The latest articles on DEV Community by Ruben (@tulu). https://dev.to/tulu 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%2F617593%2F7735df33-d4f2-443a-93d3-2a549f47163e.jpg https://dev.to/tulu en Ruben Tue, 28 Apr 2026 16:56:05 +0000 https://dev.to/tulu/i-replaced-my-personal-tracking-spreadsheets-with-mini-apps-i-built-myself-1523 https://dev.to/tulu/i-replaced-my-personal-tracking-spreadsheets-with-mini-apps-i-built-myself-1523 <p>I had spreadsheets for everything.</p> <p>Money I lent to friends. Domain renewals. Bookmarks I'd never find again. Birthdays I'd forget. Each one a tab in a file I'd eventually lose or <br> share by accident.</p> <p>So I built NoSheetKit — a suite of small focused tools that each do one job.</p> <h2> The philosophy </h2> <p>No backend. No database. No signup. Data stays in your browser via localStorage.</p> <p>If you want backups, you have two options:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Local export</strong> — download a ZIP with one JSON file per app, anytime, no login needed.</li> <li> <strong>Google Drive</strong> — connect your account and generate/upload that same ZIP automatically to your own Drive. No shared storage, no third-party servers — your Drive, your file.</li> </ul> <h2> The stack </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Next.js</strong> (App Router)</li> <li> <strong>Tailwind CSS</strong> + <strong>shadcn/ui</strong> </li> <li> <strong>localStorage</strong> as primary storage</li> <li> <strong>Google OAuth</strong> for optional login</li> <li> <strong>Google Drive API</strong> for automatic backups</li> <li> <strong>Google Calendar API</strong> for reminders</li> </ul> <h2> The apps </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Loans</strong> — money lent/borrowed with partial payments and balances</li> <li> <strong>Dates</strong> — birthdays, anniversaries, reminders</li> <li> <strong>Domains</strong> — portfolio with renewal dates and alerts</li> <li> <strong>Links</strong> — saved URLs with tags</li> <li> <strong>Tasks</strong> — kanban + list with spaces</li> <li> <strong>Collections</strong> — books, games, gear tracking</li> </ul> <h2> Some decisions I found interesting </h2> <p><strong>localStorage over IndexedDB</strong> — simpler, sufficient for personal data volumes, <br> easier to debug and export.</p> <p><strong>Cold backup over live sync</strong> — Drive backup only triggers manually or at <br> login/logout. No conflict resolution needed, no sync complexity.</p> <p><strong>No global state</strong> — each mini-app is fully independent. No Zustand, no context <br> hell. Just a generic <code>useLocalStorage</code> hook shared across apps.</p> <h2> Try it </h2> <p>Live demo (no signup needed): <a href="https://nosheetkit.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://nosheetkit.com</a><br><br> Repo (MIT): <a href="https://github.com/tulu/no-sheet-kit" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/tulu/no-sheet-kit</a></p> <p>Would love feedback on the architecture or the product direction.</p> opensource nextjs webdev productivity