I build software where data stays where it belongs: with the people who use it. Lean, self-reliant, no bloat. From a single web application to a self-hosted platform with its own AI infrastructure.
I've been building websites since the late 90s, web applications for more than 15 years, and all the systems around them. My craft ranges from PHP & vanilla JS through my own frameworks to Docker infrastructure and locally running AI. The common thread: local-first: data on your own hardware, no bloat, no dependency on the cloud unless it is explicitly wanted.
local-first & data-minimal. Data stays with the people who create it. Self-reliant instead of “you are the product”.
grown, maintainable systems instead of throwaway rewrites. Built to last, hardware included.
lean, fast, cookie-free. As few dependencies as possible, as much substance as needed.
clear architecture, and every major decision is written down (ADRs). Later you understand not only what the code does, but why.
My own PHP framework: a modular monolith with DI, PSR-4 and its own private package repository, grown out of a CMS over 15 years and developed further, decision by decision (ADRs).
A lean CMS on J•Frame with a cookie-free front end: fast, JS-free where possible, with theme inheritance and a clean publishing model. Its roots go back to a 2008 intranet information system, my final exam project, which opened when you logged into the Windows domain. “Just easy.”
Central sign-in and user management as a service for my projects: an API with JWT tokens and optional two-factor sign-in that also serves front ends outside J•Frame, such as React.
A feed and blog service on J•Frame: it publishes its own posts or pulls them from sources such as Facebook pages and delivers them to other websites as an Atom feed and through a JSON API.
A self-hosted, local-first AI platform: a gateway spreads requests across several machines, ranked by measured speed. The cloud is used only when explicitly allowed.
Live monitoring of the whole home network at a glance: devices, web services and AI nodes, fed by its own sensors, as a lean single-page app.
A platform for private tools: data stays encrypted on the device, and content never passes through the server. Publicly available so far is the messenger xPulse Chat, end-to-end encrypted and directly from browser to browser. Underneath sits a custom Node.js framework on which more tools are being built.
Tor Browser in an isolated container sandbox: one command to install, an encrypted vault, and optionally the Session messenger. An xPulse project, cookie-free on principle.
A multi-machine home network as a living lab: its own DNS, encrypted vaults, a reverse proxy with HTTPS and distributed AI, running on deliberately reused hardware.
Want to know more about one of the projects, or just say hello? Drop me a line.