The latest articles on DEV Community by SKALDA (@skalda). https://dev.to/skalda 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%2F3631412%2Fa9fc54a7-5896-422b-a2af-6d043cb95d7f.jpg https://dev.to/skalda en SKALDA Wed, 26 Nov 2025 21:08:19 +0000 https://dev.to/skalda/skalda-privacy-first-browser-tools-that-run-entirely-in-your-browser-8gi https://dev.to/skalda/skalda-privacy-first-browser-tools-that-run-entirely-in-your-browser-8gi <p>I’ve started building <strong>SKALDA</strong>, a multi-brand suite of privacy-first browser tools.</p> <p>Main site: <a href="https://skalda.io" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://skalda.io</a></p> <p>Most online tools for “small” tasks — converting units, files, images, video, audio, working with PDFs, subtitles, data, and more — force you to upload files, create an account, and accept tracking. SKALDA does the opposite:</p> <ul> <li>tools run locally in the browser </li> <li>no logins or user accounts </li> <li>no file uploads to my servers </li> <li>no tracking scripts </li> <li>everything localized into 62+ languages, including RTL</li> </ul> <p>What exists today</p> <p><strong>UNITS</strong> – <a href="https://units.skalda.io" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://units.skalda.io</a><br><br> Scientific unit converter with:</p> <ul> <li>highly customizable Smart Tab on the homepage </li> <li>500+ units across many categories </li> <li>smart calculators and custom units </li> <li>“Units Museum” timeline + a small interactive game </li> <li>bulk converter that can handle millions of values in one input (transpose, export, etc.)</li> </ul> <p><strong>FLINT</strong> – <a href="https://flint.skalda.io" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://flint.skalda.io</a><br><br> File tools with:</p> <ul> <li>file converter for 100+ formats across images, documents, audio, video, archives, etc. </li> <li>PDF organizer (merge / split / reorder / rotate / crop / watermark) </li> <li>metadata tools (inspect and clean EXIF/GPS/author and other fields) </li> <li>subtitle tools (SRT/VTT, timing fixes, batch workflows)</li> </ul> <p>Across SKALDA, settings and state are shared and stored locally: theme, language, ads toggle, and other preferences are synced via <code>localStorage</code> across all brands, with everything staying on the user’s device.</p> <h2> Tech side </h2> <ul> <li>React + TypeScript + Vite </li> <li>Cloudflare Pages for hosting </li> <li>Mix of open-source client-side / WASM libraries plus custom architecture and glue code </li> <li>Multi-brand setup (UNITS, FLINT, etc.) built from one codebase with brand-specific entry points, layouts, and translations </li> <li>i18n for 62+ languages, including RTL handling</li> </ul> <p>I launched UNITS about a month ago and FLINT a few days ago. With basically no marketing (just Product Hunt and AlternativeTo), SKALDA has done around 17k unique visitors in the first month across the domain, mostly organic.</p> <h2> What’s next </h2> <p>I’m expanding SKALDA with more brands:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>PIXEL</strong> – image tools </li> <li> <strong>SCRIBE</strong> – writing / docs tools </li> <li> <strong>DEV</strong> – developer utilities </li> <li> <strong>SOLVEO</strong> or <strong>CLIP</strong> – calculators / solvers vs audio / video tools (still deciding the order) </li> <li> <strong>SCOUT</strong> – search / analysis helpers </li> </ul> <p>Right now I’m building out <strong>PIXEL</strong> as the next major brand, while improving UX and performance in UNITS and FLINT.</p> webdev productivity privacy showdev