Google Tools I Use on Live Projects — Analysis, Automation & Building Micro-Apps
- Amar Harolikar
- Sep 9
- 2 min read
I went from zero Google usage last year → now ~20% of my work runs on their stack. Here’s my current short list of practical tools.
𝟭. 𝗚𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱
(aistudio.google.com → Build)
A fast way to create basic working app with React. Fewer features than say Lovable, but the free tier is significant.
My Quants Reporting app → 70% of the UI in Gemini Build, 30% Cursor.
🔗 Live App → quants-suite.tigzig.com
Just starting with AI coding app builds? Starter links in the comments
𝟮. 𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼
(aistudio.google.com → Chat)
Gemini 2.5 Pro. Huge context. Big free tier.
I use it for xlwings Lite code gen for when Cursor hits limits.
🔗Live → Fields guides on AI Assisted coding with AI Studio → xlwings-lite.tigzig.com
𝟯. 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗣𝗜𝘀
I use these for reliable, low-cost automated processing.
▪️Gemini 2.0 Flash → schema detection, structured outputs. Cheap + reliable.
My Mutual Fund Processor app runs on this
🔗Live App → app.tigzig.com/mf-files-ai
▪️Gemini 2.5 Flash → where you need analysis layered on automation.
I run my AI Technical Reports backend on it.
🔗 Live App-> With agent support at quant-agent.tigzig.com. Form based at Quants Suite.
𝟰. 𝗚𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶 𝗖𝗟𝗜
Cursor is still my primary AI coder, but when limits kick in → Gemini CLI.
Where I use
▪️ Python automations
▪️ FastAPI backends
▪️ xlwings Lite code gen
▪️ HTML/JS Apps
Even file cleanup — had 20k small text files, renamed them in seconds via CLI. For more complex stuff, I stick to Cursor + Claude Sonnet 4. The recent integration with the ZED editor is on my list to test for a full IDE workflow.
Getting started with Gemini CLI? Helpful links in the comments
𝟱. 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗟𝗠
(notebooklm.google.com)
Turns hours of video into notes, checklists, action steps.
For technical videos → extract exact workflow and step by step guides.
For info videos → key takeaways
Not for every video. Some still need full watching.
𝟲. 𝗢𝗽𝗮𝗹
(opal.withgoogle.com)
Google’s new AI micro-app builder. For workflows for automation and AI apps. Very promising. Next on my list.
Links 𝗔𝗜-𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴
My Top pick - Volo Builds You Tube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@VoloBuilds
You can start with these:
Single-file HTML app — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQDQ18dxPIM&t=153s
Prompting for AI coding — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwA3MMYBfAQ&t=730s
AI coding basics (beginners) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd-zFFGBD7A&t=450s
Full-stack app build — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB4UcDOWbXs&t=11s
Simple explanation of a 3-Tier architecture.
3-Tier Frontend–Backend — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sTa7zeITzw
𝗚𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶 𝗖𝗟𝗜
Node.js install (needed for local dev) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6izVe1KtW_c
Getting started with Gemini CLI — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPReHLqmQPs
Gemini CLI docs — https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli
