I built 2 free web tools to solve problems that annoyed me — here's what I learned
<p>As a full-stack developer, I have a habit of building tools to scratch my own itch. Here are two I recently shipped — both free, no ads, no signup required.</p> <h2> Tool 1: Thumb Extract — YouTube Thumbnail Downloader </h2> <p>🔗 <a href="https://thumbextract.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://thumbextract.com</a></p> <p>Every time I needed a YouTube thumbnail for a project or reference, I'd end up on some spammy site with 10 popups before I could download anything. So I built a clean version.</p> <h3> What it does: </h3> <ul> <li>Paste any YouTube URL → get the thumbnail instantly</li> <li>All resolutions: HD (1280×720), SD (640×480), and default</li> <li>Also downloads channel profile pictures in full resolution</li> <li>Downloads channel banner/cover art at full size (2560×1440)
As a full-stack developer, I have a habit of building tools to scratch my own itch. Here are two I recently shipped — both free, no ads, no signup required.
Tool 1: Thumb Extract — YouTube Thumbnail Downloader
Every time I needed a YouTube thumbnail for a project or reference, I'd end up on some spammy site with 10 popups before I could download anything. So I built a clean version.
What it does:
-
Paste any YouTube URL → get the thumbnail instantly
-
All resolutions: HD (1280×720), SD (640×480), and default
-
Also downloads channel profile pictures in full resolution
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Downloads channel banner/cover art at full size (2560×1440)
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Zero ads, zero signup, zero watermarks
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Works on videos, Shorts, live streams, and old videos
Tech approach:
The key insight was using YouTube's image CDN directly rather than scraping the page. This makes it near-instant and works for any public video.
Tool 2: Quick CPS Test — 0-Latency Click Speed Tester
Every CPS (clicks per second) test site I tried had noticeable input lag caused by event debouncing or heavy DOM manipulation. The results were inaccurate by design.
What it does:
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Measures your CPS with 0-latency click detection
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Test modes: 1s, 5s, 10s, 60s, 100 clicks
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Tracks personal best and average CPS
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Clean UI with zero ads or distractions
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Works perfectly on mobile (touch events)
Tech approach:
Used raw mousedown events instead of click events to eliminate the browser's built-in click delay. Removed all unnecessary DOM reflows during the test interval.
What I learned building these
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Simple tools get used. Both tools do one thing extremely well. No feature creep.
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Performance is a feature. Users immediately notice when something feels instant vs. sluggish.
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SEO from day one matters. Even small tools benefit from clean URLs, fast load times, and descriptive meta tags.
If you try either tool, let me know what you think — especially if you find any edge cases or bugs. Always looking to improve.
DEV Community
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Versie 26.2 van MobaXterm is uitgekomen. Dit veelzijdige programma heeft alles aan boord om een verbinding naar een andere computer op te zetten. Het kan overweg met onder meer SSH, Telnet, RDP, VNC en FTP. Het kan meerdere sessies in tabbladen weergeven en het kan ook als portable app worden gebruikt. MobaXterm is gratis voor thuisgebruik met slechts lichte beperkingen; een licentie voor in een commerciële omgeving kost 49 euro. Daarvoor mag het programma voor altijd worden gebruikt en krijg je ook ondersteuning en updates voor een jaar. De changelog voor deze uitgave ziet er als volgt uit: New feature:
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