39 tools we reviewed and kept
We look at new AI, design and video tools every week and keep only the ones worth recommending — with one line on what each does and why.
Items without “Used it” were picked from their docs and code · Updated 2026-10-30
AI coding 6
Context7 context7.comFeeds your coding agent current library docs instead of stale training data.
How we used itAlways on when we ask library questions — fewer round-trips fixing code written against old APIs.
Ponytail github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytailClaude Code plugin that pushes the agent toward the shortest code that works.
How we used itThis page’s build script was written with it on: two languages plus click tracking in one file, zero dependencies.
mattpocock/skills github.com/mattpocock/skills40 engineering skills for coding agents: debugging loops, handoff notes, writing for agents.
Agent Skills (Addy Osmani) github.com/addyosmani/agent-skillsWalks an agent through plan, build, test, review and ship.
How we used itWe use its planning, debugging and review skills daily — it stops the “done” claim before tests actually ran.
awesome-claude-code github.com/hesreallyhim/awesome-claude-codeCurated directory of Claude Code skills, plugins, hooks and workflows.
Claude Quickstarts github.com/anthropics/claude-quickstartsAnthropic's official starter apps for building on the Claude API.
Design & UI 8
hallmark github.com/Nutlope/hallmarkSkill that finds 'AI-looking' design patterns on a page and lists fixes. We redesigned our own sites with it.
How we used itWe redesigned several of our public sites with it (hub, fund flows, hidden signals, Polymarket) — away from the default dark-navy AI look to pages where the key number reads first.
impeccable github.com/pbakaus/impeccableOne command flags ~60 AI-template front-end patterns with fixed rules, no LLM.
diagram-design github.com/cathrynlavery/diagram-designDraws 45 diagram types as a single HTML + SVG file.
Mobbin mobbin.comLibrary of real app screens to study before you design a flow.
Godly godly.websiteGallery of standout websites for layout and style reference.
Refero Styles styles.refero.designBrowse design references grouped by visual style.
CTA Gallery cta.galleryCollection of call-to-action sections from real sites.
Phosphor Icons phosphoricons.comOpen-source icon family in six weights, usable as plain SVG.
Video & motion 7
HyperFrames hyperframes.heygen.comWrite a video in HTML/CSS and render it to MP4 — same input, same output.
awesome-opus5-5-videos github.com/yihui-dev/awesome-opus5-5-videos703 prompts behind viral videos drawn in code, each linked to its creator.
ffmpeg-skill github.com/kajisho5/ffmpeg-skill42 FFmpeg tools plus Reels/Shorts/X export presets for agents, with dry-run first.
anything2explainer github.com/Vincentwei1021/anything2explainerOne topic in, a 2–8 min motion-graphics explainer out. Non-commercial license.
Anime.js animejs.comSmall JavaScript animation library with timelines and SVG line drawing.
faster-whisper github.com/SYSTRAN/faster-whisperLocal speech-to-text for subtitles and transcripts — nothing leaves your PC.
How we used itTranscribed a 5-hour recording in ~36 min on a desktop CPU — no upload, zero cost. We also use it to read the audio in tweet videos.
Openverse openverse.orgSearch openly licensed sound effects and images, license shown on every file.
Research & data 6
Jina Reader jina.ai/readerPrefix any URL with r.jina.ai/ to get the page as clean markdown for an LLM.
Our World in Data ourworldindata.orgOpen charts and datasets on economics, health, energy and more.
World Bank Open Data data.worldbank.orgFree country-level indicators for download or API use.
Wayback Machine web.archive.orgSnapshots of old web pages — check what a site said back then.
kepler.gl kepler.glVisualize large location datasets on a map in the browser.
jesse github.com/jesse-ai/jesseCrypto strategy backtesting with look-ahead protection. Use it for research first.
Learning 7
Hugging Face Learn huggingface.co/learnFree hands-on courses on using open models.
fast.ai course.fast.aiPractical deep learning: code first, theory later.
Kaggle Learn www.kaggle.com/learnPython and ML in short courses, run in browser notebooks.
DeepLearning.AI 짧은 강좌 www.deeplearning.ai/short-coursesAndrew Ng's short courses on prompting, agents and RAG.
CS50 AI (하버드) cs50.harvard.edu/aiHarvard's intro from search to neural nets, built on Python projects.
Neural Networks: Zero to Hero github.com/karpathy/nn-zero-to-heroKarpathy builds neural nets and a small GPT from scratch.
AI Agents for Beginners github.com/microsoft/ai-agents-for-beginnersMicrosoft's free lesson series on building AI agents.
Productivity 5
NotebookLM notebooklm.google.comSummaries, Q&A and audio overviews grounded in your uploads. Uploads go to Google.
Fabric github.com/danielmiessler/FabricSave your best prompts as named patterns and pipe text through them.
n8n github.com/n8n-io/n8nSelf-hostable visual workflow automation with 400+ integrations.
Meetily github.com/Zackriya-Solutions/meetilyRecords, transcribes and summarizes meetings on your own PC.
Knowledge Work Plugins github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-pluginsAnthropic's official Claude plugins grouped by job: sales, marketing, finance, legal…
Tips 7
Same agent mistake three times? Fix the environment: rules in CLAUDE.md, procedures as skills, hard rules as hooks, repeat bugs as tests.
Give the agent success criteria, not a to-do list: write the test or the 'done when' lines first.
Let code compute the numbers; the AI only interprets, with guesses tagged [estimate].
Swap vague words for criteria: 'improve' → 'clarity, flow, CTA'; 'summarize' → '3 lines'. Name the reader.
Before stepping away from a long Claude Code session, /compact or /clear — resuming after the cache expires re-reads everything.
Don't paste 'give this URL to your agent to install'. Read the files and install from a pinned commit.
In AI video prompts, use camera terms — tracking shot, tilt up, snap zoom, rack focus, whip pan.