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I built 150 dev tools nobody asked for. Google sent me 6 clicks.

TL;DR (for the scrollers) I built dauntexlabs : about 150 small tools (some still in progress, and yes, the plan is 500 someday lol). JSON stuff, hashing, PDF merge, image convert, aviation calculators, Indian legacy font converters. They all run entirely in your browser . No backend. Your files are meant to stay on your laptop, and there are tests that check it. It's a fully static Next.js…

I built a collection of about 150 small development tools, ranging from JSON manipulation to aviation calculations, on a website called DauntexLabs. These tools run entirely in your browser without any backend, ensuring your data stays local. The website employs a static Next.js export, with each tool represented by a separate HTML page.

Privacy is a key focus of the project. To ensure no sensitive data leaves your device, the code includes a strict set of checks. A canary string is embedded in every tool, and extensive tests are in place to detect any network requests, URLs, page titles, storage, or console logs containing this string. If the canary string appears, the tests fail, providing a safeguard against data leaks.

The website uses a simple stack of Next.js 15 with output export, enabling each tool to be loaded as needed and keeping the initial bundle size under 105 KB. The project employs a lightweight approach, with only three external libraries (openpgp, pdf-lib, and qrcode-generator) loaded only when necessary, further minimizing the impact on performance.

The site's design is intentionally niche, targeting specific user groups such as pilots needing crosswind calculations and Hindi typists requiring Krutidev to Unicode converters. Each tool is designed to solve a specific problem, even if few people realize they need it. The project aims to provide a solution without relying on third-party services that may compromise privacy and security.

Despite the effort, the website receives minimal traffic, with only about 6 clicks from Google searches in its first three months. The author emphasizes that the tools, while useful to some, are primarily built out of personal interest and the desire to provide privacy-focused solutions. The repository for the project is available on GitHub.

Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.

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