless it's open source. The other comment on this thread talking about FastCopy got me curious, I'll have to try that (it's open source!).
  - tucaz 13y ago
    I'm trying swiss file knife for multi purpose file handling (including a somewhat delta copying) and it's proving to be a good tool.
  - jebblue 13y ago
    >> unless you use hacked up versions with cygwin I use standard Cygwin and rsync and ssh when I have to use Windows and use them to backup Windows to a Linux box and it works great.
  - Havoc 13y ago
    >If a single file fails on Win7 it cancels the whole operation No it doesn't? It pauses it & gives you an option to retry / cancel. So if another app is using the file you can close it & continue.
- adamzochowski 13y ago
  The only time I had Total Commander stop a copy like that was with bad usb hubs/drives that can't sustain fast writes and need to be down throttled. This is the reason why tcmd has option to change how it handles drives, the size of the chunks it reads and writes, and the speed at which it does it.
cpbotha 13y ago
FastCopy does everything TeraCopy does, but faster and better: http://ipmsg.org/tools/fastcopy.html.en http://ipmsg.org/tools/fastcopy.html.en (this is the only tool I miss when working on Linux)
- eps 13y ago
  On XP - perhaps, but on Windows 7 and up FastCopy and TeraCopy are both slower than or marginally comparable to robocopy, which is a built-in bulk copying tool. Microsoft did an amazing job with it in W7, robocopy is really damn fast.
  - InTheSwiss 13y ago
    I have used Robocopy to move over 300TB of data round recently and not a single error. Robocopy is at UNIX level stability. Really a kick ass tool.
  - cpbotha 13y ago
    Are you sure about that? It's hard to find benchmarks, but things seem to point in the direction of fastcopy still being faster. See e.g. http://www.sepago.de/e/helge/2011/05/17/fastcopy-free-file-copy-tool-runs-circles-around-explorer http://www.sepago.de/e/helge/2011/05/17/fastcopy-free-file-c... (robocopy comparison at the end) Would be great to see benchmarks of course! :)
    - eps 13y ago
      Yeah, positive. Just ran a quick test copying 3GB .iso from local HDD to USB3 drive. fastcopy - 152 sec (average of 3 fastest runs out of 4) robocopy - 65 sec Incidentaly, tried the same with my backup program and it's 62 seconds, faster than both.
- noinsight 13y ago
  Thanks for mentioning this, I've been looking for such a tool for a while now. It's open source too (a requirement for me)!
- 13y ago

peterkarson 13y ago

"Everyone collects utilities" Speak for yourself. I don't collect utilities.

mamby 13y ago
don't be junk!

Havoc 13y ago

Nice list. Can't say I agree with everything, but preferences vary. I'd add though: ninite, notepad++, foobar, windows snipping tool and maybe cdxpburner. NB both CDXPBurner and Imgburner come with Opencandy adware in some versions and are sneaky about it.

ProAm 13y ago
I was really surprised that Notepad++ wasnt on the list.
hobs 13y ago
If you like windows snipping tool, http://getgreenshot.org/ http://getgreenshot.org/ is an open source software that does all the things that snipper does, and more (like a snagit replacement). Window, region, freeform windows. Uploads to various services. Configuration to allow automatic save locations and types. I use it every day!
- morganherlocker 13y ago
  I second this one. I have used it for years as my default snipper.
  - zackboe 13y ago
    I've been a huge fan of ShareX (previously ZScreen) for quite awhile. I believe it incorporates Greenshot. http://getsharex.com http://getsharex.com
    - hobs 13y ago
      Oooh, I am going to take a look. I love greenshot, so interesting stuff built on top of it is worth some time. This is why OSS is the best.
- michaelbuddy 13y ago
  big fan of greenshot here. They've added good features over time. Now it captures transparent rounded corners and you can add shadows, ripping effects. I still with their text feature was stronger but it's certainly does the job. You can also share to a dozen different sources.

