-Cool Tools for [Contentstack] [SaaS] [Headless] [CMS] [.NET] Developers

This blog post lists tools that can improve productivity for developers, especially those working with .NET and headless content management systems.

Update 15.Dec.2025: After years of frustration with WordPress, I am finally abandoning this blog. The content will likely stay here for some time, but new content will appear here:

• jpw3.com

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• Microsoft Windows 10: Even though I do not need to reinstall Windows every few months anymore, I might move to Linux completely if Microsoft Office and Visual Studio could run without Windows. I try to minimize use of Windows features in favor of keyboard shortcuts and WSL: https://wslguy.net/2021/03/10/keyboard-shortcuts-desktop-background/
• Windows Subsystem for Linux (Ubuntu 20.04 LTS): I have a separate blog mostly about using WSL: https://wslguy.net
• Windows Terminal: For use with the Windows command shell, PowerShell, WSL, and potentially other shells.
• Microsoft Visual Studio: Whether Community 2019 for .NET, Code for lightweight editing, or another edition, Visual Studio maximizes developer productivity. JetBrains Rider is a viable alternative, but Visual Studio Community and Code are free.
• Contentstack: For SaaS headless content management.
• Algolia: For managed search.
• JetBrains ReSharper: Further improves Visual Studio developer productivity and code quality.
• Postman: For sending HTTP requests manually.
• JetBrains dotPeek: For disassembling compiled .NET solutions to approximations of their source code.
• Microsoft Edge: Stable, secure, standard, fast, supported browser: https://wslguy.net/2021/02/05/microsoft-edge-browser-configuration-and-use/
• Microsoft Office 365 with OneDrive: I particularly appreciate Word, Excel, and Outlook.
• SysInternals Utilities: AutoRuns, BackgroundInfo, FileMonitor, Handle, ProcessExplorer, ProcessMonitor, ZoomIt, and many more.
• 7-Zip: For managing compressed archives.
• MythicSoft FileLocatorPro or Agent Ransack: For finding files.
• ngrok: For getting HTTP requests through firewalls and to systems that do not have DNS entries.
• PureText: For stripping formatting from clipboard contents: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/use-puretext-remove-formatting-from-text-windows-clipboard-john-west/
• WinMerge or Beyond Compare: For comparing and merging differences between file systems and text files.
• Sublime Text: For lightweight text editing.
• LINQpad: For lightweight C# scripting with JSON and image visualizations from .NET code: https://deliverystack.net/2020/07/20/using-linqpad-to-access-headless-cms/
• Foobar2000: For music management.
• NodeJS: Because some tools and code are available only in JavaScript.

I have not used these for some time and do not remember exactly what each does, but if they still work, then they each have some useful features:

• Microsoft StyleCop: Visual Studio code quality plug-in.
• StyleCop for Resharper: Merged into StyleCop.
• Agent Smith: Visual Studio code quality plug-in.
• Agent Johnson: Visual Studio code quality plug-in (possibly only relevant to Sitecore developers).
• Agents Mulder and Scully: Also exist, never investigated.
• SouceTree/Tortoise SVN/GIT: For source code management.
• HttpWatch/Fiddler/Wireshark: For diagnosing network and HTTP issues.

This blog post is partially an update of the following, each of which has comments that may be relevant:

• http://sitecorejohn.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!960125F1D4A59952!176.entry
• https://community.sitecore.net/technical_blogs/b/sitecorejohn_blog/posts/repost-cool-code-styling-and-documentation-tools
• https://community.sitecore.net/technical_blogs/b/sitecorejohn_blog/posts/re-repost-cool-tools-for-sitecore-asp-net-cms-developers