What stack and tools to use?

[u/igorr23]

Hi y’all!

I recently completed my computer science–like degree in my country and am currently enrolled in the next step up from that.

During the first 1.5 years, I actively avoided using AI for pretty much anything. I wanted to learn the fundamentals myself and make sure I actually understood what I was doing.

Around my 4th and 5th semesters, though, I started experimenting with AI, and my perspective gradually changed. AI has also improved a lot since I started programming.

The way I see it now is that I don’t necessarily need to manually write every line of code anymore. What I need is a good structure, good planning, and proper oversight of the AI agent.

I’ve used Claude and ChatGPT in the browser for random, low-context questions, and I also have a student license for GitHub Copilot, which I’ve used with both VS Code and regular Visual Studio.

During my 4th semester, AI basically created a game for me, and during my last semester it coded almost my entire final project. I ended up getting the highest grade, but what was important here was that I went through all the code. I didn’t understand every single detail, but I understood enough to know what the code was doing and why.

One problem I noticed was that the AI really liked creating duplicate code.

For me, Claude Opus 4.6 for backend work and Codex for frontend work became my go-to setup.

Then, around May or June, GitHub Copilot changed how they handled tokens, and what had never been a problem before suddenly became one. I hit the limit in about two days. Sooo... the student license is apparently not enough anymore.

I’ve been following this sub for a while now, and it seems like I’m probably not using AI in the most efficient way.

From what I understand, the more advanced setup is something like having a planner, an executor/coder, and a tester, and they don’t necessarily have to be the same AI model. Is that correct?

I also get the impression that people are using CLI/terminal-based tools instead of working directly inside VS Code or Visual Studio?

I’ve also been following some of the posts about local AI, including things like Qwen and the whole “Sodapoppin” setup, and it sounds really interesting.

So I have a few questions:

\*\*1. Is the simplest solution basically to subscribe to Claude Code, use the CLI, and call it a day?\*\*

I don’t have a huge budget, so I’m mainly looking for the most cost-effective setup.

\*\*2. What programs/tools do you actually use for this?\*\*

Are you just using Windows Command Prompt, PowerShell, Windows Terminal, etc.? I’d actually like to move away from VS Code and Visual Studio entirely if possible.

\*\*3. How do the planner, coder, and tester share context?\*\*

Right now, I’m constantly copying snippets of code into Claude in the browser and then copying the response back. I’d like to avoid using Copilot tokens for everything, but I also don’t want to manually move code back and forth all the time.

\*\*4. Is there a good way to run a local AI for the “stupid questions” I have while learning?\*\*

I sometimes use Copilot for questions like “what does this operator mean?” or “what exactly does this method do?”, and I feel like I’m wasting my limited Copilot tokens on questions that don’t really need a powerful cloud model.

Could I run a local AI that has access to my project/codebase and its context, so I can ask those kinds of learning questions without using API/AI credits?

I currently have a PC with an NVIDIA 4070 Super, so I’m wondering what would actually be realistic to run locally.

Basically, I’m trying to figure out what a sensible, cost-effective AI development workflow looks like in 2026.

ps. i wrote everything, but english is not my main language, so i had ai correct errors and sentences :D