rschmitty 13y ago

No idea why he would use Notepad2, ST3 loads up just as fast and provides way more features for text editing. Plus it is good with markdown syntax highlighting thus eliminating the need for MarkdownPad Also Github for windows or just Git bash covers the need for Gow Jabbr is ok, but I havent been able to give up mIRC Also he left off a good tabbed ssh/putty Great list, learned lots of new things thanks!

shrikant 13y ago
What?? I don't have access to a Windows install right now, but the last time I used ST3 on Windows, it took a heck of a lot longer (~2-3 seconds) to start up than Notepad2. For micro-edit sessions, Notepad2 is unbeatable.
- jhasse 13y ago
  Just tested: less than half a second (it basically came up instantly). I have a SSD though.
  - MatmaRex 13y ago
    It takes a few seconds to start up for me too. And if it's already running, unrelated tabs appearing are annoying. I use Sublime usually, but Notepad2 when I just want to edit something quickly or have a scratch pad. (I actually replaced Windows' notepad with it.)
  - InTheSwiss 13y ago
    Using ST3b3059 on Windows 8.1 pro x64, 2.5Ghz Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 7200RPM Platter and the ST console logs "startup time: 0.0931221", it loaded as fast as vanilla Notepad.
  - Numberwang 13y ago
    ST2 takes 8 seconds for me to start on my laptop. Notepad++ starts in 0.5.
    - 13y ago

ericcholis 13y ago

Non-Windows users should still grep this list. There are some multi-platform tools listed.

nhebb 13y ago

> "NimbleText - Regular Expressions are hard and I'm not very smart. NimbleText lets me do crazy stuff with large amounts of text with it hurting so much [sic]." In case it's unclear from the description, NimbleText is a simple code generator. It's saved me a ton of time and keystrokes. Well worth the $20.

JackMorgan 13y ago
> "NimbleText - Regular Expressions are hard and I'm not very smart. NimbleText lets me do crazy stuff with large amounts of text with it hurting so much [sic]." I couldn't even read this part without laughing, all I hear is: "I'm too lazy to spend a few hours learning the free, extremely powerful tools available to me, so I'll use this weaker substitute instead. And it's only 20 bucks!" I overcame my eye rolling, and checked out the tool. It looks fine, but it seems like just a GUI over regex, right? Am I missing anything?
- brudgers 13y ago
  If you're missing something, perhaps it is the use of literary license. The article is written for an audience not as a therapeutic journal. Sure regular expressions can be learned as quickly as one can type del *.* but a few hours of study isn't going to make much of their syntax stick two weeks later, and two weeks between uses is a lot more frequent than most computer users use them. Everyone ain't a programmer.
  - justinmk 13y ago
    > Sure regular expressions can be learned as quickly as one can type del *.* That is not a regex, it's a glob/wildcard pattern.
    - 6cxs2hd6 13y ago
      Well it's also a regexp: It's "del" followed by zero or more spaces followed by zero or more of any char. :) Although I feel competent with moderately complex regexps, I'm not sure I'd want to use them instead of globs while slinging my valuable files at the command line. Which I think goes back to the ancestor point -- is it crazy to use a GUI to make regexps for you? Although I too can get snooty about that, I think it's smart for someone who doesn't use regexps frequently in their work -- but on the rare occasions they need to, they need to get it right.

PavlovsCat 13y ago

my 2 cents: - TreeSize ( and/or SequoiaView ) -- see where the big files/directories are on your harddrives - Piriform CrapCleaner -- deletes unwanted/unneeded files after booting; configure all of it, then add folders and log files manually (find good candidates with Treesize ;) I like all Piriform tools, they're small, quick and slick. I wish they made more things. - any SysInternals stuff you have a use for (Autoruns is a must have) - DirectoryOpus -- the best file manager I know - FreeFileSync -- backup/synchronize directories (locally, that is). Can also monitor directories for changed stuff (also for Mac and Linux)

voltagex_ 13y ago
I'd swap out Treesize for Windirstat (Free-er) and FreeFileSync for PathSync (which I really need to fork one day)
- PavlovsCat 13y ago
  I never heard of WinDirStat before, it's like Treesize and SequoiaView rolled into one! Thanks a lot :)
  - voltagex_ 13y ago
    And this is why I still read every utilities/tools thread. Another cool one that needs a new maintainer is SelfImage: it can make a disc image of a running Windows system and even connect to a Linux network block device.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
contextual 13y ago
Directory Opus is insane. Best software I've ever purchased.

