Web Dev for Windows

kshanerList by kshaner, last updated 2018-05-06

Web development on Windows can be a pain due to compatibility with most modern web tools. Here's what to use to run an efficient web stack on Windows with a focus on free & open source tools.

Stack
These can be run on WSL or Docker, take your pick
Ubuntu
Free • Open SourceLinux Ubuntu
You'll want this to run things like SSH, SCP, and rsync. Or you can run your full development stack on it.
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Docker
Freemium • Open SourceMac Windows Linux Online Self-Hosted FreeNAS
Docker allows for software stacks that are loosely coupled from each other. Ideal for when working on multiple projects that have different technology requirements.
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MariaDB
Free • Open SourceWindows Linux BSD
Best relational DB out there. If running it on WSL, you'll want to configure to use TCP/IP instead of sockets.
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nginx
Free • Open SourceMac Linux BSD
Substitute Apache here if that's your flavor. But Nginx has http/2 support out of the box.
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Redis
Free • Open SourceMac Linux BSD Self-Hosted
In memory cache for lighten the load on the database
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Code Editors
Choose 1 or 2
Visual Studio Code
Free • ProprietaryMac Windows Linux Online Chrome OS
Modern Code editor with an integrated terminal that's lighter than a full IDE
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Atom
Free Personal • Open SourceMac Windows Linux Chrome OS BSD Electron / Atom Shell
A sibling to VS Code, but from Github, and just as flexible.
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Sublime Text
Paid • ProprietaryMac Windows Linux
Best editor for opening large files because of it's GPU rendering
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Notepad++
Free • Open SourceWindows PortableApps.com
Always useful to have around
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CLI
ConEmu
Free • Open SourceWindows
Cause it has tabs
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Git Bash
Free • Open SourceWindows
You can use git with WSL. However, to use git integration with other Windows apps like VS Code or Atom, you'll need the windows version installed.
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HTTPie for Terminal
Free • Open SourceMac Windows Linux Python FreeBSD
Curl with a syntax you don't have to lookup every time
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Browsers
3 of the big 4.
Mozilla Firefox
Free • Open SourceMac Windows Linux Android iPhone BSD iPad
Still the standard for dev tools
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Google Chrome
Free • ProprietaryMac Windows Linux Android iPhone Chrome OS Android Tablet
Cause it's what most people use
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Microsoft Edge
Free • ProprietaryMac Windows Linux Android iPhone Android Tablet iPad
Good browser that's getting better
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Internet Explorer
Free • ProprietaryWindows Windows Phone
Cause you have to
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BrowserStack
Paid • ProprietaryOnline
Browserstack is great for testing iOS, Android, and Safari on Mac. While not free, it's an invaluable resource.
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LambdaTest
Freemium • ProprietaryMac Windows Online Google Chrome Software as a Service (SaaS) Wordpress
Similar to Browserstack but you get 60 free minutes per month.
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Tools
Optional, and highly opinionated.
CopyQ
Free • Open SourceMac Windows Linux PortableApps.com
Not sure how I worked without a clipboard manager before. CopyQ gets the nod for having an encryption option.
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1Password
Paid • ProprietaryMac Windows Linux Online Android iPhone Chrome OS
Credentials management is a must. 1Password has great teams integration for sharing credentials amongst teams.
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KeePass
Free • Open SourceMac Windows Linux BSD Mono
For people who want a pure and verifiable open source password manager, but no teams integration.
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Sourcetree
Free • ProprietaryMac Windows
For the more complex git operations when the command line gets awkward
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WinSCP
Free • Open SourceWindows PortableApps.com Wine
Still the best SFTP/FTP client for Windows.
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Insomnia REST Client
Freemium • Open SourceMac Windows Linux
Great for working with API's
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