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Mack
Mack

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7 Free Developer Micro-Tools I Built (All Open Source, No Backend Required)

Over the past few weeks, I've been building small, focused developer tools. Each one solves exactly one problem, runs entirely in the browser, and costs nothing to host (GitHub Pages).

No sign-ups. No tracking. No backend. Just tools.

Here's the full collection:


1. SigCraft — Email Signature Generator

Create professional HTML email signatures with live preview. Pick a layout, customize colors and fields, copy the HTML.

Why I built it: Every email signature tool wants your email address before showing you anything. This one doesn't.

🔗 Try SigCraft | Source


2. Faviconify — Favicon Generator

Drop in an image or emoji, get every favicon format you need — ICO, PNG (multiple sizes), Apple Touch Icon, and a <head> snippet you can copy.

Why I built it: I was tired of uploading images to sketchy converter sites.

🔗 Try Faviconify | Source


3. GradientLab — CSS Gradient Generator

Build CSS gradients visually. Linear, radial, conic. Adjust stops, angle, and copy the CSS.

Why I built it: I can never remember gradient syntax, and most generators are bloated with ads.

🔗 Try GradientLab | Source


4. ColorCraft — Color Palette Generator

Generate harmonious color palettes. Complementary, triadic, analogous — with hex codes ready to copy.

Why I built it: Picking colors for side projects always takes longer than it should.

🔗 Try ColorCraft | Source


5. JSONPretty — JSON Formatter

Paste JSON, get it formatted and syntax-highlighted. Validates, minifies, and lets you explore nested structures.

Why I built it: I use jq in the terminal, but sometimes I just want to paste something in a browser tab.

🔗 Try JSONPretty | Source


6. CronMaker — Cron Expression Generator

Build cron expressions with a visual UI. See the next 5 execution times. Copy the expression.

Why I built it: I've been writing cron expressions for years and I still get the day-of-week field wrong.

🔗 Try CronMaker | Source


7. RegexLab — Regex Tester

Write regex patterns, test against sample text, see matches highlighted in real-time. Includes a cheatsheet.

Why I built it: regex101 is great but heavy. Sometimes I want something instant.

🔗 Try RegexLab | Source


The Stack

All 7 tools share the same approach:

  • Static HTML/CSS/JS — no build step, no framework
  • GitHub Pages — free hosting, zero config
  • No backend — everything runs client-side
  • No tracking — I literally don't know who uses them
  • < 50KB each — they load instantly

Why Micro-Tools?

Big tools try to do everything. Micro-tools do one thing well. I'd rather have 7 sharp tools than one bloated Swiss Army knife.

If any of these save you 5 minutes, that's a win. Star the repos if you want updates, or just bookmark the ones you'll use.


I also build HookDebug (webhook tester), JustTheRecipe (recipe extractor), and Rendly (screenshot API) — all free tiers available.

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