jhasse 13y ago

Is anyone using TouchCursor (http://touchcursor.sourceforge.net/ http://touchcursor.sourceforge.net/ )? I really like the idea, but I'm not sure if I should try to stick with it.

wx196 13y ago
Thank you for mention of this wonderful software. I tried to do the same with Autohotkey, but it is much simpler with TouchCursor. So I have been working with it for 2 days, it is unusual for the first time, but not so hard. Now I have fast text navigation tool, much better than Home, End etc. keys.

to3m 13y ago

I don't know why people have such a blind spot in this regard, but Visual Studio's non-support for word-wrapping comments is obviously shameful. It's utterly ridiculous that you have to press Return while writing comments, and then more ridiculous yet that you have to go back and re-wrap them by hand when they change! - and the end result of course is that people usually don't bother, with the wrapping becoming steadily more ragged over time. Which looks shit. So, I'll recommend this addin, that fixes it pretty nicely: http://kynosarges.org/CommentReflower.html http://kynosarges.org/CommentReflower.html Though, you know... I've recommended this to numerous people over the years. And all of them have gone and ignored me. So perhaps I'm just unusual, and people like the raggedy look. Still, Comment Reflower gets my vote.

TheAnimus 13y ago
To be honest it's not a problem I have, I like to keep my comments short and punchy. If I'm writing war and peace, it will only ever be for the class comment at the top, for some reason I manually do my own line breaks then as I feel it can be used to break up thought and provide emphasis. However, I'm also a GhostDoc fan: http://submain.com/products/ghostdoc.aspx http://submain.com/products/ghostdoc.aspx So I appreciate some people consider me to be inherently evil/lazy.
- noselasd 13y ago
  Even if it's a problem you'd have, you really have a luxury problem if having to press enter when writing comments is the thngs you worry about when delivering code.
  - pessimizer 13y ago
    Not if you kill yourself after the 9000th time you've had to do it. Death is a real hardship for people of all income levels.
  - corresation 13y ago
    That's very dismissive of a very real problem. When you add friction to comments, people either a) Don't write them in the first place. b) Don't keep them up to date (as to3m mentioned, it is utterly ridiculous when you need to update a comment and then need to reflow every following sentence. Many developers will simply not do it). Additionally another counterpoint seems to be "my comments are short anyways", which would make me question why comment in the first place? In most cases where I've seen short comments, they were completely unnecessary redundant restating of exactly what the code already tells you. The comments that really add real value don't try to pseudo-code the code, but instead tell you the why of the code. It is extremely hard to describe why in 80 characters or less.

wslh 13y ago

I suggested the author to review my company product SpyStudio that has a free version and is being used by Microsoft MVPs and VMware to troubleshoot Windows issues. If you need a trustworthy source, here is a video from Peter Björk ( http://blogs.vmware.com/thinapp/author/peter_bjork http://blogs.vmware.com/thinapp/author/peter_bjork ) showing how to troubleshoot a ThinApp package: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sLxeoB7Bho https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sLxeoB7Bho

RBerenguel 13y ago
Hmmm "the author" works at Microsoft, I'm not sure if you are aware of this
- wslh 13y ago
  Yes, what's the issue with that?
  - RBerenguel 13y ago
    Somehow the way you stated "used by Microsoft..." seemed disconnected from this fact, and just in case you didn't know I wanted to point it out. Since you know, no problem anywhere :)
    - mhurron 13y ago
      He said 'used by Microsoft MVP's.' There is a difference, MVP's aren't Microsoft employees.
j_s 13y ago
Probably not included because 'SpyStudio Unregistered is free for non-commercial use' [emphasis mine]
- wslh 13y ago
  The author says: Many/most are free some aren't. Those that aren't free are very likely worth your 30-day trial, and very likely worth your money.

hndl 13y ago

Does anyone know of (or have) a similar list for OSX?

