ismaelramos.dev

/ Uses

Uses

The languages, tools, infra and hardware I work with day-to-day. Grounded in what I actually use on the platforms I work on — not a wishlist.

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Languages

  • TypeScript — the primary language I write in, and the one I default to for anything non-trivial.
  • JavaScript — for the parts that don't need types, and for the Hugo + plain-web side of things.
  • HTML5 and SCSS — interfaces, design tokens and the parts of the product the user actually sees.

Frontend

  • Angular — my day-to-day frontend framework since 2017, including the move to standalone components and modern reactivity.
  • LitElement — for the framework-agnostic component library shared across teams and partner SaaS UIs.
  • Hugo — what this site runs on, plus the personal experiments around AI-driven content pipelines.
  • Storybook — not just as a showcase, but as the contract surface and accessibility documentation for shared components.

Backend & data

  • Node.js — services, API surfaces and tooling around the platform.
  • NestJS — when a service needs structure and longevity, not just a quick endpoint.
  • MongoDB — the primary store on most projects I've worked on.
  • PostgreSQL — when relational semantics fit better than documents.
  • Redis — caching, session and rate-limiting layers.

Testing

  • Vitest — fast unit and integration runs, the default on new projects.
  • Cypress + Cucumber — end-to-end and acceptance flows, including the accessibility assertions baked into CI.
  • Jest — unit and integration on Node and frontend code.
  • Karma + Jasmine — legacy Angular suites I still maintain.
  • Supertest — API integration tests on NestJS services.
  • axe-core — automated accessibility checks gating PRs.

Infrastructure & content

  • Docker — for local environments and shared development boxes.
  • Kubernetes — production deployments on the platforms I've worked on.
  • AWS — EC2, S3 and the IAM hygiene that comes with them.
  • Argo Workflows — pipeline orchestration for batch and content jobs.
  • AEM (Adobe Experience Manager) — the content layer behind much of the platform work I do.
  • Netlify — what hosts this site.

AI tools

  • Claude Code — the AI assistant I use daily for engineering work, from code edits to architectural exploration.
  • Windsurf — when I want the AI flow inside the editor for tighter feedback loops.
  • Custom workflows — PR-comment-to-plan, AI-assisted code review and architecture exploration scripts (some of them on the blog).

Editor & terminal

  • VS Code — the primary editor, with the Angular Language Service and ESLint doing most of the heavy lifting.
  • WebStorm — when I want deeper refactors and project-wide intelligence on Angular work.
  • Antigravity — for agentic, multi-step editor sessions.
  • iTerm2 with Zsh — terminal of choice.
  • Git — CLI for day-to-day work, with a GUI for visual diff review and history exploration.

Hardware

  • MacBook Pro on Apple Silicon — the daily driver.
  • External monitor for long sessions and side-by-side editing.
  • Mechanical keyboard — switches I can think to.

This site

  • Built with Hugo — fast builds, simple deploys, plain markdown content.
  • Hand-rolled SCSS — no Tailwind, no CSS-in-JS, just design tokens via CSS custom properties.
  • Deployed on Netlify with the Hugo version pinned in `netlify.toml`.
  • Theme written from scratch under `themes/ismaelramos/` — the source for this whole site is intentionally legible.

Off-work

  • Five training days a week — three strength sessions, one run, one ride.
  • Mountain biking — the longer the climb, the better.
  • Diving when the trip allows it.
  • Video games — usually long, slow, single-player ones, and multiplayer with friends now and then.