Skip to tool

Categories

Engineering Blog & Solution Playbooks

OpenTools Engineering Blog

Practical guides, privacy breakdowns, and operator tutorials on how to build and work faster using in-browser tools with zero server uploads.

Developer & Systems3 min read2026-09-16

JSON to Zod Schema, Generated in Your Browser

Transform complex API response payloads into strict, type-safe TypeScript Zod validation schemas entirely in browser memory. Eliminate runtime errors and keep proprietary customer data private.

Browse Topics

Developer & SystemsPDF & DocumentsWeb & DesignCreator & SocialDocuments & LegalFinance & BusinessData & SpreadsheetsImage & MediaAudio & MediaSecurity & SystemsLegal & BusinessDesign & CreativeData & AnalyticsVideo & Media

All Articles & Playbooks (31)

Developer & Systems6 min read

How to make an ER diagram from SQL, without a database

Paste your CREATE TABLE statements into the SQL to ER Diagram Generator and you get an SVG of the tables with their foreign keys drawn between them. No database connection, no credentials, no upload — the SQL is parsed in the page. This is what it reads, and what it does not.

Security & Systems5 min read

Why File Size Checks Miss ZIP Corruption

Most online unzip tools verify file size and nothing else. But flipping a single byte leaves the file length unchanged. Here is why the ZIP specification stores a 32-bit CRC32 checksum and how in-browser validation catches damage before extraction.

Developer & Systems5 min read

The macOS ZIP Bug Where Filename Flags Lie

The ZIP specification provides a bit flag that means "these filenames are UTF-8". macOS built-in zip writes UTF-8 filenames and leaves that flag cleared. Software that trusts the flag mangles Devanagari, Japanese, and accented filenames into CP437 line-drawing glyphs. Here is how we resolve it.

Developer & Systems5 min read

Four Pure-TypeScript First Issues in OpenTools

Looking for a clean open-source contribution? OpenTools is built on pure functions over raw bytes: zero framework glue, zero network mocks, and comprehensive test suites. Here are 4 genuinely open tasks with exact files, line numbers, and passing test criteria.

Audio & Media3 min read

The Silent Resampling Trap in decodeAudioData

Standard Web Audio decodeAudioData quietly resamples any decoded file to the AudioContext rate with no indication in the output buffer. We explain how our converter probes container headers first to preserve original fidelity, why output is strictly WAV, and the limits of browser decoding.

Video & Media3 min read

Lossless MP4 Trimming and the Scrambled Frames Bug

Three of the four most common video tasks—trimming, muting, and audio extraction—require no video codec at all. We explain how our video trimmer manipulates MP4 container sample tables to copy frames byte-for-byte, and how a subtle ctts display ordering bug was caught and resolved.