How I work

Uses This

The hardware, software and tools that make up my day-to-day setup as a Quality Engineering practitioner.

A workbench of tools

Image sourced from the web

AI

02

ClaudeAnalysis, test strategy, and reviewing complex test logic.

ChatGPTA second model when a problem deserves another angle.

API

03

PostmanFor exploratory and collaborative API testing.

PipedreamWiring API workflows together without standing up a service.WiremockMocking external services so tests do not depend on someone else's uptime.

Automation

03

PlaywrightGo-to for end-to-end browser automation. Auto-waiting alone saves hours of flaky test debugging.

ReqnrollBDD on .NET. Keeps acceptance tests in language the whole team can read.

AllureReporting. History trends and per-step screenshots non-testers can actually read.

Browser Extensions

06

RequestlyIntercept and modify network requests without touching the app.

Focus To-DoPomodoro timer and task list in one place.

Easy Auto RefreshReloads a tab on an interval while a long job runs.

Clear CacheOne-click cache clear between runs.

UTC and World ClockTimezone maths for a team spread across regions.

Markdown ReaderRenders raw markdown files in the browser.

CI/CD

04

GitHub ActionsDefault choice. Pipelines live next to the code.

JenkinsStill the most capable option on enterprise projects.

DockerMakes environment consistency a non-issue.

GitPre-commit hooks, branch strategies, and bisect are part of the QA workflow.

Developer Utilities

10

DevTools DailyA hub of browser-based dev tools — JSON, encoders, formatters, regex, generators and more.

jwt.ioDecode and verify JWTs.

JWT ToolDino Chiesa's decoder. Signs tokens too, which jwt.io will not do.

JSON CrackTurns a JSON blob into a navigable graph.

RegExrBuild and test regex against sample text.

DiffcheckerCompare two blocks of text.

UUID FormatterReformat UUIDs.

DatefulUTC and timezone conversion.

ASCII Tree GeneratorDirectory trees for docs and issues.

My Support DetailsBrowser, OS, IP and screen size on one page.

Diagrams

03

ExcalidrawWhiteboard sketching.

MermaidDiagrams from text.

ToDiagramTurns JSON, YAML, XML, CSV, Mermaid and more into visual diagrams.

Editor & Terminal

04

VS CodeEveryday editor for tests, scripts and this site.

JetBrains RiderFor .NET work, where the tooling earns its keep.

iTerm2Split panes and searchable scrollback.

Oh My ZshAliases, prompt and shell config that survive a machine rebuild.

Hardware

04

MacBook Pro 14″M5 with 32 GB of RAM. The daily driver.

Dell S2421HS24-inch second display, mostly for logs and dashboards.

boAt Bassheads 105Wired earphones. Nothing to charge.

FLEXISPOT Standing Desk ConverterSit-stand converter. Raises the whole setup without replacing the desk.

Observability

03

KibanaSearching logs when a failure needs tracing past the test output.

DatadogCorrelating test failures with production behaviour.

SentryError monitoring with stack trace and release context already attached.

Performance

02

ArtilleryLoad testing that runs in CI without ceremony.

LighthouseFirst stop for frontend diagnostics.

Screenshots & Recordings

02

FlameshotCapture and annotation on the Mac.

Awesome ScreenshotScreen capture and recording inside Chrome.

Staying Organised

04

XmindMind maps for risk areas and test charters before writing automation.

ConfluenceWhere team documentation and test strategy live.

RaycastLauncher, clipboard history, and snippets in place of Spotlight.

RectangleKeyboard-driven window management on the Mac.

Test Data

04

FakerRealistic data generation in JavaScript and TypeScript.

Naughty StringsConsistently finds encoding and validation bugs happy-path tests miss.PairwiseOptimal input combinations when exhaustive testing is not feasible.

Bug MagnetInjects edge-case values into form fields during exploratory sessions.

Text & Conversion

04

Text CleanerStrip formatting and hidden characters.

Word CounterCounts words and characters.

Lorem IpsumPlaceholder text.

iLovePDFMerge, split and compress PDFs.

VS Code Extensions

13

GitLensInline blame, commit history and diff at the current line.

PrettierOpinionated formatter that ends style debates for good.

Error LensSurfaces diagnostics inline next to the offending line.

Todo TreeAggregates TODO and FIXME comments into a searchable tree view.

Better CommentsColor-codes !, ?, *, TODO comments so they stand out at a glance.

Code Spell CheckerCatches spelling mistakes in code, strings and comments.

Rainbow CSVColourises CSV columns so each field is easy to trace across rows.

CSV to TablePreviews CSV files as a formatted table without leaving the editor.

PeacockTints the editor window so each project has a distinct colour.

Path IntellisenseAutocompletes file paths as you type them.

npm IntellisenseAutocompletes npm package names in import statements.

Markdown All in OnePreview, keyboard shortcuts and TOC generation for Markdown.

markdownlintStyle and syntax linter that keeps Markdown consistent across docs.