I Replaced My scripts/ Folder With a Browser Tool — Here's Why

Kevin Tan — Mon, 19 Jan 2026 07:09:39 +0000

$ ls scripts/
check_duplicates.py
find_duplicates_v2.py
json_to_csv.py
csv_to_json.py
extract_emails.py
validate_users.py
map_fields.py
...

Sound familiar?

I had 47 of these. One-off scripts I wrote to handle quick data tasks, used once, then forgotten. Last month I decided to build a tool to replace all of them.

The Tools Backend Engineers Actually Need

After auditing my scripts folder, I found the same operations repeating:

Find duplicates by key — "Are there duplicate emails in this export?"
Map/extract fields — "I just need id and name from these 50 fields"
Validate data — "Which rows have null values?"
Convert formats — JSON ↔ CSV
Decode tokens — "What's in this JWT?"

None of these require code. They require a tool that accepts input and returns output.

What I Built

LazyDev — a browser-based toolkit for data operations.

Duplicate Checker

Paste JSON or CSV, select a key:

// Input

  [
    { "id": 1, "email": "alice@test.com" },
    { "id": 2, "email": "bob@test.com" },
    { "id": 3, "email": "alice@test.com" }
  ]

Select email as the key → instantly see that alice@test.com appears twice with row indices.

Data Mapper

Extract only the fields you need, rename them inline:

Input fields: id, firstName, lastName, email, createdAt, updatedAt, role, department
↓
Output: { "user_id": id, "full_name": firstName, "email": email }

No Array.map() required.

Data Validator

Check for:

Missing required fields
Null/empty values
Type mismatches (string vs number)
Format validation (email, URL)

Returns valid rows, invalid rows, and detailed error messages per row.

Also Included

JSON Formatter — Beautify, minify, convert to CSV
Base64/JWT Decoder — Inspect tokens, see expiration, extract claims
URL Encoder/Decoder — Parse query strings, encode components
UUID Generator — Bulk generate v4 UUIDs, nanoids, custom IDs
Regex Tester — Test patterns with match highlighting
JSON Diff — Compare two objects, see additions/removals/changes

Privacy-First

Free tier processes entirely client-side. Your data never hits a server. I built it this way because I needed a tool I could trust with real data.

The Real Win

It's not about the features — it's about removing friction.

The old workflow:

Open editor
Write script
Handle edge cases
Run it
Format output
Never use script again

The new workflow:

Paste data
Done

Those 10-15 minute tasks become 30-second tasks. Multiply by a few times per week, and you get hours back.

Try It

https://lazydev.website — no signup required for basic features.

If you've ever written a throwaway script to check duplicates, convert JSON, or validate a data file — this is for you.

What's in your scripts/ folder?

DEV Community: Kevin Tan

I Replaced My scripts/ Folder With a Browser Tool — Here's Why