Home Uses

Uses

One laptop, and what runs on it. A living inventory, not a shopping list. Everything here earns its place by reducing friction or getting out of the way.

Updated November 2026 No affiliate links

The machine

One laptop. It travels between Jammu and wherever the work is.

  • MacBook Air M1

    13-inch, Apple silicon. The only machine I have, and enough for the work.

  • macOS

    The host for everything below. No second computer, no desk tower.

Daily software

  • VS Code

    The default editor for TypeScript, Astro, and front-end work.

  • IntelliJ IDEA

    For Java, Spring Boot, and the parts of the backend that need a real IDE.

  • Warp

    The terminal I actually open. Small history, clear output.

  • Obsidian

    Plain Markdown notes, one vault, no graph theatre.

  • Chrome

    For browsing and checking the pages I build.

Build

  • Java + Spring Boot

    The backend workhorse for real transactions and real constraints.

  • TypeScript + Next.js

    Product surfaces, App Router, server-first.

  • PostgreSQL

    The default answer until there is evidence for another one.

  • AWS + Docker

    EC2, RDS, SQS, SNS, API Gateway, and LocalStack for fast feedback.

  • Astro

    This site. Static by default, React only where it earns its weight.

Writing

  • Markdown

    One folder per essay, images next to the words.

  • Shiki

    Syntax highlighting at build time, never in the browser.

  • RSS

    The best distribution channel on the internet.

This site

Astro compiles the site to plain HTML. React appears only where an interaction earns the weight: the search palette, the project gallery, and the dock. Content renders without JavaScript; the accordions are native <details> elements.

Instrument Sans for the text, Geist Mono only for code. No database, no analytics, no client-side router. Designed and built by Aryan Batra.