My toolbox in 2026

June 16, 2026

The following is a curated set of resources and tools that I use to build things. Perhaps the inclusion of resources makes it more of an arsenal? Whatever.

You might ask: why isn't this a dedicated page? My answer is: I want to keep this format feeling like a newsletter, allowing me to, in a way, archive my stack and drop new editions as the years pass and things change.

In any case, here's what I've been using in 2026. I'll be updating and tweaking this list as the year goes on.

Frameworks

Next.jsOld reliable. Exceptionally performant, comes with a bunch of stuff right out of the box; always been a great choice for setting up quickstart projects (including this portfolio). Not much I can say about it that hasn't already been said.

TanStack StartThis one has been a lot of fun to experiment with. While there aren't many batteries included like in the case of Next.js, the TanStack ecosystem is incredibly rich. Syntax and scaffolding are both easy breezy.

Design and styling

TailwindWe all know what this is. There are other alternatives I've been looking into like StyleX, but this is just too convenient to get rid of.

shadcnI've seen some people say using shadcn is lazy, but it's really easy to buff it out and make it your own. Tell your agent of choice to organize the classes of all of the components you install by purpose, and tweak them to your liking. Really easy to become a shadcn power user.

MotionPretty much all you need in 99% of cases. Only including it here because it deserves more props for being as good and useful as it is.

PaperHas an amazing shader tool. I've also used it to generate icons as PNGs and then turn them into SVGs, and it works like magic. Not something I'd use as a Figma replacement, but it's great for automating things that would take forever on Figma.

Unicorn StudioI have to admit that I suck at WebGL, so having this handy is an absolute lifesaver. Creating breathtaking shaders never felt so easy.

Tooling and infra

ConvexActually mindblowing. If you're going to use anything from this list, I highly suggest this one. A really clever, all-TS approach to realtime backend-as-a-service with a developer experience that crushes that of Supabase. No tedious ORM setup or messy websocket bullshit to deal with. You simply write your functions and sync your data. Granted, the learning curve is steep and getting truly efficient resource utilization is kinda difficult to achieve, but it's 100% worth experimenting with.

VercelAlways a solid choice for deploying static sites quickly, like this one. I'm not a huge fan of how they handle pricing at scale or push certain ecosystem lock-ins, but it's hard to deny that their DX is top-tier.

RailwayFast, reliable hosting without the usual infrastructure overhead. It sidesteps complex devops pipelines entirely and keeps the deployment process remarkably straightforward. Reminds me a bit of Heroku.

CloudflareYou also definitely already know this one. Included because it's just so good for edge infra, DNS, and storage. The latter is especially generous. No charges on egress? 10GB storage free? Sign me up.

CursorAnother one you definitely know. I'm including it here because I have to give a shoutout to Composer, the most underrated model (in my opinion). It's super cheap, fast, and surprisingly efficient when completing menial work that you don't want to do. Also really good for writing out elaborate plans for your other agents to execute.

Claude CodeNo explanation needed. I use the desktop app. Usage limits are more generous than some have made it out to be, in my opinion.

Inspo resources

MobbinSome prefer Refero, but this is my go-to for discovering UI patterns and designs from across the web. You already know.

Spotted in ProdA collection of delightful interaction demos seen in beautifully-designed mobile apps. I'm not a mobile dev, but I use this site a lot for inspiration.

MaxiBestOfA curated collection of web design inspiration. Makes visualizing how specific fonts actually hold up in a real, established interface incredibly easy.

CuraterA platform for intentional curation developed by Glauber (glauber.org). Essentially a more thoughtful version of Pinterest or Arena. Not focused solely on digital content, but one should be able to derive inspiration from across all media forms, and Curater makes it easy to find something new and brilliant.

Courses

Animations.devAn exceptional course on web animation by Emil Kowalski. This course has genuinely shaped my entire philosophy on approaching design, and to be completely honest it's reignited my interest in web design by teaching me how to properly think about motion. An absolute must-have, cannot recommend enough.

Devouring DetailsA fantastic deep dive into web design principles from Rauno Freiberg. The level of insight and the stellar quality of the material Rauno provides makes this course definitely worth a purchase.

Interface CraftA digital library for those who want to build with care. Josh Puckett's work here is top notch; absolutely essential reading.

UI WikiA publicly available collection of essays about building interfaces by Raphael Salaja. Incredibly high-quality stuff, and it's out there for free. Should be an instant bookmark.

Typography

Fungi TypeBy Czech designer Jiří Krblich. Kecal is a free variable font based on Instrument Sans that I've been loving recently.

Klim TypeThe brilliant Kris Sowersby's type foundry. If you're looking for a premium Inter alternative, Söhne is the typeface to go with.

DreamtypeA uniquely modern type foundry by Magic as a Service. Mirage is one of the most interesting neo-grotesks I've seen in recent memory. Like a premium version of Uncut Sans.

Happy building, nerds.

- Joey