SH
samuel.hu
Back to writing

AI Tools I Use Day-to-Day as a SWE

How I use GitHub Copilot, Claude 4.5 Sonnet, and FordLLM to supercharge my development workflow.

Feb 20263 min read
AI
SWE
Workflow
Copilot
Claude

As a software engineer, integrating AI into my daily workflow has been a game changer. Here are the tools I rely on the most:


  • **GitHub Copilot**: I use this primarily inside IntelliJ for inline code suggestions and autocomplete. It shines at reducing boilerplate.
  • **Claude 4.5 Sonnet**: This is my go-to for complex problem-solving. I use it mostly in agent mode where it can act autonomously to tackle larger refactoring or feature implementation tasks.
  • **FordLLM**: My secret weapon for two specific use cases: debugging persistent exceptions and drafting quick utility scripts.

    • Having specific tools for specific jobs keeps me moving fast and cuts down on context switching.

    Related Articles

    I Tried 10 AI Tools as a SWE Founder — Here's What Actually Worked

    Testing 10 AI tools as a software engineer founder. Which ones actually moved the needle?

    May 20256 min read

    Book Chronicles: Short Summaries

    Raw notes and key learnings from books I've read.

    Nov 20258 min read
    Samuel Hu - Software Engineer & Builder