Small tools I’ve built for my own life. Each one started as something annoying at home, at the gym, or out the door, and I still use most of them. They aren’t case studies, just the habit of noticing a need and shipping a fix.
Built with AI. I write the spec and prototype, direct a coding agent, and review what it produces before I trust it.
Runs on AI. Some tools use a model as a feature, which means deciding when it acts, when it asks, and what it’s allowed to cost.
Family & home
Several family lines, three spellings of every name, and relatives who want to look someone up without learning a genealogy app.
Design decision
Search ignores Vietnamese accents and matches nicknames, so "dieu linh" finds Diệu-Linh. Each family line gets its own band, and cross-family marriages are drawn in both.
Vanilla JS · D3 · Firebase Auth · Firestore · since Oct 2026
Family & home
Two new parents, one shared timeline from prep through the first months, and reminders that show up on both phones without a server to run.
Design decision
Designed as an HTML prototype first, then built as a native SwiftUI app synced over iCloud sharing. I reviewed the generated code and fixed two bugs it shipped with.
SwiftUI · CloudKit · Local notifications · since Jul 2026
Training
A six-week strength program that doesn’t fall apart the first time I miss a day.
Design decision
You rate a set (👍 / 👎 / skip) before logging it, and the log sheet pre-fills with last time’s numbers from my gym log. Missed sessions move forward from today.
Svelte 5 · Tailwind · Firestore · GitHub Actions · since Jul 2026
Everyday AI
Restaurants and bars saved across Google Maps, Instagram and Yelp, and none of them findable on a Friday night.
Design decision
Paste any link and the AI fills in the place. Chat search handles "dinner under $30, somewhere new", and when the assistant wants to change something it proposes the edit and waits for me to confirm.
SvelteKit · Cloud Functions · Firestore · since May 2026
Everyday AI
Remembering the wine, snack or face cleanser I liked, without typing up a label in the store aisle.
Design decision
Snap a photo and Gemini reads the label into structured fields. There’s no server: App Check makes sure only my app can spend the AI budget.
Plain HTML/JS · Firebase AI Logic · Firestore · PWA · since Oct 2026
Ambient
Knowing whether to run for the train or wait for the bus, without unlocking a phone on the way out the door.
Design decision
A tiny API that boils MTA subway and bus feeds down to the next few arrivals, rendered on an e-ink display by the door. You glance at it; nothing to tap.
Cloud Functions · MTA GTFS-RT · TRMNL · since Apr 2026
Baby Timeline and Keepsake are real screens. The others use made-up data, since the real ones hold my family’s details.
Smaller builds, same habit.