Every developer has a collection of bookmarked websites for encoding Base64, generating UUIDs, converting timestamps, or formatting JSON. What if all of those lived on your own server in a single, clean interface? That’s IT-Tools — a Swiss Army knife of developer utilities packed into one Docker container.

What is IT-Tools?

IT-Tools is a self-hosted web application built with Vue.js that bundles over 80 useful utilities for developers, sysadmins, and power users. Everything runs client-side in your browser — the server just serves the static files. No data leaves your machine.

What’s Inside?

The tool collection is massive. Here’s a taste:

  • Crypto: Hash generators (MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-512), HMAC generator, UUID generator, ULID generator
  • Converters: Base64, URL encoding, YAML↔JSON, number bases, color formats, Unix timestamps
  • Web: JWT decoder, URL parser, HTTP status codes, MIME type lookup, user agent parser
  • Network: IPv4/IPv6 info, subnet calculator, MAC address lookup, DNS tools
  • Text: Lorem ipsum generator, text statistics, regex tester, Markdown preview, diff viewer
  • Dev: JSON formatter, SQL formatter, crontab helper, Docker run to compose converter, chmod calculator
  • Security: Password generator, token generator, encryption/decryption tools
  • Math: Math evaluator, percentage calculator, ETA calculator

Why Self-Host It?

  • Privacy: Encoding, hashing, and JWT decoding happen locally — not on some random website
  • Speed: No ads, no cookie banners, no loading spinners
  • Offline capable: Works on your LAN even without internet
  • One bookmark: Replace dozens of utility websites with one URL
  • Lightweight: Uses almost no resources — it’s just static files

Prerequisites

Before starting, you’ll need:

  • A Linux server (Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 12+ recommended)
  • Docker and Docker Compose installed
  • A domain name pointed at your server (optional but recommended)
  • A reverse proxy like Nginx Proxy Manager, Traefik, or Caddy (optional)

IT-Tools is extremely lightweight — it’ll run happily on a Raspberry Pi with 256MB of RAM.

Step 1: Create the Project Directory

mkdir -p ~/it-tools && cd ~/it-tools

Step 2: Create the Docker Compose File

Create docker-compose.yml:

version: "3.7"

services:
  it-tools:
    image: corentinth/it-tools:latest
    container_name: it-tools
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8070:80"

That’s it. No databases, no volumes, no environment variables. One of the simplest deployments you’ll ever do.

Step 3: Start the Container

docker compose up -d

The container pulls in seconds — the image is under 30MB.

Step 4: Access IT-Tools

Open your browser and go to:

http://your-server-ip:8070

You’ll see a clean dashboard with all 80+ tools organized by category. Click any tool to use it immediately — no setup, no accounts.

Setting Up a Reverse Proxy (Optional)

If you want to access IT-Tools from a custom domain with HTTPS, here’s how to set it up with popular reverse proxies.

Nginx Proxy Manager

  1. Add a new proxy host
  2. Set the domain (e.g., tools.yourdomain.com)
  3. Point to your server’s IP on port 8070
  4. Enable SSL with Let’s Encrypt

Caddy

Add this to your Caddyfile:

t}oolsr.eyvoeurrsdeo_mparionx.ycoimt-{tools:80

Traefik

Add labels to your Docker Compose:

services:
  it-tools:
    image: corentinth/it-tools:latest
    container_name: it-tools
    restart: unless-stopped
    labels:
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.it-tools.rule=Host(`tools.yourdomain.com`)"
      - "traefik.http.routers.it-tools.entrypoints=websecure"
      - "traefik.http.routers.it-tools.tls.certresolver=letsencrypt"
      - "traefik.http.services.it-tools.loadbalancer.server.port=80"

IT-Tools doesn’t have built-in authentication. If you’re exposing it to the internet, add a layer in front:

Basic Auth with Nginx

location / {
    auth_basic "IT-Tools";
    auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
    proxy_pass http://localhost:8070;
}

Generate the password file:

sudo apt install apache2-utils
sudo htpasswd -c /etc/nginx/.htpasswd yourusername

Authelia or Authentik

For a more robust solution, put IT-Tools behind your SSO provider. Both Authelia and Authentik work well as middleware for Traefik or Nginx.

Favorite Tools Worth Highlighting

With 80+ tools, some gems get buried. Here are the ones you’ll use most:

Docker Run to Compose Converter

Paste any docker run command and get a clean docker-compose.yml back. Incredibly useful when you find a setup guide that only gives you a docker run one-liner.

Crontab Helper

Visually build and validate cron expressions. Shows you exactly when your job will run next. Beats squinting at * */2 * * 1-5 trying to remember what it means.

JWT Decoder

Paste a JWT token and instantly see the header, payload, and expiration. Essential for debugging authentication issues — and it never sends your token to a third party.

Chmod Calculator

Toggle permission checkboxes and get the numeric value, or enter a number and see what permissions it maps to. No more Googling “chmod 755 meaning.”

Hash Generator

Paste text and instantly see MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, and SHA-512 hashes. Useful for verifying file integrity or generating checksums.

Updating IT-Tools

cd ~/it-tools
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Since there’s no data to persist, updates are zero-risk. Pull the new image and restart — done.

Troubleshooting

Port conflict

If port 8070 is taken, change it in docker-compose.yml:

ports:
  - "9090:80"  # Use any available port

Container won’t start

Check logs:

docker compose logs it-tools

99% of the time it’s a port conflict or Docker not running.

Tools show blank page

Clear your browser cache or try incognito mode. This usually happens after an update when cached JavaScript conflicts with the new version.

Resource Usage

IT-Tools is one of the lightest self-hosted apps you can run:

  • RAM: ~10-15MB
  • CPU: Essentially zero (serves static files)
  • Disk: ~30MB for the Docker image
  • Network: Minimal — everything runs client-side

You could run this on a $5 VPS alongside a dozen other services and never notice it.

Conclusion

IT-Tools replaces an entire browser bookmark folder of random utility websites with a single, self-hosted application. It’s private, fast, and genuinely useful every day. The deployment takes under a minute, uses almost no resources, and just works.

If you self-host anything at all, IT-Tools should be one of your first containers. It’s that good.

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