Why I Only Build Tools That Run in Your Browser

There's a debate all over X right now: is software dead? Big AI is eating everything, so what's left for solo builders?

My honest take is the opposite. I've never felt more alive doing this. The catch: I don't build big software. I build tiny tools that run entirely in your browser.

What "runs in your browser" means

You open a page, and the tool runs on your own device. No login, no signup, no subscription, no uploads. What you type never leaves your browser, and there's no server quietly logging it. Close the tab and nothing is left behind.

For a builder, this is almost cheating: no database to babysit, no user account system, no monthly server bill, no 3am panic about a data breach. For the user it's even simpler: open it, use it, leave.

Why I'm betting on this

1. Privacy is real. A lot of free online tools quietly upload your files to their servers. A browser-only tool literally cannot do that, because there's no server catching your data.
2. Speed. No round trips. Click and the result is there.
3. Reliability. No backend means no server-is-down-whole-site-is-dead. Many tools even work offline.
4. Low friction. The signup wall scares off most people who wanted to use your tool. Remove it and the rest actually stick around.

So what am I after

Honestly, I'm not sure this scales in the startup sense. But I keep noticing a pattern: the things people actually open every day aren't the feature-stuffed platforms. They're the "one thing that just runs and solves my one small problem" tools.

The big-software lane is crowded. But the small, useful, open-and-go lane has never been this wide open.

So I just keep planting tools there, one at a time. Some get ignored. Some get used daily by way more people than I expected. I don't know where it ends, but I know I love doing it.

I've been building a growing collection of these browser-based tools over at korelyy.com — always happy to trade notes with other builders.

If you're building something similar, or you've got a "wish a little tool existed for this" itch, come say hi in the comments.