8ig8 13y ago
Here ya' go: http://carpeaqua.com/2013/10/27/my-ultimate-developer-and-power-users-tool-list-for-os-x-2013-edition-/ http://carpeaqua.com/2013/10/27/my-ultimate-developer-and-po... My Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List for OS X (2013 Edition) > The idea for this list was shamelessly ripped off from Windows developer Scott Hanselman whose list has long been an enjoyable read when he updates it.

suhair 13y ago

Cmder[http://bliker.github.io/cmder/ http://bliker.github.io/cmder/] from that list changed how i view a windows commandline. My best windows tool discovery in 2013.

toni 13y ago
That's just a repackaged ConEmu. Nothing earth-shattering under the sun.
- suhair 13y ago
  "Looking sexy from the start" is what it matters for me
  - toni 13y ago
    Still, it is nothing new, just a repackaging of old software.
    - suhair 13y ago
      I dont understand why repackaging is bad for Cmder. I was desperately looking for cmd alternative and found Console 2 a few years back. Then heard about ConEmu but it didn't made me even to try but Cmder did.
      - alok-g 13y ago
        How would you compare Cmder and Console2?
    - asveikau 13y ago
      My theory: cmder is more palpable to the HN crowd because it fits several hipster criteria: * The name, while not as cool as these examples -- cmdr, cmd.io, cmd.ly, cmdhub -- is much more hip than ConEmu. * Design snob approved website, complete with almost Apple marketing levels of condescension: you won't see those other projects talking about "amazing software" or how you can "carry it with you ... anywhere you go". In all seriousness though, if I hadn't seen cmder mentioned on HN I probably wouldn't have heard of the interesting stuff it is based on, so I give them some credit. (Though I looked at some source code, and cringed a little bit on how these things work: injecting foreign code into the existing cmd.exe process... Yikes.)

kirtijthorat 13y ago

Scott Hanselman's list is amazing! A must-have for everyone in the tech industry. A decade worth of work at your fingertips. These are all well loved and often used utilities. I have curated my own list of utilities out of this humongous list. I truly appreciate the amount of hard work and many hours of research put together in making this list by Scott Hanselman.

raveli 13y ago

Great list of suggestions. While many of us on HN prefer Linux or OS X for any development work, it doesn't mean we don't at least occasionally work on Windows machines. Knowing how to make that experience more smooth definitely helps. Going through the list of suggestions there was one particular item that stopped me to think. Living close to the arctic circle where sun never rises with the winter solstice approaching, trying F.lux (http://justgetflux.com/ http://justgetflux.com/) felt at first a bit depressing with the app interpreting it's night even though it was noon. But then again, I guess most things have a tendency to feel depressing at this time of year.

abrowne 13y ago
I used F.lux for a long time, but now prefer Redshift[1][2] on OS X and Linux. (I think it has Windows support too, although I haven't tried it.) F.lux seemed to use a lot of CPU considering what it was doing. [1] Linux: try your package manager or <https://github.com/jonls/redshift/> https://github.com/jonls/redshift/> [2] OS X fork <https://github.com/geofft/redshift> https://github.com/geofft/redshift>

cowkingdeluxe 13y ago

I agree having Paint.NET on this list, it is pretty good. I used paint shop pro 6 (yes, the one made in 1999) and switched to Paint.NET last year. It has really expanded my capabilities with regard to art for game development. To get the most out of Paint.NET check out their plugins (http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/forum/7-plugins-publishing-only/ http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/forum/7-plugins-publis...). It seems like there is a plugin for anything you can think of.

