IT Tools: What It Is, Key Capabilities, and Getting Started

What it is

IT Tools is an open-source web application designed as a consolidated collection of practical utilities for software engineers and information technology specialists. Authored and maintained by Corentin Thomasset, the project brings together numerous day-to-day computing tools within a single web portal. According to the project README, IT Tools delivers a collection of handy online tools for developers and people working in IT, engineered with great user experience.

In technical environments, developers and system administrators frequently rely on micro-utilities to handle repetitive tasks, conversions, or data operations. Rather than requiring users to search for single-purpose websites or maintain separate command-line scripts, IT Tools gathers these utilities into a cohesive, organized interface. The application is continuously deployed via the hosting platform Vercel, which allows the live web version hosted at https://it-tools.tech/ to remain updated with project developments.

In addition to the public website, the entire underlying source code is openly hosted on GitHub under the GNU General Public License version 3.0 (GPL-3.0). This open-source distribution allows anyone to inspect how the tools are assembled, contribute improvements, or host the entire platform independently on private infrastructure. The project has also received community recognition on discovery platforms such as Product Hunt, where it earned daily badge honors, and it highlights community participation through an open contributor graph powered by Contrib.rocks.

What it can do

At its core, IT Tools functions as a browser-accessible workbench that organizes software utilities into dedicated categories for rapid navigation. According to its project README, the software aims to provide useful tools tailored to the needs of developers and IT professionals, with an emphasis on a clean and intuitive user experience.

The application is engineered to accommodate ongoing growth and community needs. When users identify missing features or have suggestions for new utilities, the project encourages them to submit feature requests via GitHub issue templates. Users and administrators can also consult the project issues tracker on GitHub to review planned enhancements and verify whether specific functionalities are currently scheduled for implementation.

For developers wishing to expand the collection, IT Tools includes a built-in scaffolding utility. Contributors do not need to manually configure directory layouts or write initial boilerplate code from scratch. Instead, a dedicated automation command generates all required starter files within the src/tools folder and automatically registers the new utility in src/tools/index.ts. Once generated, developers place the imported tool into its designated category and write its specific implementation logic.

Furthermore, the platform incorporates internationalization capabilities to support users around the world. Translation files and localization paths (such as locales and src/tools/*/locales) allow text strings to be translated across multiple languages using nested key structures, making the interface adaptable across global development teams.

How to get started

Getting started with IT Tools can be approached in multiple ways, depending on whether you want to use the public web deployment, run your own private instance, or contribute to the project’s source code.

Using the Hosted Web Application

The quickest and most direct method to access the tools is through the official online deployment. Navigating to https://it-tools.tech/ in any modern desktop or mobile web browser loads the entire suite immediately. Because it is hosted in the cloud, there are no packages to download, dependencies to configure, or local servers to maintain.

Self-Hosting in a Homelab

For individuals who prefer running applications on their own local network or personal infrastructure—often referred to as a homelab—IT Tools provides ready-made container images. Containerization packages an entire application along with all of its runtime requirements into an isolated unit, ensuring consistent behavior across different computer systems.

IT Tools provides pre-built container images on both Docker Hub and GitHub Packages. To pull and run the container from Docker Hub, execute the following command in a terminal:

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

In this command, the -d flag runs the container in detached background mode, --name it-tools assigns an identifiable name to the process, --restart unless-stopped instructs Docker to restart the service automatically unless manually stopped, and -p 8080:80 maps port 8080 on the host machine to port 80 inside the container. Once running, the application can be accessed via a web browser at your host machine’s address on port 8080.

If you prefer pulling images directly from the GitHub Container Registry, the equivalent command is:

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

In addition to direct Docker commands, the project README lists several turnkey homelab and server operating environments that support IT Tools, including Cloudron, Tipi, and Unraid. These platforms provide integrated app stores or management interfaces that simplify hosting the software on home servers or private clusters.

Setting Up a Development Environment

If you want to contribute new tools, inspect the code, or build the platform locally, you can set up a local development workspace. The project documentation recommends using Visual Studio Code (VSCode) as the primary integrated development environment (IDE).

