Build Tools
The engines that turn your source code (TypeScript, JSX, CSS) into something browsers can run. Vite, Turbopack, Bun, esbuild.
Package Managers
How dependencies get installed and managed. pnpm, Bun, npm, Yarn — and which to pick.
Code Quality
Biome (fast linter+formatter), TypeScript strict mode, pre-commit hooks, monorepo tools. The dev-experience layer.
Editors & AI
The tools you actually type into — VS Code, Cursor, JetBrains, Neovim — and the AI assistants (Claude Code, Copilot, Cursor AI) that have become standard in 2026.