How I built a developer-first cloud drive with a "Flat Brutalist" UI 📦

IB2M_Official — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:46:47 +0000

Hey everyone! 👋

I’ve always been frustrated by the strict quotas of traditional cloud storage and the lack of tools for developers. You can store files, but you can't easily integrate them into your workflows without jumping through hoops.

So, I decided to spend my weekends building my own alternative: UnlimBox. Unlimbox

My goal was twofold: offer a very generous storage capacity so you never have to worry about space, and build the ultimate toolkit for devs.

🛠️ The Tech Stack & Flat Brutalism

For the frontend, I used React and Tailwind CSS. I was tired of generic corporate designs, so I went all-in on Flat Brutalism: heavy 2px black borders, no drop-shadows, and high contrast. It makes the app feel extremely lightweight and snappy.

The backend runs on Node.js and Express.

💻 Built for Developers

Aside from standard file management and an "Express Drop" mode (for sharing files instantly without an account), I focused on developer features:

Full REST API & WebDAV support
Built-in NoSQL database for your side projects
Free static web hosting
An official CLI to manage everything from your terminal

If you want to try the CLI, it's already live on npm:
npm i -g unlimbox-cli

🤔 Looking for feedback!

The project is currently in open beta. Since I'm building this solo, I would absolutely love some feedback from other developers.

You can try the web app here (no strings attached):
🔗 https://cloud-storage-afd51.web.app/

Does the Flat Brutalist UI feel intuitive to you? Have you tried deploying a file via the CLI? Let me know your thoughts or if you find any bugs! Thanks for reading.

DEV Community: IB2M_Official

How I built a developer-first cloud drive with a "Flat Brutalist" UI 📦

🛠️ The Tech Stack & Flat Brutalism

💻 Built for Developers

🤔 Looking for feedback!