Uses | Ben Robertson

Uses

The tools I use to build, run, and grow ColorBliss as a solo founder. Part of the uses.tech collection.

Editor & terminal

I use Cursor because the best models and agent workflows keep landing there, so my setup keeps getting better without me chasing every new AI tool. Two years in and I still don't want to switch.↗ cursor.com

I only use Ghostty for machine setup/config work when I'm not in a repo, or for SSH sessions into servers.↗ ghostty.org

The ColorBliss stack

When ColorBliss started as mostly Next.js, Supabase felt like the default backend for JS. If I started now I'd probably do more in Laravel, but Supabase has been reliable so I stuck with it.↗ supabase.com

I moved backend work to Laravel after traffic spikes exposed queueing and API rate-limit pain. Built-in queues, retries, and rate controls gave me much better observability and control.↗ laravel.com

The app dashboard is still in Next.js. With the scope narrower now, it feels straightforward to manage.↗ nextjs.org

I moved the marketing site from Next.js after struggling with front-end performance and JS management. Astro made Core Web Vitals easier and keeping marketing separate from the app is simpler.↗ astro.build

I've always liked WordPress for content management. I do a lot via API and Cursor skills now, but I still like having wp-admin as home base.↗ wordpress.org

After Octo was acquired by NVIDIA, I moved workloads to Replicate and FAL. I keep overlap between providers and round-robin requests.↗ replicate.com

No strong preference between FAL and Replicate right now; I use both.↗ fal.ai

Mostly image generation now. I used it more for text in the past, but moved that part to Cerebras for speed.↗ platform.openai.com

I moved the prompt improver to Cerebras to cut latency. It became fast enough to offer real-time prompt improving directly in the UI.↗ inference.cerebras.ai

I use Netlify because I already had a long-standing account, plus a lot of friends there. It's fun keeping it hosted in that ecosystem.↗ app.netlify.com

Forge handles server setup and deploys cleanly from GitHub. As a solo founder, it's exactly what I want to avoid babysitting infra.↗ forge.laravel.com

Is there a real alternative to Stripe? Not sure. It just works for subscriptions and payments.↗ stripe.com

Analytics, SEO & marketing

How I do SEO for ColorBliss →

I started on SEMrush, but backlink data felt less accurate/up-to-date for what I needed. Ahrefs has been better as I've focused more on authority and backlinks.↗ ahrefs.com

Bento is awesome. Jesse (the founder) has been super helpful, and seeing how fast he ships has taught me a lot about running my business.↗ bentonow.com

I picked Resend early because it was the recommended path with Supabase/Next auth flows. It works, and I also use it for small side projects.↗ resend.com

Product analytics.↗ posthog.com

Managing Meta ads inside Cursor. Still trying it out.↗ pipeboard.co

Thinking & productivity

Where I think. All the notes on this site start as Obsidian files. Backlinks and daily notes keep everything connected.↗ obsidian.md

Project management for my stuff.↗ linear.app

Launcher, snippets, quick actions. Replaced Alfred.↗ raycast.com

The Apple app. Quick questions, drafting.↗ chatgpt.com

Hardware

14-inch, Nov 2024, M4 Pro, 48 GB. The machine that does everything.↗ www.apple.com

LG Ultra HD Display

27-inch, 3840×2160.↗ www.lg.com

Kinesis Freestyle Pro

Split ergonomic keyboard.↗ kinesis-ergo.com

Herman Miller Sayl

Chair.↗ www.hermanmiller.com

Logitech camera

Webcam for calls.↗ www.logitech.com

Logitech MX Vertical

Ergonomic vertical mouse.↗ www.logitech.com

Digital condenser microphone for calls and content.↗ www.shure.com

One cable for everything—monitors, drives, peripherals.↗ www.caldigit.com

Autonomous sit/stand desk

This was the cheapest convertible standing desk that I could find at the time and has served me well for almost ten years.↗ www.autonomous.ai

Bluetooth speaker, walnut. Desktop audio.↗ audioengine.com

Inspired by uses.tech. Missing something? Ask.