{"slug": "the-ai-coding-stack-i-actually-use-what-s-in-my-workflow", "title": "The AI coding stack I actually use: what's in my workflow", "summary": "A developer details their daily AI coding stack, using both an editor-integrated AI tool and a chat model for different tasks, and notes that AI excels at boilerplate and test scaffolding but is unreliable for security-sensitive code. They pay for two tools but advise learners to start with one paid tool plus free tiers, and emphasize maintaining a personal library of effective prompts.", "body_md": "The Primer · Tools & Stacks\n\n# The AI coding stack I actually use: what's in my workflow\n\nNo affiliate links · vendor-neutral · nothing here pays us\n\nNo affiliate links in this post. Nothing here pays me. Just what I actually reach for after a year of building with AI tools daily, and where each one stops being worth it.\n\n**For writing code:** I bounce between an AI-in-the-editor tool and a chat model\nin a browser tab. The editor integration is faster for small, in-context edits;\nthe chat window is better when I need to think through a problem out loud before\ntouching code. Using both, not picking one, is the actual answer most “X vs Y”\nposts won’t give you.\n\n## Where it shines\n\nBoilerplate, test scaffolding, unfamiliar APIs, and “explain this legacy file.” Genuine multi-hour-per-week savings, no exaggeration.\n\n## Where it stops being worth it\n\nAnything where being subtly wrong is expensive: auth, payments, security-sensitive logic. I still write those by hand and use AI only to review. The tool is a strong junior, not a senior; I don’t merge what I can’t read.\n\n## The subscription math\n\nI pay for two tools. It’s real money each month, and it’s worth it *for me*\nbecause I ship for a living. If you’re learning or building nights-and-weekends,\none paid tool plus free tiers is plenty, don’t let anyone guilt you into the\nfull stack before you’re earning from it.\n\n## The one habit that matters more than tool choice\n\nKeep a running file of prompts that worked. Your own library beats any tool’s defaults within a month.\n\nWhat’s in your setup, and where have *you* found the AI tools stop earning\ntheir keep?", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-ai-coding-stack-i-actually-use-what-s-in-my-workflow", "canonical_source": "https://okaneland.com/primer/ai-coding-stack/", "published_at": "2026-06-17 00:00:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-20 15:44:24.262280+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-tools", "developer-tools", "large-language-models", "generative-ai"], "entities": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-ai-coding-stack-i-actually-use-what-s-in-my-workflow", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-ai-coding-stack-i-actually-use-what-s-in-my-workflow.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-ai-coding-stack-i-actually-use-what-s-in-my-workflow.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-ai-coding-stack-i-actually-use-what-s-in-my-workflow.jsonld"}}