A Toolbox I Actually Reopen

Every few months I dump a folder of saved links into a post like this. Some entries are battle-tested; others are “I used this once and it saved a weekend.” I dropped EssayKiller_V2 from my draft list – it was a fun GPT-2-era experiment, but in 2026 you already have better options on your desk.

Bookmark the page, steal what you need, ignore the rest.

Translation & language

• DeepL – Still the translator I reach for when Google feels too literal and ChatGPT feels too chatty.
• pinyin-pro – Pinyin conversion and matching for Chinese text in apps and scripts.

Homelab & network

• dynip.dev – Dynamic DNS that actually updates in about a minute, with RFC 2136 TSIG for routers and a generous free tier. Homelab DNS without the 30-minute stale-record ritual.
• dnspeep – Spy on DNS queries your machine is making. Julia Evans wrote a nice walkthrough when it launched; the repo is the thing to install.
• HTTP Toolkit – Intercept, inspect, and mock HTTP(S) traffic without wrestling mitmproxy config every time.

Terminal & remote access

• sshx – Share a live terminal in the browser. Fast, collaborative, surprisingly handy for “can you see this error?”
• termpair – View and control a terminal from a browser with end-to-end encryption.
• webssh – Web-based SSH client when you cannot install a native client but still need a shell.

PDF & documents

• Stirling-PDF – Self-hosted PDF toolkit: merge, split, compress, OCR, the usual suspects. Run it at home if you do not want files on a random website.
• PDFReal – Fast online PDF utilities when you need something quick and do not want to spin up a container.

Cloud native & observability

• awesome-cloud-native – Rootsongjc’s curated list of cloud-native projects. Good starting point when you are lost in the CNCF catalog.
• Netdata – Real-time monitoring with minimal setup. Nice on a single node or a small cluster.

Data & databases

• DBeaver – Universal database client. Not pretty at 2 a.m., but it opens everything.

Shell & scripting

• pure-bash-bible – Bash snippets you will grep more than you expect.
• Bash-Oneliner – Another solid collection of one-liners and small scripts.
• ShellCheck – Lint your shell scripts before they lint you.

Security, crypto, and regex pain

• CyberChef – The “what encoding is this?” Swiss Army knife from GCHQ.
• regex-vis – Visualize and debug regexes when your eyes glaze over at ^(?=(.*[a-z])).

Comments (lightweight)

• Cusdis – Lightweight, privacy-friendly comment widget. The author’s free hosted service is gone; self-host or embed on your own site. Still beats loading Disqus on a personal blog.

IoT & casting

• Arkadiko (Docker) – Docker image related to the Arkadiko IoT/game stack; useful if you are poking at that ecosystem.
• catt – Cast audio and video to Chromecast from the command line. catt cast beats opening another GUI.

Music, scores, and MIDI

• Kunst der Fuge – Classical MIDI files and scores. A rabbit hole if you like reading music on a screen.
• pianoplayer – Play along with a MIDI keyboard; visual feedback on what to press next.
• 中华古籍资源库 – National Library of China digitized ancient books and related resources. Serious archive, not a quick click.

Chinese classics & text

• ctext.org – Chinese Text Project: classical Chinese texts with search and parallel editions.
• copybook-generator – Generate Chinese copybook practice sheets (字帖).

Math, code, and learning

• awesome-math – Curated math learning resources.
• Blockly – Visual block programming; still useful for teaching and quick prototypes.
• PathPlanning – Path planning algorithms with visual demos.

Fitness, handwriting, and doodles

• Darebee workouts – No-equipment workout cards. Print one, do it, move on.
• Calligrapher.ai – Generate realistic handwriting from typed text. Fun for labels and mockups.
• smooth-signature – Smooth signature pad for web apps.

Games & Go

• OGS: Learn to Play Go (Atari to Side) – Interactive lessons on online-go.com (OGS). Work through tactics from atari to side connections, then play in the same browser.

Weather

• ultra-weather – Actionable, human-readable weather forecasts in a clean UI.

Reading & ebooks

• bibi – EPUB reader you can embed on a website.
• DeDRM_tools – Tools for managing DRM on ebooks you already own. Legal territory varies by country; use only on content you have the right to back up.

Last updated: 2026-08-02. Send me a link if something here rotted or if I missed your favorite wrench.