Self-Host IT-Tools: 100+ Developer Utilities in 2026

TL;DR

IT-Tools (GPL-3.0, 20K+ GitHub stars, Vue.js) is a self-hosted collection of 100+ developer and sysadmin utilities in a clean web interface. Encode/decode Base64, decode JWTs, generate UUIDs, test regex, convert timestamps, generate QR codes, hash strings — all in one place, all running in-browser, all without sending data to third-party websites. One Docker container, zero configuration, 20 MB RAM, instant access.

Key Takeaways

• IT-Tools: GPL-3.0, 20K+ stars, Vue.js — 100+ utilities in a single web app
• Privacy: All processing runs in-browser — no data sent to any server (not even yours)
• Zero config: docker compose up and it's ready — no database, no authentication, no setup
• Categories: Crypto/encoding, converters, web/network, text, math, images, development
• Offline capable: Once the page loads, all tools work without internet connection
• Tiny footprint: Static Vue.js app served by Nginx — ~20 MB RAM usage

---

Why Self-Host Developer Utility Tools?

Developers rely on dozens of small utility websites for daily tasks: CyberChef for encoding, jwt.io for token inspection, regex101 for pattern testing, crontab.guru for cron expressions. These sites are convenient but have a privacy problem — you're pasting API keys, JWT tokens, password hashes, internal data, and sensitive business information into third-party websites.

The alternative is CopyPasta — manually running openssl dgst -sha256 or writing a one-off Python script every time you need to hash a string. Neither is great.

IT-Tools solves this by providing all those utilities in a self-hosted web app where all processing happens in-browser. Your JWT tokens, HMAC secrets, and encryption keys never leave the page. Set it up once on your internal network or VPN, and your entire team has access to a private utility toolkit.

---

Part 1: Docker Setup (2 Minutes)

IT-Tools is a static Vue.js application served by Nginx. There is no backend, no database, no user accounts. Deployment is as simple as any Docker deployment gets.

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  it-tools:
    image: corentinth/it-tools:latest
    container_name: it-tools
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    # No volumes needed — it's a static site
    # No environment variables needed — zero configuration

docker compose up -d

Visit http://your-server:8080 — instantly usable.

Alternative: Single docker run command

docker run -d \
  --name it-tools \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 8080:80 \
  corentinth/it-tools:latest

---

Part 2: HTTPS with a Reverse Proxy

For HTTPS and a custom domain, add Caddy or Nginx as a reverse proxy:

With Caddy (automatic TLS):

# /etc/caddy/Caddyfile
tools.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8080
}

# Restart Caddy
systemctl reload caddy
# or if running Caddy in Docker:
docker exec caddy caddy reload --config /etc/caddy/Caddyfile

With Nginx:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name tools.yourdomain.com;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name tools.yourdomain.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/tools.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/tools.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }
}

Internal network only (no public exposure):

If you want IT-Tools accessible only on your VPN or local network, bind to a private IP instead of 0.0.0.0:

ports:
  - "192.168.1.100:8080:80"  # Only accessible from LAN

---

Part 3: Complete Tool Reference

Crypto / Encoding Tools

These are the most privacy-sensitive tools — the ones where you should never use a public website.

Tool	What it does	Common use case
Base64 encoder/decoder	Encode/decode Base64 text and files	Decode base64 email attachments, encode binary data
Hash generator	MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-512 from text	Verify file integrity, generate content hashes
HMAC generator	HMAC-SHA256, HMAC-SHA512 from text + secret	Verify webhook signatures (Stripe, GitHub, Slack)
Bcrypt hash	Generate and verify bcrypt password hashes	Test password hashing without a full app
UUID generator	v1, v4, v7 UUIDs	Generate unique IDs for testing
ULID generator	Generate ULIDs (time-sortable unique IDs)	Use when insertion order matters
Encryption/Decryption	AES-256 encrypt/decrypt text with password	Quick encryption of sensitive notes
RSA key pair generator	Generate RSA public/private key pairs	Generate keys for JWT signing, SSH