sergiotapia 13y ago
Another vote of confidence for Paint.NET from me. It's gotten to a point where I know the shortcuts by heart and can cut, resize, apply tweaks to images very very quickly and it integrates perfectly with windows. It doesn't look horrible like GIMP. Please donate if you can, even $5 helps!
- k3n 13y ago
  IMO it has a different place than GIMP, and they actually co-exist on my system. GIMP is more of a PhotoShop clone, whereas Paint.NET is more of a PSP clone and/or MSPaint on steroids. I've found that PS/GIMP are usually best for creating a production-quality image from scratch or for touching up full-color photos, but Paint.NET is best for doing informal graphical work (mock-ups, screenshot annotations, etc.)
alan_cx 13y ago
Yeah, good bit of software, usually end up installing it. However.... As I currently dont have it installed I thought I would do so having been reminded by this. Highlighted paint.net and right clicked. Of course chrome wanted to go to paint.net, rather than search for it. Far enough, but absent mindedly I clicked in "go to", and my AV software went mental. The site paint.net seems to be highly dodgy. So, yes, great bit of software, people should use and support it. Just be careful about where you go to get it. As should be obvious by this thread people need http://www.getpaint.net/ http://www.getpaint.net/
- 13y ago

japaget 13y ago

Great list. I'd add one more program: Agent Ransack at http://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/ http://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/ . It's a file search utility that is orders of magnitude better than the utility built into Windows.

Joeri 13y ago
Yes, the problem i have with the built-in windows search is that I never really know what it's searching and therefore i don't know how exhaustive its results are. Agent ransack has a very precise ui, you know exactly what you're searching for and which folders you're searching in. It's great for when you have to trawl through millions of lines of code across dozens of projects to find the references to a database column to be migrated. I use it depressingly often for that, but it does it really well.

thearn4 13y ago

For python development, I'd also add Python(x,y) and/or Anaconda distributions for windows. They're binary installers that give you cpython interpreters + the kitchen sink when it comes to third party libraries and development tools. Also, I have to disagree with the author about recommending µTorrent. It's become more and more adware ridden with each new update. Deluge is pretty good though.

wslh 13y ago
You can't forget Python tools for Visual Studio http://pytools.codeplex.com/ http://pytools.codeplex.com/ !
- McP 13y ago
  It is indeed rather nice. However I just started using PyCharm and it's on a whole other level: http://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/ http://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/
  - wslh 13y ago
    I tried both, why do you prefer PyCharm? Personally I like the Visual Studio IDE. The main concern I found with the VS extension is that is using 1/4 of the CPU all the time but with PyCharm I saw a similar behavior.
    - smortaz 13y ago
      [ptvs proj lead here] - thanks wslh! is the cpu really going at 25% the entire time? this should definitely /not/ happen. what will happen is that when you 1st install PTVS the analyzer will run in the background for a while until the completion database is ready for pkgs you've installed. after that it should be incremental as you add new pkgs. the initial analysis may take a while if you have a very large distro (15-45m) & run up the cpu. but after that it should be pretty flat. if you could file an issue w the list of your pkgs (if possible) we can look into it. bugs: http://pytools.codeplex.com/workitem/list/basic http://pytools.codeplex.com/workitem/list/basic thx!

oliwary 13y ago

My favorite tool on the list is Everything search, which instantly finds all files. It has completely changed the way I use the file system, to the point where I will rarely even open the Windows Explorer.

aktau 13y ago

Even though I barely touch windows these days, when I do, I invariably use "everything" (http://www.voidtools.com/ http://www.voidtools.com/) to find where everything is. So fast, so minimalistic. It's like locate on crack (because it shows you stuff as you type and it automatically updatedb's).

sz4kerto 13y ago
Windows 8.1 built-in search kind of makes this redundant.
- gabrielrdz 13y ago
  no way windows search will ever replace Everything. Windows search is slow and it will not find whatever document you want 90% of the time.
  - sz4kerto 13y ago
    Well, it's very-very fast in 8.1. I don't know why it does not find the document you want - it works quite well for me, YMMV obviously.
    - maxerickson 13y ago
      Have you used Everything? It is instant file name search. I guess recent Windows could have improved file name searching, but it has classically been pretty bad.
      - nightski 13y ago
        Actually not really if you set up an index on C:\ it is quite fast, which is basically the main difference. But there is not one by default so you need to add it.
  - alan_cx 13y ago
    "will not find whatever document you want 90% of the time" Absolute rubbish.

michael_fine 13y ago

Does anyone know of a list similar in scale and scope for Mac users?

