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Prism.Tools

Free and privacy-focused developer utilities

Details

External ID
46511469
Source
HN
Company
—
Product
Prism.Tools
Website domain
github.io
Launched
Jan. 6, 2026
Cohort
—
Upvotes
380
Upvotes percentile
0.9894598155467721
Tags
—
Fetched at
Sept. 7, 2026, 9:25 p.m.
Updated at
Sept. 7, 2026, 9:25 p.m.

Description

Hi HN, I'm Barry and I've built Prism.Tools (https://blgardner.github.io/prism.tools/) – a collection of client-side developer utilities that respect your privacy.Many of these tools were used way back in the days when I ran a BBS and started my communities first ISP, serving three local communities with Dial-Up Internet, Web Hosting etc. The tools have been refined to reflect the changes in tech since then and designed for the Novice and Pro alike. As I locate more tools others may find useful I will refine and add them to the collection. Use them, Share them, or not. They will be here if you need them...40+ dev tools (JSON formatters, regex tester, base64 encoder, Git command helper, etc.) that run entirely in your browser. Zero tracking, zero analytics, zero data collection – everything processes locally. Self-contained HTML files with no build process or frameworks.I realized I had a lot of tools/utilities I've built over the years for my own use. I lothe having to 'sign-up' just to access/use simple utilities that I can create myself. I've refined them and put them in one safe place so I could easily access them if/when needed. I decided to make them available via Github Pages for anyone that may find them useful. Prism.Tools is the result.Each tool is a standalone HTML file with embedded CSS and JavaScript. No frameworks, no npm packages, no build steps – just open the file and it works.The entire toolset:- 100% client-side processing – your data never leaves your browser.- No external dependencies except for specific libraries from cdnjs.cloudflare.com (marked.js for markdown, exifr for image metadata, etc.)- Consistent dark UI – every tool follows the same design language for familiarity.- Vanilla JS where possible – only reaching for Public CDN Resources when necessary.The constraint of "single HTML file" was intentional. It forces simplicity and ensures tools remain maintainable. It also means users can inspect, modify, or self-host any tool trivially.These tools have helped me with debugging production issues, Quick formatting tasks, learning Git commands (the Git command helper has been particularly helpful)Just visit https://blgardner.github.io/prism.tools/ and try any tool. No signup, no install.What tools are missing that you find yourself needing? Any performance issues with specific tools? UI/UX friction points?All tools follow the same privacy-first philosophy... Your data stays in your browser. No accounts, no tracking, no servers processing your information. The project is also a demonstration that you don't always need React, Vue, or complex build pipelines – sometimes vanilla JavaScript in a single HTML file is exactly the right tool for the job.Vanilla JavaScript (ES6+) CSS3 with CSS Grid Minimal external libraries: marked.js, exifr, highlight.js, sql-formatter (all from CDN) No frameworks, no bundlers, no npm Hosted on Github PagesHappy to answer questions about the technical implementation, design decisions, or specific tools!All tools are inspectable – just view source on any page to see exactly how they work!

Enrichment

Theme
niche developer utilities and toolchains
Vertical
Horizontal
Function
Dev tools
Audience
Developer
AI stance
Not AI
Project type
Commercial product
Normalized one-liner
privacy-focused developer utilities
Manually corrected
False

Could you build this?

Yes A static collection of client-side developer utility tools (JSON formatters, regex testers, encoders/decoders) is one of the most quintessential vibe-codeable projects.

Discussion

20 comments analyzed.

Competitors mentioned: toolbit.app, prettydevtoysIt (GitHub styling alternative), CLI programs for networking/hashing utilities

Concerns raised: Security risk of trusting browser-only execution on unknown website, Privacy concerns with password/hash generation online, Potential for malware injection if maintainer abandons project, No offline/local CLI alternative mentioned, ASCII art generator broken for non-standard font options

Feature requests: VS Code extension with visual panel, Respect user's system dark/light mode preference, Better discoverability/bookmarking mechanism, Fix ASCII art text generation for Block and other font styles

Competitors

Other products that read as similar to this one — 158 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.

Attention rank: #1 of 159 (itself plus its competitors, highest first — normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).

Launched 63 days after the earliest competitor.

Other launches for this product

Same idea, different domain

Nobody's really built a dev tools tool for Sales yet.