Every developer has that moment where they need to quickly decode a Base64 string, check what a HTTP code actually means, or test a regex expression - and ends up on some sketchy site covered in ads that's probably logging everything you paste into it.
I got tired of that. So I built DuskTools.
What it is
150+ free browser-based developer tools. No sign-up. No tracking. No backend processing your data. Everything runs locally in your browser - your data never leaves your device.
What's included
- Encoding & formatting
- JSON formatter / validator
- Base64 encoder / decoder
- URL encoder / decoder
- JWT decoder
- HTML entity encoder
- Generators
- UUID / ULID generator
- Password generator
- Hash generator (MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256)
- CUID generator
- CSS tools
- Gradient generator
- Box shadow builder
- Border radius generator
- Color converter
- Reference pages (the ones I'm most proud of)
- HTTP status code lookup — every code with causes, fixes, and a live URL checker embedded on each page
- Port number database - common ports with copy-paste firewall commands
- MIME type reference - with a drag-and-drop file detector
- Linux command docs
- JavaScript method reference
- Regex pattern library — with a live tester on every pattern page
- Cron expression presets — with a next-run-time previewer
The privacy angle
Most "free online tools" are running your data through their servers. That matters when you're decoding a JWT that contains user info, or formatting JSON from a production database.
With DuskTools, there's nothing to intercept. The processing is entirely client-side. The only exception is the HTTP status checker, which intentionally hits a server endpoint - because browsers can't fetch arbitrary URLs due to CORS.
The reference + tool fusion
The thing I think differentiates it: every reference page has an embedded tool.
Reading about HTTP 404? There's a live URL checker right on the page. Reading about a MIME type? Drop a file in and detect it. Reading about a regex pattern? Test your string against it inline.
The idea is that developer searches usually have two intents -understand something or do something — and a page that satisfies both tends to be genuinely more useful.
Tech stack
Next.js (App Router) with SSG for reference pages
That's it.
Zero external runtime dependencies for client-side tools
Try it here: https://dusktools.app
Happy to hear what tools you'd want added, or what's broken.
Built this as a side project and it's been a fun exercise in making something actually useful without any of the usual web cruft.
Cheers.
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