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ke jia
ke jia

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How I Built and Shipped 4 CLI Tools in One Weekend

#webdev #programming #javascript #productivity

Last Friday night I decided to stop being a consumer and start being a builder. By Sunday midnight, I had 4 CLI tools live on npm and GitHub. Here's exactly how I did it.

The Rules I Set

  1. Zero dependencies — no node_modules black hole
  2. Single file per tool — no build step, no config
  3. npx-ready — no install required
  4. Actually useful — no todo apps

Tool #1: ScaffoldX

Problem: Every new project = 30 minutes of boilerplate.

Solution: npx scaffoldx-cli → pick template → start coding in 3 seconds.

12 templates. React, Next.js, Express, FastAPI, Chrome Extensions, Discord Bots. Every single one compiles with zero errors out of the box.

npx scaffoldx-cli
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⭐ GitHub | npm

Tool #2: dotguard

Problem: Accidentally committed .env with real keys. We've all done it.

Solution: npx @wuchunjie/dotguard scans every .env for API keys, private keys, passwords, and database URLs.

npx @wuchunjie/dotguard .
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⭐ GitHub

Tool #3: gitpulse

Problem: "What did I even do this week?"

Solution: Terminal dashboard with contributor bars, file type breakdown, daily heatmap.

npx @wuchunjie/gitpulse
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⭐ GitHub

Tool #4: snippetx

Problem: I've written the same Express boilerplate 100 times and I keep Googling it.

Solution: Save it once, search it forever.

echo 'app.get("/api", (req, res) => res.json({ok: true}))' | npx @wuchunjie/snippetx add route js
npx @wuchunjie/snippetx search express
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⭐ GitHub

The Stack

  • Language: Node.js (no TypeScript build step needed for small tools)
  • Editor: VS Code
  • Publishing: npm + git push
  • Promotion: Dev.to, GitHub, word of mouth

What I Learned

  1. Ship ugly. My first versions were 50 lines. I improved them after publishing.
  2. npm is instant. npm publish takes 2 seconds. Stop overthinking.
  3. Zero-deps ages well. No security alerts, no breaking changes, no maintenance burden.
  4. GitHub stars come slowly. But every star = one real person who found it useful.

What's Next

More templates for ScaffoldX. More scanning rules for dotguard. More analytics for gitpulse.

And maybe a 5th tool. Got an idea? Drop a comment.

Building in public. Buy me a coffee if these tools saved you time ☕

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