An IT-Tools alternative that opens on every new tab

The best IT-Tools alternative for most developers is AyeTab, a free Chrome extension that puts a developer toolbox on every new tab and in a side panel. It covers the same daily jobs as IT Tools, from formatting JSON to decoding a JWT, and every tool runs locally in your browser with no account.

Why people look for an IT-Tools alternative

IT Tools is a well-liked open source project. Its own site calls it a collection of handy online tools for developers, and the code sits on GitHub under the GPLv3 licence. Most people reach it the same way: open a browser tab, type the address or find the bookmark, then search for the tool.

That last part is where the friction is. A converter you use all day should be one keystroke away, not a bookmark away. The other common reason is data. When you paste a production token or a customer payload into a website, you want to know where that text goes.

How AyeTab handles the same jobs

AyeTab replaces the Chrome new tab page. The tool list sits on the left and the tool you picked opens on the right, so the toolbox is already there whenever you open a tab. A few things make it quicker in practice:

• Command palette. Press Ctrl+K or Cmd+K and fuzzy-search to any tool.
• Smart paste. Paste a JWT, a JSON blob, a Base64 string or a URL and AyeTab suggests the tool that fits.
• Favorites and recents. Star the tools you live in and they stay at the top.
• Side panel. Open a tool next to the page you are reading instead of switching tabs.
• Offline. Once installed, it keeps working without a network.

If you would rather not install anything, the same tools run in the AyeTab web app, with the same local processing.

Side by side

Tools you will use on day one

Most developers moving over from IT Tools look for the same handful of utilities first. All of these are in AyeTab:

• JSON Formatter to beautify, validate and minify JSON
• JWT Debugger to decode and inspect tokens
• Hash Generator for MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256 and SHA-512
• UUID Generator and a ULID generator
• Cron Parser to explain a cron expression in plain words
• Text Diff to compare two blocks of text
• cURL to fetch or Python, and JSON to TypeScript or Go types

It goes further than pure developer utilities too, with colour tools such as a WCAG contrast checker, image tools like a converter and an SVG optimiser, and small productivity tools like a kanban board and notes that are saved locally.

When IT Tools is still the better pick

If you need to run the toolbox on your own server for a team, or you want to read, fork and change the source, IT Tools is the right choice. Its README gives a one-line Docker command and lists Cloudron, Tipi and Unraid as other ways to host it. AyeTab is aimed at one developer in one browser.

How to switch

1. Install AyeTab from the Chrome Web Store.
2. Open a new tab and press Ctrl+K to find the first tool you need.
3. Star your usual tools so they pin to the top.
4. Remove your IT Tools bookmark once you stop reaching for it.

To put the default Chrome new tab back, disable or remove the extension.