rkudeshi 13y ago
Justin Williams has an 'Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List for OS X': http://carpeaqua.com/2013/10/27/my-ultimate-developer-and-power-users-tool-list-for-os-x-2013-edition-/ http://carpeaqua.com/2013/10/27/my-ultimate-developer-and-po...
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
rbanffy 13y ago
1 item: macports Seriously, that's all you need.
- mikeevans 13y ago
  I have stopped using macports since I tried homebrew. Is there any reason for me to switch back?
  - johncoltrane 13y ago
    What was your reason to switch away in the first place?

gchucky 13y ago

A great list overall. One alternative I'd offer: he recommends Github for Windows and Tortoise as Git clients. I've been using SourceTree for Windows (http://www.sourcetreeapp.com/ http://www.sourcetreeapp.com/) and it's excellent. They've done a great job maintaining and keeping it up to date.

PavlovsCat 13y ago
SmartGit is also nice: http://www.syntevo.com/smartgithg/ http://www.syntevo.com/smartgithg/
- kingkool68 13y ago
  Woo hoo! Another SmartGit user. I love it! And SmartSVN and SmartSynchronize.
adamors 13y ago
SourceTree is such a great program. It's also very intuitive and nooby friendly, as opposed to Github for Windows which never seized to confuse me and I've been using Git for years. With SourceTree, people completely new to Git and version control can get things done.
- moron4hire 13y ago
  "seized to confuse" love it. that is better than the original.
JonoBB 13y ago
Git Extensions is by far the best windows git client that I ever used.
- boxerab 13y ago
  Yes! I even gave the developer a small donation; introducing git extensions stemmed a mutiny on my team: they wanted to switch from git to TFS

wil421 13y ago

Does anyone have a list similar to this for OS X?

AsymetricCom 13y ago
OSX has Linux CLI

dyml 13y ago

http://tabstospaces.com http://tabstospaces.com I often copy code from my IDE to my blog or other Markdown formatters. I always have to add four spaces or convert tabs to spaces so that it gets formatted as code block. This extremely fast and simply site just brings a simple and easy solution to my problem.

isxek 13y ago
For multiple files: TABS2Spaces (http://bluefive.pair.com/tabs2spaces.htm http://bluefive.pair.com/tabs2spaces.htm), which is a GUI application, and tabspace (http://stefanstools.sourceforge.net/tabspace.html http://stefanstools.sourceforge.net/tabspace.html), which is a CLI one. The latter also removes trailing whitespace (though it can be told not to via the /leaveeol parameter).

gus_massa 13y ago

Two additional utilities y like: * 7+ Taskbar Tweaker ( http://rammichael.com/7-taskbar-tweaker http://rammichael.com/7-taskbar-tweaker ): allows you to configure various aspects of the Windows taskbar, for example reorder and regroup the programs in the taskbar. * Network Activity Indicator (http://www.itsamples.com/network-activity-indicator.html http://www.itsamples.com/network-activity-indicator.html ): displays the old 'two monitors' icon in Windows 7 that flashed blue to show network activity. (Well, this don’t belong to the OP list because the only purpouse is to clutter the systray, but I like it.)

strick 13y ago

Great list! I would also include http://www.expandrive.com/expandrive http://www.expandrive.com/expandrive which lets you mount any server with SSH as a local hard drive.

stusmall 13y ago

What's the best hex editor on Windows these days? I'm rarely on it but when I am I usually use the Notepad++ plugin for it but love to hear about something better

RoyalGroove 13y ago
Try 010 Editor, it's very feature-rich.
to3m 13y ago
I use HxD (http://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd/); http://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd/); it's freeware and doesn't suck. (Previously I used XVI32 (http://www.chmaas.handshake.de/delphi/freeware/xvi32/xvi32.htm http://www.chmaas.handshake.de/delphi/freeware/xvi32/xvi32.h...) and frhed (http://frhed.sourceforge.net/en/ http://frhed.sourceforge.net/en/), which are both usable. They both have somewhat non-standard UI though.

wrongc0ntinent 13y ago

AutoHotkey is a great way to get your kids coding. Not sure if there's anything like it for what kids use most nowadays, iOS and Android tablets, but having them make macros and letting them manipulate their favorite piece of software in ways they didn't think possible is usually an eye opener. Edit: I'd add SpaceSniffer to this list.

