I’ve launched a free web app for instant visual communication: draw.paperplane.builders.
It solves a simple problem: sharing a sketch shouldn’t require an account or saving files. My solution is to store the entire vector drawing directly in the URL. You draw, copy the link, and share. That’s it. It’s a free tool, and there is no need to use an account to share drawings because they are stored in the URL.
Here is the tech stack that made it possible to build this so quickly.
Built with Next.js and TypeScript
The application’s foundation is built on # Nextjs and # TypeScript. This stack was chosen to ensure a robust, scalable, and maintainable codebase. Next.js provided the familiar and easy to use framework, while TypeScript added the type-safety needed to manage complexity — providing strong contracts between various moving parts of this app.
A Final Touch with Rough.js
For the visual style, I used # Roughjs. It’s a interesting JavaScript library that gives the drawings a sketchy, hand-drawn feel. This ensured a unique visual identity — paper like — without the need to build some hacky solution, or even worse, a complex rendering engine from scratch by myself :)
Instant Deployment with Cloudflare
Deployment was handled by # Cloudflare. Pushing the code live on a global network took minutes, not hours, and for a project this size, it’s completely free. No server overhead, just a few minutes spend on tools and dns configs. More decision making than actual work.
Ethical Analytics with Self-Hosted Umami
To understand usage patterns without compromising user privacy, I used a self-hosted instance of # Umami. It’s a lightweight, open-source analytics tool that provides the insights I need while respecting my users.
The Result
The result is a tool that is fast, private, and completely free to use. It’s built on the idea that anyone can build anything, you only need some time and Javascript.
As for the business model, enough to say I give it 2 out of 3. It’s cheap, and it’s free.
Try it for yourself and share a sketch with https://draw.paperplane.builders
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