I have a confession: I used to install a desktop app for everything. JSON formatter? App. Base64 decoder? App. Color picker? You guessed it — app.
Then I discovered browser-based dev utilities and never looked back. No installs, no updates, works on any machine. Here are the ones I actually use in 2026.
Why Browser-Based?
Before the list — why should you care? A few reasons:
- Zero setup. Open a URL, start working. No homebrew, no choco, no apt-get.
- Always up to date. No "update available" notifications.
- Works everywhere. Your laptop, your work machine, that random Chromebook.
- No system resources. Nothing running in the background eating RAM.
Okay, let's get into it.
1. DevToys
Website: devtoys.app
DevToys started as a Windows-only desktop app (think "Swiss Army knife for developers") and eventually added a web version. It's packed with utilities.
What's in it:
- JSON/YAML/XML formatters and converters
- Encoders/decoders (Base64, URL, HTML, JWT)
- Hash generators (MD5, SHA1, SHA256)
- UUID generator, Lorem Ipsum, color tools
- Regex tester, cron parser
The good: Huge collection of tools, clean UI, actively maintained.
The not-so-good: The web version is still catching up to the desktop app in features. Some tools feel a bit basic compared to specialized alternatives. Can feel overwhelming — lots of tools you'll never use.
2. CyberChef
Website: gchq.github.io/CyberChef
Built by GCHQ (yes, the British intelligence agency). CyberChef is insanely powerful for data transformation.
What's in it:
- 300+ operations for encoding, encryption, compression, data analysis
- Chainable "recipes" — pipe output from one operation to the next
- Magic mode that auto-detects encoding
The good: Nothing else comes close for complex data transformations. The recipe system is brilliant. You can share recipes via URL.
The not-so-good: The UI is... functional. Not pretty. Learning curve is real — it's powerful but intimidating. Definitely overkill if you just need to decode some Base64.
3. ToolCove
Website: toolcove.dev
ToolCove is a newer entry that's quickly become my daily driver for common dev tasks.
What's in it:
- Text tools (diff, case converter, word counter, markdown preview)
- Developer tools (JSON formatter, regex tester, color converter)
- Encoding tools (Base64, URL encode/decode, hash generators)
- Image tools (compression, resizing, format conversion)
The good: Clean, fast, no-nonsense UI. Everything runs in the browser — no data sent to servers. Free with no account required. The tool selection is curated rather than exhaustive, which means everything actually works well. I particularly like that ToolCove doesn't try to be everything — it focuses on the tools developers actually use daily.
The not-so-good: Smaller tool collection than DevToys or CyberChef. Relatively new, so community/documentation is still growing.
4. IT Tools
Website: it-tools.tech
An open-source collection of developer utilities that you can self-host.
What's in it:
- Crypto tools (token generator, hash text, UUID generator)
- Converter tools (date/time, color, data types)
- Network tools (IPv4 subnet calculator, MAC address lookup)
- Text tools (Lorem Ipsum, text stats, NATO alphabet)
The good: Open source (MIT license), self-hostable, clean Vue.js UI. Great collection of network/sysadmin tools that others miss.
The not-so-good: Some tools feel incomplete. Development has been sporadic. Self-hosting requires Docker or Node.js setup.
5. Transform Tools
Website: transform.tools
Focused specifically on code/data transformation between formats.
What's in it:
- SVG to React/JSX
- JSON to TypeScript/Go/Rust/Python types
- HTML to Markdown/JSX
- CSS to Tailwind
- GraphQL to TypeScript
The good: Does one thing really well — converting between code formats. The JSON-to-TypeScript converter alone has saved me hours.
The not-so-good: Very narrow focus. Not a general-purpose utility belt.
My Daily Setup
Here's what I actually have bookmarked:
- ToolCove — for everyday stuff (JSON formatting, Base64, quick text operations). It's fast and clean.
- CyberChef — when I need to chain multiple transformations or deal with weird encodings
- Transform Tools — specifically for JSON-to-TypeScript when setting up API types
I used to keep DevToys installed locally, but honestly the browser-based options have gotten good enough that I don't bother anymore. The convenience of "open a tab and go" beats "is this app updated?" every time.
Honorable Mentions
- Regex101 (regex101.com) — still the best regex tester, period
- JSON Crack (jsoncrack.com) — visualize JSON as a graph
- Excalidraw (excalidraw.com) — not a dev utility per se, but I use it daily for quick diagrams
What's Your Stack?
I'm always curious what tools other devs keep bookmarked. Drop your favorites in the comments — especially if there's something browser-based I'm missing.
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