DEV Community: Oleksandr

I Built a Browser-Based YouTube Thumbnail Downloader Because I Was Tired of Low-Quality "Free" Tools

Oleksandr — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:06:35 +0000

If you've ever searched for a YouTube thumbnail downloader, you've probably seen the same pattern:

Low-resolution images
Pop-ups and intrusive ads
Sign-up requirements
Download limits
Features hidden behind a paywall

I kept running into these problems, so instead of looking for another website, I decided to build my own.

The Goal

I didn't want another "download thumbnail" page.

I wanted something that I would actually use every day while creating content.

The result is a browser-based tool that lets you:

✅ Download YouTube thumbnails in the highest available quality

✅ Choose between multiple image resolutions

✅ Analyze the thumbnail instead of just downloading it

Color Palette Extraction

One feature I haven't seen in many similar tools is automatic color extraction.

When a thumbnail performs well, it's usually not just because of the text or composition.

Color plays a huge role.

The tool automatically extracts the dominant colors and generates a palette with HEX values that can be copied with one click.

It's incredibly useful when designing thumbnails inspired by successful videos without copying them directly.

Privacy First

One decision I made early was to avoid unnecessary servers whenever possible.

The tool runs directly in your browser.

That means:

No accounts
No uploads
No waiting for a server to process your request
Your data stays on your own device

Performance depends on your hardware, which means a desktop computer will usually process everything faster than a phone.

For me, that's a worthwhile trade-off if it means users keep full control over their data.

Building Small Tools Solves Real Problems

This tool actually started as something I built for myself.

I noticed I was opening different websites every day just to download or inspect thumbnails.

Instead of bookmarking another service, I built one that fit my own workflow.

That's also the philosophy behind ClipGG.

Rather than creating one huge application, I'm building a growing collection of focused tools that remove small recurring frustrations for creators.

If you're interested in trying it, I'd genuinely appreciate your feedback.

👉 https://clipgg.uk/en/youtube-thumbnail-downloader

I'm especially curious:

What feature do you wish existing YouTube thumbnail tools had but almost none of them offer?

I Built a Word Counter Because I Couldn't Find One I Actually Enjoyed Using

Oleksandr — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 10:06:13 +0000

Every developer has probably built a "simple" project at some point.

A to-do app.

A calculator.

A markdown editor.

For me, it was a word counter.

At first, it sounded like the most boring idea possible.

After all, there are hundreds of them online.

But every time I needed one, I ran into the same problems.

Some websites were full of ads.

Some required an account.

Others locked useful statistics behind a subscription.

I wasn't trying to build a better word counter.

I just wanted one that stayed out of my way.

So I built my own.

👉 https://clipgg.uk/en/word-counter

What it does

Instead of showing only the number of words, it also tracks:

Word count
Character count
Characters without spaces
Sentences
Paragraphs
Reading time
Speaking time
Keyword density

Everything updates instantly while typing.

One decision that mattered

I wanted the tool to work directly in the browser.

No uploads.

No waiting.

No unnecessary processing.

That makes it feel much faster for something I use almost every day.

Why I still build small tools

This isn't about creating another SaaS.

It's about removing tiny pieces of friction from everyday work.

Small tools don't sound exciting.

But they're often the ones we open the most.

This Word Counter is now part of a growing collection of free browser-based tools I'm building called ClipGG.

I'd love to hear:

What's one tiny utility you use every week that could be better?

I built these tools because I was tired of fake "free" websites asking for subscriptions after every click. Maybe they'll save you some time too. What tool would you add?

Oleksandr — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 07:52:35 +0000

Oleksandr

Jul 9

I Got Tired of Free Tools That Weren't Actually Free, So I Built My Own

#webdev #nextjs #ai #productivity

3 min read

I Got Tired of Free Tools That Weren't Actually Free, So I Built My Own

Oleksandr — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 07:49:06 +0000

I Got Tired of "Free" Online Tools, So I Built My Own

I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but I reached a point where I was completely tired of using online tools.

Not because they were bad.

Because almost every single one followed the same pattern.

You upload a file.

Wait.

Everything looks good.

Then...

"Upgrade to Premium."

Or:

"Free users can only process one file."

Or:

"Create an account to continue."

Or even worse...

"Your download is ready after watching ads."

After seeing this hundreds of times, I stopped looking for better websites.

I started building my own.

At first, it wasn't even a project.

It was just a folder full of little utilities that solved problems I kept running into while working.

One tool became two.

Two became five.

Five became fourteen.

Eventually I realized I was opening my own tools more often than the websites I used before.

So I cleaned everything up, put it behind one interface, and decided to share it with anyone who might find it useful.

👉 https://clipgg.uk/en

The idea was simple

I wasn't trying to build another SaaS.

I wasn't trying to build "the next startup."

I just wanted tools that respected my time.

Open the page.

Do the job.

Close the tab.

That's it.

No login.

No subscriptions.

No unnecessary popups.

No fake "Free Trial."

No email collection.

Just tools.

What's currently available?