dave1010uk 13y ago
Tasked is like an Android version of AutoHotKey. You can even use it to create APKs, which you can distribute in the Play store. I've used it to do loads of things, like unlock my phone based on WiFi, send automatic responses, and log the GPS coordinates when I leave the car. http://tasker.dinglisch.net/ http://tasker.dinglisch.net/
- wrongc0ntinent 13y ago
  Thanks, looks great.
- Tyr42 13y ago
  There's on{X} [1], but I haven't used it myself. [1]: https://www.onx.ms/#!landingPage https://www.onx.ms/#!landingPage

ijoyce 13y ago

I would add scoop. http://scoop.sh/ http://scoop.sh/

Afforess 13y ago

Great post. However there is 1 great utility missing: Clover: Chrome-like tabs for your file explorer. No more having dozens of file windows up. Just one. http://ejie.me http://ejie.me

MarkTee 13y ago
Awesome! I love being able to middle-click to open something in a new tab, especially the folder that I'm currently viewing.

pagade 13y ago

Although he mentions Hyper-V Virtual Machines, the real winner for me is VMware Player (http://www.vmware.com/in/products/player/ http://www.vmware.com/in/products/player/). Its just like a audio/video player but for Virtual Machines.

bberrry 13y ago

I love checking out lists like this.

pkrumins 13y ago

Here's my list of tools: http://www.catonmat.net/blog/must-have-windows-programs/ http://www.catonmat.net/blog/must-have-windows-programs/ Must Have Windows Programs

isxek 13y ago
This was written in 2010. Any plans for updating this list? (e.g., the link for "tclock2" is dead).

ghh 13y ago

IMDisk, a virtual disk driver and disk image mount utility that is lightweight, ad-free, and actually supports Windows 2000 to 8.1 [1]. It's also open-source. [1] http://www.ltr-data.se/opencode.html/ http://www.ltr-data.se/opencode.html/

alan_cx 13y ago

Just a couple of things. uTorrent got iffy once it was bought out. IIRC, you want version 0.6 This was very small, fast and unmolested. VLC. For years used to be absolutely fantastic. When it came out, a god send. I'd tell anyone listening to use it. Sadly, recently its caused me loads of sync problems, and various other minor niggles. As a result, I have had to reverted to CCCP. When VLC works for me, it is the best, but when it doesn't, CCCP fills the gap. In fairness, maybe a recent VLC update will cure my problems. Dunno. Foobar2000 needs a mention, especially with Winamp going. My PC is connected to my amp directly via USB, and FLAC files sound incredibly good. (These days, hifi wise, MP3 is, to me, awful. They kinda sound dead. You lose so much detail and depth. But that's a whole new discussion) You can also get a great little app for Android that you can remote control foobar2000 with over your lan.

k3n 13y ago
Foobar2000 is a great project, it's tremendously efficient (I think it uses 10-20mb when running), and the plugin feature allows you to extend it however you wish.

polskibus 13y ago

There's a lot about asking people not to copy the list to their own blogs which kind of spoils the first impression to me - especially that the note is before the fold. Does the HN crowd have an opinion on this? Did you find the note a bit weird ?

porker 13y ago
No - copy and pasting is endemic, and if he wants to keep a list that's his (rather than have it shared on 50+ 'latest might-get-ad-clicks content' websites), then good for him.
- jzwinck 13y ago
  But his appeal will not stop those copiers, and it does annoy his intended audience.
Throwadev 13y ago
I don't see any issues with it. He's trying to preserve credit for a work he created. Yes, even a blog post like this one is work. In the past, some of Scott Hanselman's has been ripped off. I think it was a talk or post about working from home, or something related to how to be productive.
xivSolutions 13y ago
A day or two before he posted the list, he had to go through a run-around with some dude who apparently had copied a whole bunch of his (10 years+) blog content to their own, no attribution, nothing. I believe he deals with this type of thing frequently. I also think this tools list is a popular item for such "re-blogging," In this particular case, it appeared the offender simply didn't understand proper "nettiquette" and once pointed out, promptly removed the content (although he appears to still have a whole bunch of OTHER people's stuff copied up there, so who knows?).

