Every developer and server administrator has a set of tiny utilities they use dozens of times a day. Most online versions are cluttered with ads or quietly send your data to a server. I built a clean set on this site — the developer tools page — that runs entirely in your browser. Here is what each tool is for, with the practical situations where it earns its place.

Base64 encoder and decoder

Base64 turns binary or text into a safe ASCII string. You meet it in email attachments, data URIs for inline images, HTTP basic authentication headers and API tokens. Decoding a suspicious Base64 string is also step one in analysing a lot of malware — attackers love hiding PHP in it, which is something I see often in hacked WordPress sites.

Hash generator (SHA-256, SHA-1, SHA-512)

Hashes verify integrity: compare the checksum of a downloaded file with the one the publisher lists, or confirm two files are identical. Because this runs in your browser using the Web Crypto API, you can hash sensitive text without it ever leaving your machine.

JSON formatter and minifier

APIs return JSON as a single unreadable line. Pretty-printing it exposes structure and mistakes instantly; minifying it shrinks payloads for configuration files. The formatter also tells you exactly where invalid JSON breaks, which saves ten minutes of squinting.

URL encoder and decoder

Spaces, ampersands and non-Latin characters break URLs unless encoded. Decoding is equally useful when you need to read what a long tracking URL actually contains.

UUID and password generator

UUIDs are unique identifiers for database records, API keys and file names. The password generator uses the cryptographic random number generator in your browser — genuinely random, unlike the "random" passwords some sites produce with predictable algorithms.

Unix timestamp converter

Logs, databases and APIs store time as seconds since 1970. Converting between timestamps and human dates in both directions is a daily task when debugging anything time-related, especially across time zones.

HTTP header inspector

This one talks to my server, because browsers cannot fetch arbitrary sites directly. Enter a URL and see the status code and response headers: is the redirect chain correct, is caching configured, are security headers present, which server software is responding? It is my first check when someone reports a website problem, and the reason it is built with strict safeguards against being misused to probe internal networks.

Why free, and why here

Partly because useful free things are how a personal site earns trust and links. Mostly because I wanted them for myself, without ads. If there is a tool you wish existed on the page, tell me and I may build it.