Lately, I have been simplifying the way I work.

I used to think a good development setup meant finding the perfect editor, installing every useful extension, and constantly tweaking my environment. Eventually, I realized I enjoy something much simpler: a small set of tools that work well together and stay out of my way.

Right now, my main development environment is built around Linux, Ghostty, tmux, and Neovim.

It is not a complicated setup. In fact, that is the point.

The Environment

I use Linux as my operating system and Ghostty as my terminal emulator.

Inside Ghostty, I use tmux to manage my terminal workspace. My main editor is Neovim, which runs inside a tmux window.

The basic structure looks like this:

Linux
└── Ghostty
    └── tmux
        ├── Neovim
        ├── terminal
        └── other processes

This gives me a persistent workspace that I can organize around the way I work.

Ghostty

Ghostty is my terminal.

I keep the configuration fairly minimal and mostly care about things like the font, background, and general appearance.

The background is shared with the rest of my environment so that Ghostty, tmux, and Neovim feel like parts of the same workspace instead of completely separate applications.

That's pretty much it.

I don't need my terminal to do much more than provide a good place to work.

tmux

tmux is what ties everything together.

Instead of opening multiple terminal windows, I have one tmux session with multiple windows and panes.

For example, I might have:

Window 1
├── Neovim
└── terminal
 
Window 2
└── development server
 
Window 3
└── notes / miscellaneous commands

I also use h, j, k, and l to move between panes, which matches how I already navigate in Neovim.

That's about as far as I've gone with tmux. I could spend hours making it prettier, but at some point it is better to just use it.

Neovim

Neovim is my main editor.

My configuration is managed with lazy.nvim, and I keep the setup focused on the things I actually use: LSP, Git integration, navigation, diagnostics, statusline, and a few quality-of-life plugins.

One thing I particularly like about this setup is that Neovim and tmux don't feel like separate systems.

For example, I can have Neovim running in one pane and use tmux to manage another pane for a server, tests, or a shell.

I also use vim-test with Vimux when I want to run tests through tmux. That lets me stay inside Neovim while still using a dedicated tmux pane for test output.

It is a simple edit → run → inspect workflow.

Zed Is Still There

Neovim is my main editor, but I haven't completely abandoned Zed.

There are times when I want something more graphical, or I simply don't want to configure something in Neovim.

In those cases, I use Zed.

I don't think using one editor exclusively is necessary. Neovim is my default, but Zed is still a useful tool to have around.

Obsidian for Notes

My development environment isn't just about writing code.

I keep my notes in Obsidian.

That is where I write down things I'm learning, ideas I have, project notes, and random thoughts that I don't want to lose.

It gives me a place to think without mixing everything into my code editor.

For me, that separation is useful:

Neovim  → code
tmux    → workspace
Ghostty → terminal
Obsidian → notes

Each tool has a job.

Zen Browser for Flow State

When I really need to focus, I use the Zen Browser.

I like using it as a kind of flow-state environment. Fewer distractions, fewer tabs fighting for attention, and a more deliberate browsing experience.

If I'm learning something, I might have the documentation or a reference open there while keeping my code inside Neovim.

It sounds small, but having a separate environment for focused work helps me mentally switch modes.

How I Set It Up

The actual setup is pretty straightforward.

My configuration files live in a personal dotfiles repository. Instead of keeping separate copies of my configuration in different places, I keep the real files in the repository.

That means I can keep everything version-controlled, make changes in one place, and reproduce the setup on another machine.

Nothing here is particularly complicated. The point of the dotfiles is simply to make my environment portable and easy to rebuild.

The Actual Workflow

Most days, the workflow is basically this:

Ghostty
   ↓
tmux
   ↓
Neovim
   ↓
write code
   ↓
run tests / commands in tmux
   ↓
check notes in Obsidian when needed
   ↓
use Zen Browser when I need focused research

It is a small ecosystem of tools that fit together.

And that is probably the most important thing I've learned from configuring all of this:

The best development environment is not the one with the most tools. It's the one that makes it easy to start working.