To ensure consistent formatting and type checking, the repository suggests installing several specific VSCode extensions:

• Volar (the official tooling for Vue development; the older Vetur extension should be disabled)
• TypeScript Vue Plugin (Volar)
• ESLint (for identifying code issues and enforcing style rules)
• i18n Ally (for managing multi-language localization assets)

The project recommends applying the following settings within your VSCode configuration:

{
  "editor.formatOnSave": false,
  "editor.codeActionsOnSave": {
    "source.fixAll.eslint": true
  },
  "i18n-ally.localesPaths": ["locales", "src/tools/*/locales"],
  "i18n-ally.keystyle": "nested"
}

When working with Vue single-file components (.vue files), standard TypeScript cannot inspect component type information out of the box. To handle type checking properly, the project uses vue-tsc rather than the default tsc command-line tool. In editors, the TypeScript Vue Plugin (Volar) provides language awareness for .vue imports.

For developers who want faster editor performance, Volar provides a feature called “Take Over Mode.” You can activate this mode through the following steps:

1. Disable the built-in TypeScript Extension by running Extensions: Show Built-in Extensions from the VSCode command palette, searching for TypeScript and JavaScript Language Features, right-clicking it, and selecting Disable (Workspace).
2. Reload the editor window by choosing Developer: Reload Window from the command palette.

Once the editor is configured, clone the repository and install the project dependencies using the pnpm package manager:

pnpm install

To launch the local development server with hot-reloading—a feature that automatically updates the running web application whenever you save changes to the source code—run:

pnpm dev

To execute automated type checks, compile the components, and generate minified assets ready for production hosting, execute:

pnpm build

To run the automated unit test suite using Vitest, use:

pnpm test

To analyze the codebase for linting issues and syntax errors using ESLint, run:

pnpm lint

To create a brand-new tool, the repository includes a script that automatically generates the boilerplate files and imports:

pnpm run script:create:tool my-tool-name

Running this script generates a dedicated directory within src/tools with the required starting files, and it registers an import inside src/tools/index.ts. Contributors can then assign the imported tool to its appropriate category and begin developing its functionality.

Pricing and requirements

Pricing and subscription plans are subject to the official page at https://it-tools.tech/ and the official code repository at https://github.com/CorentinTh/it-tools. The project is distributed as free, open-source software licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3.0 (GPL-3.0), granting users the freedom to view, modify, and self-host the source code.

In terms of technical requirements:

• To use the web version: Users only require an internet connection and any standard web browser that supports modern JavaScript applications.
• To self-host using containers: A host machine running Docker or an alternative container engine is required, or a supported hosting ecosystem such as Cloudron, Tipi, or Unraid, with network capability to expose an HTTP port (such as mapping port 8080 to container port 80).
• To develop or compile from source: Developers need a computer with Git, the pnpm package manager, and Node-compatible runtime tooling. For editing, Visual Studio Code is recommended along with the Volar, TypeScript Vue Plugin, ESLint, and i18n Ally extensions, utilizing vue-tsc for TypeScript type verification.

Who it is for

IT Tools is intended for a broad technical audience, specifically:

• Software Developers: Programmers who want a convenient, centralized web dashboard with a clean user experience to handle common development utilities without installing separate command-line binaries.
• IT Professionals and System Administrators: Technical personnel who manage computer networks, systems, or server configurations and benefit from having web-based utilities accessible from any workstation.
• Homelab and Self-Hosting Enthusiasts: Home server hobbyists who use platforms like Docker, Cloudron, Tipi, or Unraid to run private, locally hosted instances of productivity tools within their internal networks.
• Open-Source Contributors: Vue and TypeScript developers who want to contribute new utilities, translate existing tools into additional languages, or participate in open-source development workflows using tools like Vitest, ESLint, and pnpm.

Alternatives

CyberChef is an alternative open-source utility application designed to assist users with various computing tasks.

DevToys is another utility software project created to provide handy tools for developers.

Sources

• https://github.com/CorentinTh/it-tools
• https://it-tools.tech/
• https://github.com/gchq/CyberChef
• https://github.com/DevToys-app/DevToys