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Muhammad Sheharyar Butt
Muhammad Sheharyar Butt

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AppBox — An Open, All-in-One Utility Toolbox (React + Electron)

As developers, we constantly rely on small utility tools — calculators, converters, timers, clocks, quick todos, weather checks. Most of them live as separate apps or browser tabs.

AppBox is an attempt to bring all of those everyday utilities into one extensible, open-source application — and more importantly, to make it easy for others to contribute new utilities and grow it into a true all-in-one toolbox.

🔗 Live demo (web preview):

Link

🔗 GitHub repository:

Link


What is AppBox?

AppBox is a modern utility suite built with React, Ant Design, and Electron.

It runs as:

  • 🖥 A desktop app (Windows / macOS / Linux)
  • 🌐 A web app, using the same codebase

The idea is simple:

One app. Many small tools. Easy to extend.


Why AppBox?

Most utility apps try to do everything themselves. AppBox takes a different approach:

  • Each utility is self-contained
  • New utilities can be added without touching the core logic
  • No backend required — everything persists locally
  • Designed to grow over time with community contributions

AppBox is not “finished” — it is intentionally open-ended.


Current Utilities

🧮 Calculator

  • Basic and scientific modes
  • Calculation history
  • Full keyboard support

🔁 Converters

  • Length, weight, temperature, speed
  • Time, storage, area, volume
  • Instant conversion with unit swapping

✅ Todo List

  • Add, complete, delete tasks
  • Filters: all / active / completed
  • Clear completed or reset all
  • Local persistence

⏱ Clock & Timer

  • Digital clock
  • Stopwatch
  • Countdown timer

🌍 World Clock

  • Add and remove cities
  • Multi-timezone overview
  • Persisted locally

☁️ Weather

  • City-based weather lookup
  • Configurable API key
  • Saved default city

The Vision: A True All-in-One Toolbox

The real goal of AppBox is not the current feature list — it’s what can be added next.

Examples of future utilities that would fit perfectly:

  • Password generator
  • UUID / hash generator
  • JSON / JWT viewer
  • Color picker & palette tools
  • Regex tester
  • Markdown previewer
  • Notes or scratchpad
  • Developer-focused utilities

If it’s a small, useful tool, it belongs in AppBox.


Contributing New Utilities 🚀

Contributions are highly encouraged — especially new utility modules.

You don’t need to refactor the app or understand everything to contribute:

  • Utilities are UI-driven and isolated
  • Most contributions can live in their own component/page
  • State is local and persistence is simple (localStorage)
  • No backend or database required

If you have ever built:

  • a small React tool,
  • a side utility,
  • or a “weekend project” feature,

…it can probably be added to AppBox.

How to Contribute

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create a new utility module/page
  3. Register it in the navigation
  4. Submit a pull request

Even small utilities are welcome.


Tech Stack

  • Frontend: React 19
  • UI: Ant Design 6
  • Desktop: Electron
  • Math utilities: mathjs
  • Build & packaging: react-scripts, electron-builder

Running the Project

Clone the repo:


bash
git clone https://github.com/shehari007/mini-react-electron-desktop-app.git
cd mini-react-electron-desktop-app
npm install
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