The latest articles on DEV Community by James Walstonn (@jameswalstonn). https://dev.to/jameswalstonn https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3971466%2F03a42f69-cca0-4615-8082-e9c0b9542cc0.png https://dev.to/jameswalstonn en James Walstonn Sat, 06 Jun 2026 15:38:43 +0000 https://dev.to/jameswalstonn/i-built-a-free-macos-app-to-automate-cross-border-e-commerce-sourcing-1688com-ebayetsyamazon-271p https://dev.to/jameswalstonn/i-built-a-free-macos-app-to-automate-cross-border-e-commerce-sourcing-1688com-ebayetsyamazon-271p <p>Cross-border e-commerce tools are expensive and built for Western markets. <strong>Helium 10 costs $700+/month. SellerSprite is $300–1000/month.</strong> None of them integrate with <a href="https://1688.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">1688.com</a> — China's massive B2B wholesale platform where most Chinese cross-border sellers actually source their products.</p> <p>So I built <strong>AutoStore</strong> — a free macOS app that automates the entire sourcing-to-listing pipeline.</p> <h2> What it does </h2> <p>The pipeline runs in five stages:</p> <ol> <li> <strong>Discover</strong> — searches 1688.com across 450+ blue-ocean product categories, filtering out saturated markets</li> <li> <strong>Brand filter</strong> — checks every product title, description, specs, and seller name against a 548-brand blacklist. Uses letter-continuation regex (<code>Nike</code> blocks <code>NikeAir</code>, <code>iNike</code>, etc.) to catch brand violations before they become listing violations</li> <li> <strong>Image OCR</strong> — scans product images for embedded Chinese text, watermarks, and brand logos that the text filter might miss</li> <li> <strong>AI Translation</strong> — translates 1688 Chinese listings to English using a <strong>built-in free LLM</strong> (no API key, no cost per translation)</li> <li> <strong>List</strong> — pushes listings to eBay, Etsy, AliExpress, and Amazon via a Chrome extension that drives your already-logged-in browser session</li> </ol> <h2> The Chrome extension approach </h2> <p>Most automation tools use headless browsers or platform APIs, which get flagged by anti-bot systems. AutoStore takes a different approach: the Chrome extension drives your <strong>real, already-logged-in Chrome session</strong> — the same one you use manually. From the platform's perspective, it's indistinguishable from a human clicking.</p> <p>This means:</p> <ul> <li>No bot detection issues</li> <li>No separate login management</li> <li>Works with seller accounts that have MFA</li> </ul> <h2> Tech stack </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>macOS app</strong>: SwiftUI + SwiftData</li> <li> <strong>Chrome extension</strong>: vanilla JS, communicates with the app via native messaging</li> <li> <strong>Browser automation</strong>: Playwright (for 1688 scraping on a China-network machine)</li> <li> <strong>Local LLM</strong>: bundled llama.cpp with a 3B parameter model — runs entirely on-device</li> <li> <strong>Database</strong>: MySQL (local) + macOS Keychain for credentials</li> </ul> <h2> The two-machine architecture </h2> <p>1688.com is best accessed from within China — foreign IPs get captchas and degraded content. So the scraping runs on a machine with a Chinese network connection, while the listing automation runs on the seller's local Mac.</p> <h2> Why free? </h2> <p>The goal is to build a user base of Chinese cross-border sellers first. The existing tools are all English-only, require VPNs to use, and charge monthly fees that eat into thin margins. A free tool that works natively removes all of those barriers.</p> <p>Future monetization will come from premium analytics, curated supplier data, and marketplace services — but only after proving real value.</p> <h2> Get it </h2> <p>AutoStore is available at <strong><a href="https://spriterock.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">spriterock.com</a></strong> — free download, no subscription, no commission.</p> <p>Happy to answer questions about the architecture, the brand safety system, or the 1688 scraping approach.</p> automation productivity showdev sideprojects