I Built 14 Browser-Based Developer Tools to Stop Switching Between Websites

Manu Garg — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 11:01:34 +0000

As a frontend developer, I noticed I was repeating the same workflow almost every day.

Need to format JSON?

➡️ Open one website.

Need to decode a JWT?

➡️ Open another.

Need to convert HTML to JSX?

➡️ Different website.

Generate a UUID?

➡️ Another tab.

Test a regex?

➡️ Yet another tool.

None of these tasks were difficult.

The frustrating part was constantly switching between different websites, each with a different interface, ads, login prompts, or features I never used.

One day I thought:

"Why not build a single place that contains the tools I actually use?"

That simple idea became my weekend project.

🎯 What I Wanted to Build

I set a few simple rules for myself.

Every tool should be:

⚡ Fast
🔒 Privacy-first
💻 Browser-based
🚫 No sign-up required
🎨 Clean and distraction-free

Instead of trying to build everything, I focused on creating tools that solve everyday frontend development problems.

🚀 The Result

Instead of trying to replace every online tool, I focused on building a collection that covers the tasks I perform most often during frontend development.

Today, the project has grown into a collection of browser-based developer tools that cover many of the small tasks I run into during frontend development. Instead of switching between multiple websites, I can access everything in one place.

📄 JSON & Data
⚛️ React Development
🎨 CSS & Tailwind
🔐 Authentication & Security
🛠️ Developer Productivity

Everything runs directly in the browser—no installation or account required.

📸 Here's What It Looks Like

💡 What I Learned

The biggest surprise?

Building the tools wasn't actually the hardest part.

The real challenge was everything around them.

While working on this project I ended up learning a lot more about:

SEO
Accessibility
Performance optimization
Google Search Console
Lighthouse
Responsive design
Creating interfaces developers actually enjoy using

It turned into a much bigger learning experience than I expected.

📈 What's Next?

I'm continuing to improve the existing tools while adding new ones based on real developer feedback.

Rather than creating hundreds of average tools, I'd rather build a smaller collection that developers genuinely enjoy using.

💬 I'd Love Your Feedback

I'm curious...

What's one browser-based developer tool you can't work without?

Or...

Is there a tool you wish existed but haven't found yet?

I'm always looking for ideas that solve real problems.

🌐 If You're Curious

Over the last few weeks, this project has gradually evolved into CodeStrategists, a collection of free browser-based developer tools built to simplify everyday frontend tasks.

You can explore it here:

👉 CodeStrategists – Free Browser-Based Developer Tools

If you try any of the tools, I'd genuinely appreciate your feedback.

Whether it's a bug report, feature request, or just an opinion, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks for reading! 🚀

What's one developer tool you use every day that you couldn't live without?

DEV Community: Manu Garg