Web / Network Tools

Tool	What it does	Common use case
JWT decoder	Decode header, payload, signature; show expiry	Debug auth issues without manual base64 decoding
URL encoder/decoder	Encode/decode URL components	Fix malformed URLs, prepare query parameters
URL parser	Break URLs into scheme, host, path, query	Debug complex URLs
HTTP status codes	Reference with descriptions and usage	Quick lookup without MDN
MIME types	Lookup MIME type by file extension	Set Content-Type headers correctly
IPv4 subnet calculator	CIDR to netmask, host range, broadcast	Network planning, firewall rules
IPv6 ULA generator	Generate unique local addresses	Private IPv6 network setup
MAC address lookup	Identify hardware vendor from MAC	Network debugging, DHCP logs
User agent parser	Decode browser user agent strings	Debug mobile vs desktop detection
Basic auth header	Generate Authorization header from credentials	Test basic auth endpoints

Converter Tools

Tool	What it does	Common use case
JSON ↔ YAML	Convert between JSON and YAML	Translate config files
JSON ↔ CSV	Convert between JSON and CSV	Prepare data for spreadsheets or APIs
JSON ↔ TOML	Convert between JSON and TOML	Translate config formats
XML ↔ JSON	Convert between XML and JSON	Work with legacy APIs that return XML
YAML beautifier	Format and validate YAML	Fix YAML indentation errors
Unix timestamp	Convert epoch timestamps to human dates	Debug log timestamps
Color converter	HEX ↔ RGB ↔ HSL ↔ CMYK	Convert colors across formats for CSS
Temperature	Celsius ↔ Fahrenheit ↔ Kelvin	Useful for server specs and hardware
Number base	Binary ↔ octal ↔ decimal ↔ hex	Decode bitmasks and permission values

Text / String Tools

Tool	What it does	Common use case
Lorem ipsum generator	Generate placeholder text	Mockups and wireframes
Text diff	Compare two text blocks with highlighting	Compare config versions
Regex tester	Test regex patterns with match highlighting	Build and debug regex without a terminal
Markdown preview	Render Markdown to HTML preview	Preview docs before committing
Text statistics	Word count, char count, reading time	Content length verification
String case converter	camelCase, snake_case, PascalCase, kebab-case	Rename variables when switching conventions
Slug generator	Create URL-safe slugs from text	Generate blog post URLs from titles
HTML entity encoder	Encode/decode HTML special characters	Safely embed user content in HTML
NATO alphabet	Convert text to NATO phonetic alphabet	Spell out codes over the phone

Development Tools

Tool	What it does	Common use case
Cron expression	Parse cron expressions into plain English	Verify 0 */6 * * 1-5 before deploying
Docker run → Compose	Convert docker run to docker-compose.yml	Convert quick-start commands to reusable config
SQL formatter	Format and beautify SQL queries	Read dense generated SQL
JSON formatter	Pretty-print and validate JSON	Format minified API responses
Git cheatsheet	Quick reference for common git commands	Reference for less-used git operations
chmod calculator	Calculate Unix file permissions from checkboxes	Set correct permissions without memorizing octal
OTP code generator	Generate TOTP 2FA codes from a secret	Test 2FA implementations
Random port generator	Generate random available port numbers	Pick ports for local development

Images / Media Tools

Tool	What it does	Common use case
QR code generator	Create QR codes from any text or URL	Generate codes for links, WiFi passwords, cards
QR code reader	Decode QR codes from uploaded images	Read QR codes without a phone
SVG placeholder	Generate SVG placeholder images	Lazy-loading image placeholders
Camera/Webcam	Capture photos from webcam	Quick screenshots without extra software
Image to Base64	Convert images to Base64 data URIs	Embed small images in CSS or HTML

---

Part 4: Keyboard Navigation and Productivity Tips

IT-Tools is designed for fast keyboard-driven use:

Search: Press / from anywhere to open the search bar and find any tool by name or keyword. Type jwt to jump to the JWT decoder, uuid to get the UUID generator.

