Choosing Your Stack

The methodology matters more than the tool — but the tool and model you pick set your ceiling. This section helps you choose deliberately instead of defaulting to whatever you installed first.

In This Section

• AI Coding Tools Compared — CLI agents, AI-native IDEs, and editor extensions: how they differ and how to choose.
• Model Choice & Cost — Match the model tier to the task, keep context lean, and spend where it buys real leverage.
• The 10x Engineer — A checklist that turns these choices and the methodology into a real productivity multiplier.

A Note on a Fast-Moving Space

AI coding tools and models change monthly. This section deliberately focuses on durable trade-offs and how to reason about them rather than a feature-by-feature scorecard that would be stale in a quarter. Always confirm specific capabilities, limits, and pricing against each tool's current docs before committing.