I use both an IDE (IntelliJ IDEA) and a text editor (Notepad++) for working with code. Generally I start with the text editor for simple pre-alpha code and when things get more complex I import the code into an IDE project to make it easier to work with.
I have two localhost installs. One is “production” and the other “development”. I generally start in the development install where I can change folders and files without needing to pull them in from a GitHub repository. Once things get a bit more stable I put the code into a repo and pull the repo into the production install.