Favorites: Click the ⭐ star icon on any tool to pin it to your home dashboard. Your most-used tools appear at the top of the homepage.

Direct URLs: Every tool has a stable, bookmarkable URL path:

https://tools.yourdomain.com/base64-string-converter
https://tools.yourdomain.com/jwt-parser
https://tools.yourdomain.com/uuid-generator
https://tools.yourdomain.com/crontab-generator
https://tools.yourdomain.com/docker-run-to-docker-compose-converter
https://tools.yourdomain.com/bcrypt
https://tools.yourdomain.com/hmac-generator
https://tools.yourdomain.com/hash-text

Set your most-used tools as browser bookmarks with keyboard shortcuts for instant access.

---

Part 5: Common Workflows

Decode a JWT token quickly

1. Open JWT Parser (/jwt-parser)
2. Paste the full token (including the eyJ... header)
3. See: header algorithm, payload claims, expiry time, issued-at — all decoded in milliseconds

Debug a cron expression

1. Open Cron Expression Describer (/crontab-generator)
2. Enter: 0 */6 * * 1-5
3. Output: "At minute 0 past every 6th hour, Monday through Friday"
4. The UI also shows the next 5 scheduled runs

Verify a webhook HMAC signature

1. Open HMAC Generator (/hmac-generator)
2. Enter the webhook payload as the message
3. Enter your webhook secret as the key
4. Choose SHA-256
5. Compare the output against the X-Hub-Signature-256 header from GitHub/Stripe

Convert docker run to docker-compose.yml

1. Open Docker Run to Compose (/docker-run-to-docker-compose-converter)
2. Paste: docker run -d -p 8080:80 -e NODE_ENV=production -v /data:/app/data --name myapp myimage:latest
3. Get the complete docker-compose.yml with services, ports, environment, and volumes

Calculate subnet ranges

1. Open IPv4 Subnet Calculator (/ipv4-subnet-calculator)
2. Enter: 10.0.1.0/26
3. Get: netmask 255.255.255.192, 62 usable hosts, range 10.0.1.1 - 10.0.1.62, broadcast 10.0.1.63

---

IT-Tools vs Alternatives

Feature	IT-Tools	CyberChef	DevToys	Hoppscotch
Platform	Web (self-host)	Web (self-host)	Desktop	Web
Tool count	100+	300+ operations	30+	API-focused
Interface	Clean, modern	Complex recipe builder	Native desktop	Modern
Tool chaining	No	Yes (recipes)	No	No
Privacy	All client-side	All client-side	Local only	Server for API
Ease of use	Very easy	Learning curve	Very easy	Medium
Memory usage	20 MB	50 MB	N/A	200 MB+
Network tools	Good	Excellent	Limited	API-only

When to use CyberChef instead: CyberChef's "recipe" system lets you chain 300+ operations — decode Base64, then decompress gzip, then parse JSON, then extract a field. For forensics and security analysis workflows requiring multi-step transformations, CyberChef is the more powerful tool.

When to use DevToys instead: If you prefer a native desktop app that works fully offline without any server, DevToys (Windows, macOS) provides 30+ tools with a system-native feel.

---

Maintenance

IT-Tools is stateless — there's no database, no persistent state, no user accounts. Updates are trivial:

# Pull latest image and restart
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

# That's all. No migrations, no config changes, no data to preserve.

Check for updates monthly. The project is actively maintained with new tools added regularly.

---

Resource Requirements

IT-Tools is one of the lightest self-hosted applications available:

Resource	Usage
RAM	~20 MB
CPU	Negligible (static serving)
Disk	~50 MB (image)
Network	Minimal (static files cached by browser)

You can run IT-Tools on the same VPS as 5 other services without noticing its presence.

---

Related: Best Open Source Developer Tools 2026 · Best Open Source Alternatives to Postman · Complete Self-Hosting Stack 2026