Right now the website includes 14 free utilities that I personally use while writing, editing videos, creating content and building projects.

✍️ Writing

Word Counter
Hook Generator
Email Generator

🎬 Video

Audio Extractor
AI Video Clip Maker
Audio Transcription
Teleprompter
Thumbnail Downloader

📺 Subtitle Tools

SRT Cleaner
SRT ↔ VTT Converter

🖼️ Images

Image Compressor
Aspect Ratio Resizer

⚡ Utilities

YouTube Validator
Repurpose Machine

Instead of bookmarking fifteen different websites, everything lives in one place.

Some tools exist because I got annoyed one too many times

Word Counter

Probably the simplest one.

I write documentation, blog posts and landing pages quite often.

Every word counter I tried looked like it hadn't changed since 2010 or covered half the screen with ads.

So I made one that gives me everything I actually care about:

word count
character count
reading time
speaking time
paragraph count
keyword density

Simple.

Fast.

Done.

SRT Cleaner

This one was born after spending way too much time fixing subtitle files generated by AI transcription.

Extra blank lines.

Broken formatting.

Inconsistent spacing.

Instead of fixing everything manually every time, I built a cleaner.

Now it's literally one click.

SRT ↔ VTT Converter

This is one of those tiny tools that probably saves me only a minute each time.

But after using it dozens of times, that minute adds up.

Audio Extractor

I edit videos quite often.

Sometimes I only need the audio.

Most online converters either have file size limits or push you toward a paid plan.

I wanted something that simply extracts the audio without making me fight the website.

Image Compressor

This one came from pure frustration.

Compressing an image shouldn't require creating an account.

Teleprompter

I record tutorials from time to time.

Every single time I thought:

"I'll remember what I wanted to say."

I never did.

So... another tool.

Building everything taught me something interesting

Small tools are underrated.

Everyone wants to build huge AI products now.

But sometimes the thing that genuinely improves your workflow is a tiny utility that saves thirty seconds.

Thirty seconds doesn't sound like much.

Until you repeat the same task hundreds of times.

Tech Stack

The project is built with:

Next.js
React
TypeScript
Tailwind CSS
Cloudflare Pages

One thing I cared about from the beginning was keeping the interface fast and simple.

I'd rather spend time improving the tools than adding another dashboard or onboarding flow.

What's next?

I still have a long list of ideas.

Most of them come from my own workflow.

Whenever I catch myself thinking:

"Why doesn't a simple tool exist for this?"

I usually end up building it.

If other people find it useful too, that's even better.

I'd love your ideas

If you're a developer, creator, writer or video editor...

What's the one online tool you wish existed but can't find?

I'm always looking for ideas that solve real problems instead of adding more noise to the internet.

If you're curious, you can try everything here:

👉 https://clipgg.uk/en

I'd genuinely love to hear what you think.

Stop Uploading Your Files: How I Built 12 Local, Privacy-First Tools for Creators 🚀

Oleksandr — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:23:35 +0000

Hey DEV community! 👋

As developers, we all love building tools that solve actual everyday problems. As someone heavily involved in the content creation space, I noticed a frustrating trend: almost every single online utility web app (like subtitle cleaners, file converters, or image compressors) forces users to upload their files to a remote server.

Not only is this a potential privacy nightmare for creators dealing with unreleased footage, but it's also slow and usually locked behind annoying subscription paywalls.

So, I decided to build a comprehensive solution: ClipGG — a completely free, fast, and 100% privacy-focused web hub packed with 12 powerful utility tools tailored for digital content creators.

🛠️ The Core Philosophy: Everything Stays in the Browser

The main goal behind ClipGG was total data sovereignty. 0 bytes of user data are uploaded to external servers. Every single one of the 12 tools operates entirely on the client-side, running directly in the user's browser.

This makes the workflow instantly fast and incredibly secure.

✨ What’s Inside the Toolkit? (12 Tools & Counting):

Smart Subtitle Suite: Instant SRT to VTT conversion and advanced subtitle cleaning tools to strip out timestamps, formatting noise, or clutter perfectly tailored for video editors.
Media & Image Optimization: Local browser-based image compression and conversion tools to optimize assets for web and social distribution without losing visual crispness.
Text & Data Utilities: A collection of clean, layout-friendly tools to format, clean, and adjust text data on the fly.
Zero Friction: No accounts, no sign-ups, no cookies tracking you across the web, and absolutely no premium lockouts.

🚀 Under the Hood & Performance

I heavily focused on web performance, clean architecture, and technical SEO optimization to keep the platform as lightweight and discoverable as possible. Processing everything locally allowed me to eliminate server latency completely — files are processed as fast as the local hardware can handle.

🧠 I’d Love Your Feedback!

With 12 distinct tools already live, I really need the eyes of fellow developers to help me refine the platform:

How does the mobile performance feel to you across different tools?
Which tool feels the smoothest, and where do you think I can optimize the client-side logic even further?

Check out the full suite here: 👉 clipgg.uk

Let’s chat in the comments! What are your thoughts on building all-in-one web toolkits using a local-first approach? 👇