curiousDog 13y ago

Does anyone know of a similar list for OSX?

shocks 13y ago

Disappointed that clink [1] didn't make it onto this list. :( Clink brings Bash's powerful command line editing to Microsoft Windows' cmd.exe! 1: http://code.google.com/p/clink/ http://code.google.com/p/clink/

shanselman 13y ago
I think it's in Cmder but I will update to include it because I know I use it.
- guiambros 13y ago
  Another vote for clink. Makes Windows command prompt a lot more digestible.
  - shanselman 13y ago
    It's built into CMDER. But I've added it to the list to make it clear. Thanks!
- shadowfox 13y ago
  It is included in ConEmu. So it should be in Cmder too

ufmace 13y ago

Nice list! I see a few things I already have, and a bunch more that I'll check out. A question for those who spend more time doing front-end web development: What do all of these much-touted Firefox development plugins like Firebug do that Chrome developer tools doesn't do?

avenger123 13y ago
I've used both and for some reason on another the Firefox ones just seem more user friendly. Maybe its because I started with Firebug in some ways but the Firefox tools seem better implemented from a usability perspective.

iaskwhy 13y ago

A few more I use: SSH Tunnel Manager (open source). I don't really like managing tunnels via cmd so here's a GUI to do just that. https://code.google.com/p/ssh-tunnel-manager/ https://code.google.com/p/ssh-tunnel-manager/ CryptSync (open source). This keeps a folder in sync with another one but encrypts the content of the destination folder. It's extremely useful to use with Dropbox where I keep everything encrypted. http://stefanstools.sourceforge.net/CryptSync.html http://stefanstools.sourceforge.net/CryptSync.html Greenshot (open source). I use this to get screenshots of a particular area of the screen like I would do on OSX with CTRL+SHIFT+4. http://getgreenshot.org/ http://getgreenshot.org/ Prepos App. A generic preprocessor for everything web (js, css, etc). http://alphapixels.com/prepros/ http://alphapixels.com/prepros/ SPlayer (open source). I have no idea with I enjoy this video player more than VLC but I do. http://www.splayer.org/index.en.html http://www.splayer.org/index.en.html VistaSwitcher. It's an ALT+TAB replacement. http://www.ntwind.com/software/vistaswitcher.html http://www.ntwind.com/software/vistaswitcher.html

Tyr42 13y ago
Did you know about the snipping tool included with Win7? I think it replaces Greenshot.
- iaskwhy 13y ago
  I prefer Greenshot because I can do some magic like autosaving each shot in a particular format and folder. It also allows me to save and copy to clipboard so I can with just one click have it available to paste into a new Gmail message while keeping it saved on the disk. I use this a lot every day.

RexRollman 13y ago

I don't use Windows all the time but I do have some favorite programs: Firefox Notepad2 7zip Faststone Image Viewer Foobar2000 Mame ExactAudioCopy FLAC LAME Jhead

MichaelMoser123 13y ago

I recommend far manager - http://www.farmanager.com/ http://www.farmanager.com/ It looks and acts like Norton commander for windows - in text mode; it has many plugins, can't live without it. Another one missing is vim / gvim.

ionelm 13y ago

I'm surprised AltDrag[1] didn't make it in the list. It's incredibly useful ! [1] http://code.google.com/p/altdrag/ http://code.google.com/p/altdrag/

m0skit0 13y ago

One question: why would I bother installing all that when I can simply use a UNIX clone which on top of that is absolutely free? And as always with Windows: oh you got PowerShell, so adorable... Here, check bash/zsh

artmageddon 13y ago
Not everybody has the option of running a UNIX clone..
recursive 13y ago
No one is suggesting installing all of that. If you're happy with a UNIX clone, no one's telling you to do otherwise.

AlexDanger 13y ago

So has anyone found a decent Windows text/XML editor for large files? Notepad++ is great but I've noticed it a bit unwieldy with 50MB+ XML files. I find myself using svndiff if I need to compare large XML files. The performance is much better.