Tools: I Built 30 Free Browser-Based Linux & DevOps Tools — Here's What I Learned

Tools: I Built 30 Free Browser-Based Linux & DevOps Tools — Here's What I Learned

What's Inside

🐧 Linux Tools (15)

☁️ Cloud & DevOps (5)

🔧 Utilities (9)

🛡️ NetOps — Network Reconnaissance

The Tech Stack

Why Static Export?

Lessons Learned

1. Client-side tools are underrated

2. The hardest part is the UI, not the logic

3. SEO matters for tools

4. Dark theme or nothing

5. Self-hosting network tools requires security

What's Next

Try It Out Every time I needed to calculate a subnet, generate a cron expression, or decode a JWT, I'd end up on some ad-infested site that wanted me to sign up, install an extension, or — worst of all — send my data to their server. So I built LinuxTools.app — 30 free tools that run entirely in your browser. No sign-up. No tracking. No data leaves your machine. Here's what I built and what I learned along the way. The tools are organized into three categories: These are the ones I use daily as a sysadmin: Plus: File Permission Converter, Linux Command Cheat Sheets, Shell Script Library, Vim/Nano shortcuts, Package Manager Comparison, Disk Usage Visualizer, Process Explorer, and Performance Analyzer. I also built a NetOps section with a self-hosted API backend: All powered by a FastAPI backend in Docker with local MaxMind GeoIP databases — zero external API dependencies. Most tools are pure client-side JavaScript. No server needed for chmod calculations or cron parsing. Static export means: The only exception is the NetOps tools (ping, traceroute, nmap) which obviously need a server. Those run in a Docker container with a FastAPI backend. Most "online tools" unnecessarily send your data to a server. A chmod calculator doesn't need a backend. A JWT decoder doesn't need your token sent over the wire. Running everything client-side is faster, more private, and simpler to deploy. Calculating file permissions is trivial. Making a UI that's intuitive enough that someone can figure it out in 3 seconds — that's the actual challenge. People find tools through Google. Every tool page has: Developers live in dark mode. I didn't even bother with a light theme toggle. GitHub-dark inspired palette with soft blue accents. When I added nmap and traceroute to the API, I had to think about: Some features on the roadmap based on user feedback: All tools are free. No sign-up. No ads (ok, there's AdSense, but no paywalls). If you find it useful, I'd love to hear which tools you use the most — or what tools you wish existed. Drop a comment below or reach out on the contact page. Built with ☕ and too many terminal sessions. Templates let you quickly answer FAQs or store snippets for re-use. Thank you for your contribution. Respect :D Hide child comments as well For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse

Code Block

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Frontend: Next.js 15 (static export) + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS Backend: Python FastAPI (Docker) — for network tools only Fonts: Inter (body) + JetBrains Mono (code) + Bebas Neue (display) Hosting: Self-hosted on a VPS behind Cloudflare Deploy: rsync + Docker Compose Frontend: Next.js 15 (static export) + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS Backend: Python FastAPI (Docker) — for network tools only Fonts: Inter (body) + JetBrains Mono (code) + Bebas Neue (display) Hosting: Self-hosted on a VPS behind Cloudflare Deploy: rsync + Docker Compose Frontend: Next.js 15 (static export) + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS Backend: Python FastAPI (Docker) — for network tools only Fonts: Inter (body) + JetBrains Mono (code) + Bebas Neue (display) Hosting: Self-hosted on a VPS behind Cloudflare Deploy: rsync + Docker Compose - Chmod Calculator — Visual permission calculator. Toggle rwx checkboxes, see the numeric value update in real-time. Way faster than doing the math in your head. - Cron Expression Generator — Build cron jobs visually with a preview of the next 5 execution times. No more guessing if */5 * * * * means every 5 minutes or every 5th minute. - SSH Config Generator — Build ~/.ssh/config visually. Add hosts, keys, tunnels, and proxy jumps without remembering the syntax. - Nginx Config Generator — Generate configs for reverse proxy, SSL termination, redirects, and more. - Systemd Unit File Builder — Create service files visually instead of copy-pasting from StackOverflow. - UFW / iptables Rule Generator — Build firewall rules without memorizing flags. - Server Hardening Checklist — Step-by-step security checklist with actual commands. - Subnet Calculator — CIDR notation, network/broadcast addresses, host ranges - Dockerfile Generator — Pick base image, add packages, expose ports, generate - Kubernetes YAML Generator — Deployments, services, ingress configs - Terraform Snippet Generator — AWS/GCP/Azure resource templates - Cloud Cost Calculator — Estimate costs across providers - Base64 Encoder/Decoder - JSON/YAML/TOML Converter - Regex Tester — Real-time match highlighting - Git Command Builder — Pick what you want to do, get the command - SSL Certificate Checker - UUID Generator — v1/v3/v4/v5 with bulk generation - JSON to .env Converter — AWS Secrets Manager / Vault JSON → dotenv - JWT Encoder/Decoder — Inspect headers, payloads, verify HMAC signatures - Network Tools — DNS lookup, WHOIS, reverse DNS, HTTP headers, and more - Traceroute, Ping, MTR - DNS Lookup, Reverse DNS - WHOIS, GeoIP, ASN Lookup - Nmap scan, HTTP Headers, Page Links - Subnet Calculator - Fast — HTML served directly by nginx - Cheap — No server-side rendering costs - Private — Data never leaves the browser - Reliable — No backend to go down - Proper <title> and <meta description> - Canonical URLs - Hidden <h1> with keyword-rich text - Structured sitemap - Rate limiting — 5 nmap scans per 5 minutes - Internal IP blocking — Can't scan 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x - API key auth — Injected by nginx, never reaches the browser - Input validation — Strict regex on all inputs - Cmd+K search — Global keyboard shortcut to find tools instantly - Pin/favorite tools — Quick access to your most-used tools - Form state persistence — So you don't lose data on accidental refresh - More pentest tools — Building on the FastAPI backend - Joined May 13, 2025