Wayne RockettI'm the scrum master for a couple of teams of developers and am involved with a couple of other teams beyond those. I recently decided to run a retrospective where the developers shared what tools they use on a regular basis to help them in their roles. My idea was to get people to share their good ideas more.
I did set some ground rules.
- Only desktop applications, no web apps
- No IDEs or Code Editors
- No version control tools
- No database tools
The idea behind these rules was that I didn't want to hear thirty people just say VS Code and Github.
These rules certainly led to some eyebrow-raising answers, so let’s have a look at the top seven desktop applications used by developers, some of which might surprise you (they sure did me!).
7. AutoHotKey 🕹️
I’ll be honest; this one threw me.. I knew AutoHotKey (AHK) was a thing, but my experience with it was limited to gaming macros or setting up shortcuts to do weird things on Windows (okay, I confess, I have used it for gaming myself).
It turns out some developers use it to automate repetitive tasks. Like writing a script to speed up the mundane parts of your job, such as filling out time sheets, because as developers that is usually something we are pretty poor at doing.
AutoHotKey is a scripting language that lets you create keyboard shortcuts and automate tasks. Some of the devs swear by it to automate common development tasks, like launching a series of applications, handling text manipulation, or performing routine file operations. One person even mentioned using AHK to auto-fill forms when testing apps, and to regularly retest their previous work to see if anything has been broken.
6. Evernote 🐘
This one caught me off guard a bit too, especially since I’m more of a Notion fan myself (team Notion, where are you guys?). Evernote is a solid note-taking tool, and while I always associate it more with students or business types, a number of developers rely on it for organising their thoughts, to-do lists, and even clipping bits of information from the web.
Evernote’s strength lies in its simplicity and versatility. It lets you capture text, images, voice memos, and other types of data in a format that's easily searchable.
Some devs use it for jotting down those eureka moments when they finally figure out why their code wasn’t working or for keeping track of helpful blog posts they swear they’ll get back to someday (spoiler: they won’t).
5. MS Paint 🎨
Ah, MS Paint. The good old standby. Some might scoff, but hey, we’ve all used it at one point or another. Paint is like that reliable old dog that’s still hanging around despite the world moving on.
- Need to quickly edit a screenshot? Paint.
- Got a random idea for a pixel-art game you’re never going to finish? Paint.
- Need to quickly draw an arrow and some text pointing at a saved reading list? Paint.
I am sure there are better options now, but Paint’s simplicity is its power. There’s no need to wait for a heavy program to load when you just need to crop an image or add a quick annotation. I don’t see this one disappearing anytime soon—call it developer loyalty if you will.
Plus, well, I've been using Paint since the 1980s, I'm not gonna change that easy.
4. Notion 💡
And here’s the one I was expecting. Notion has become the Swiss Army knife of productivity tools, and developers love it for good reason. It’s like Evernote on steroids, combining note-taking, project management, and collaboration features into one sleek package.
For developers, Notion shines as a tool to organise documentation, manage personal or team-based projects, and even track progress on sprints. You can create databases, Kanban boards, to-do lists, and more, all in one app. One dev told me they use it as their second brain, which did surprise me, because I didn't know they had a first brain.
So Notion it is right, unless you happen to be a big fan of Jira and Confluence. No, thought not.
I will highlight here, it wouldn't have been mentioned due to the rules of the retrospective, but I am also a huge fan of the web app Remember The Milk. A to-do list app that has a scripting language, but mainly is just really simple to use whilst still having lots of power.
3. Agent Ransack 🕵🏻
Now, this was new to me. I had never even heard of Agent Ransack before this survey, so I did what any respectable developer would do, I Googled it. Turns out it’s a super-fast file search utility. Unlike the default Windows search (which, let’s face it, leaves a lot to be desired), Agent Ransack lets you search for files based on name, and contents, and even use regular expressions.
Some developers swear by it for hunting down files across huge directories, especially when you need to find that one rogue config file hiding somewhere deep within your project folders. Honestly, this one’s gone on my list to try out next time Windows Search decides to take an unplanned coffee break.
2. Postman 📫
Postman. The developer darling of API testing. I wasn’t shocked to see this one near the top of the list, even if I personally don’t use the desktop version, I much prefer the VS Code extension Postman.
Postman is an API testing tool that makes it really simple to send HTTP requests and review the responses. It supports everything from basic GET and POST requests to complex API workflows involving OAuth and token-based authentication.
Some developers use it to test APIs they’re building, while others leverage it for integration testing. For those who work with RESTful services regularly, Postman is an invaluable tool.
1. Notepad++ ❓
Okay, I was not expecting this. Notepad++ taking the top spot? But once I thought about it, it made sense, and then I thought some more, and no, I'm baffled by this. My only theory is that the average age of the developers in my teams is on the high side. I mean, I'm a huge ZX Spectrum fanboy, and I'm one of the younger members of the team.
Okay, give me a moment to recover and I'll try and be positive about it.
Deep breathes.
Here goes.
It’s lightweight, fast, and packed with features like syntax highlighting multi-tabbed editing, and support for plugins. It's an editor that just gets the job done without all the bells and whistles that sometimes weigh down more complex tools.
Developers like it for quick edits, viewing log files, or even scripting small tasks. Sure, it’s not a full-fledged IDE, but for those times when you just need to crack open a file and make a quick change, Notepad++ is hard to beat. And let’s face it, nostalgia probably plays a part too—there’s something comforting about its no-nonsense interface.
⚠️Hang on, wait a moment, is Notepad++ against the rules, it could be counted as a code editor?
I'll let you decide that one.
My Final Thoughts 🧠
While some of these tools weren’t on my radar (Agent Ransack, I’m looking at you), it’s clear that every developer has their own toolkit beyond the obvious choices.
From automating tasks with AutoHotKey to sticking with good ol' MS Paint, the diversity in this list shows there’s no single "right" way to get things done.
And hey, if Paint’s still getting love in 2024, maybe there’s hope for some of the ZX Spectrum software I wrote all those years ago.
This has highlighted to me, that with such an odd collection of tools, we should all share more when we find a handy tool that works for us. It might help our co-worker who is still struggling to close VIM when Notepad++ would be ideal for them.
❓ What random desktop application do you use that others might not have thought of?
