I built 400+ web tools, but the data forced a pivot. Here is what I learned.

Kalaiselvi Balakrishnan — Mon, 18 May 2026 05:57:11 +0000

Hey everyone,

A while back, I set out to build 100Plus Tools. The initial goal was completely broad: create a massive, fast library of general utilities. I was building simple calculators, text converters, basic formatting tools, and SEO helpers, trying to cover as much ground as possible.

But after tracking the usage data, something interesting happened.

The generic audience didn't really care about another text converter. Instead, it was developers, DevOps engineers, and QA techs who were actually showing interest and returning to the site. The traffic wasn't coming from random web surfers; it was coming from people looking for fast, privacy-first JSON parsers, encoding helpers, and debugging utilities.

Instead of fighting that signal, I leaned directly into it.

Today, the platform has grew to over 420+ browser-based tools, and the vast majority are now focused entirely on developer workflows: handling APIs, data transformation, JSON formatting, security, JWT decoding, and webhook debugging.

Expanding beyond the web: The extensions

As the platform grew, I realized that some debugging workflows shouldn't require opening a new browser tab. To bridge that gap, I started building side-utilities directly into the browser. A few recent launches include:

API Detective: A Chrome extension built to spy on the hidden background plumbing of websites. It sniffs out underlying REST, GraphQL, JSON, and WebSocket calls so you can reverse-engineer or debug frontend behaviors instantly.

API Error Decoder: Failed API calls can be incredibly vague. This extension captures 4xx/5xx responses, CORS failures, and auth issues, then translates the technical jargon into plain-English explanations of what actually went wrong.

DevTab: A clean, distraction-free "New Tab" replacement that replaces the default layout with quick-access bookmarks, dev utility shortcuts, and tool search to cut down on daily friction.

The Realization: Developers still just need simple utilities

With everything moving toward heavy "AI-everything" right now, I realized something vital: developers still just need fast, lightweight, focused tools that remove daily friction. They need visibility into data, fast encoding helpers, and solid debugging workflows that load instantly and don't track their inputs.

That is the direction I'm pushing. The goal isn't to chase trends anymore; it's to build a genuinely useful, comprehensive ecosystem for developers over time.

It’s still early, and I'm updating the codebase daily.

Since the platform is now shifting to serve this exact community, I’d love to get your brutally honest feedback:

What is the one utility tool you use daily that you wish were faster or ad-free?

Are there specific formatting, network, or API debugging pain points you face that are missing a dedicated tool?

Check it out at 100Plus Tools and let me know your thoughts or feature requests in the comments! 🛠️

DEV Community: Kalaiselvi Balakrishnan

I built 400+ web tools, but the data forced a pivot. Here is what I learned.