Pillar
AI Coding
Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Aider, Continue, and the rest of the AI-pair-programming ecosystem.
Claude Code review: the agentic CLI that actually finishes the task
After six months of using Claude Code as my primary AI coding interface, here is what it does better than Cursor, where it still trips, and which jobs it should own on a senior engineer’s machine.
Cursor review: still the IDE to beat for AI-assisted coding
Cursor has fended off bigger competitors for two years. After daily use, here is what it still beats Copilot at, where Claude Code now wins, and whether $20/month is justified.
Cline vs Roo vs Kilo Code: the open-source coding-agent fork tree, untangled
Three forks, three philosophies, one underlying engine. After running all three across real projects, here is what each fork actually optimises for and which one belongs in your stack.
Continue.dev and the open-source AI editor extension experiment
Continue.dev is the OSS attempt at building Cursor as a VS Code extension. After three months side-by-side with Cursor itself, here is what the trade actually looks like.
Windsurf (Codeium) review: the IDE pivot that ate the parent product
Codeium rebranded its AI IDE to Windsurf in late 2024 and bet the company on it. Six months later the bet looks mostly correct — with some real rough edges.
MCP servers for Claude Code: the essential first ten to wire up
MCP is the protocol that turns Claude Code from a sharp CLI into a connected agent. After three months of wiring servers in, here are the ten that earn permanent space in my setup.
Aider review 2025: the no-frills AI pair-programmer that quietly outlasts the hype
Aider is the OSS CLI AI coding tool that does one thing well: edit your repo from a chat prompt. After three months of daily use, here is what it gets right and where it shows its age.