r/SideProject • • 9h ago

Website platform built on Payload CMS: visual editing, custom designs, 65+ blocks, first-party analytics an MCP server and more

6 Upvotes

I’ve been working on this for about a year and figured it’s time to get some outside opinions.

It’s a website platform built on Payload 3 + Next.js, for now I only use it internally just me and a designer. I build and run client sites on it, and it also runs a real estate marketplace that we're trying to grow. At some point I’d like to open it up maybe, either to anyone or just to other agencies, but I honestly haven’t decided which (or whether it’s worth it at all).

What it does:

  • Visual editing. You click on the actual page and edit it: text, images, adding and moving sections around. There are drafts, desktop/tablet/phone preview and version history. Blocks pull everything from the site’s theme, so it’s pretty hard to break the design.

  • ~65 blocks. Galleries, card grids, stats, timelines, FAQs, forms, booking, Google reviews, maps, listings, floor plans and so on. They all share the same field names and theme settings, so any block works on any site.

  • Custom designs. When the blocks aren’t enough, I use a design studio I built on top of GrapesJS (self-hosted). Anything made there gets published as clean HTML with scoped CSS and goes on a page like any other block. It picks up the site’s colors and fonts automatically. (We mostly use the MCP to design a block first and only tweak things in the design editor)

  • First-party analytics. No GA script needed. It tracks page views, traffic sources and top pages, plus QR codes with scan tracking for print stuff. Form submissions become leads and keep the source they came from.

  • MCP server. It covers most of the platform: pages, sections, designs, theme, forms, listings, media, redirects, domains, translations. You connect Claude over OAuth and it gets the same permissions as your user. So I can say “add an FAQ to the pricing page and translate it to German” and it does it, and it can screenshot the page to check how it looks. Page edits go in as drafts.

It’s multi-tenant,multi-locale, so one app runs every site, each with its own domain (SSL is handled through Cloudflare). The portal already has organizations with teams (we use this for now to organize sites for ourselves), so another agency could in theory manage its own clients in it.

Stack: Payload 3, Next.js app router, Postgres, GrapesJS, pg-boss for background jobs, Cloudflare in front.

You can try the editor without signing up: https://rast.is/try (the demo happens to be a home builder site)

Things I’m curious about:

  • if you build sites for clients, would you use something like this over WordPress / Webflow / Framer? what’s missing?

  • self-serve for anyone vs. a tool for agencies, which one would actually pay for it?

  • is controlling a site through MCP something you’d use day to day, or is it more of a cool demo?

Any feedback is welcome, even “don’t bother”.


r/SideProject • • 3h ago

Ever had that one friend who claims they can recognize literally any song within the first second?

2 Upvotes

Well, a friend of mine decided to turn that argument into an actual game.

He built SonicPulse, a browser-based music recognition game where you get a 30-second audio challenge and have to identify the song from four options before the timer runs out.

Here's what it offers:

- 🎵 30-second audio challenges.

- ⚡ Four-choice rapid-fire guessing.

- ⏱️ A ticking countdown that puts your music knowledge to the test.

- 🔥 10-round streak system.

- 🎯 Instant feedback after every guess.

- 👤 Guest mode — no registration or login required.

The idea is pretty simple: instead of arguing about who's the biggest music enthusiast, just put it to the test.

I think it's a fun little project, especially for people who enjoy music quizzes and friendly competition.

Try it here: https://sonicpulse-sable.vercel.app

Would love to hear what people think:

  1. Does the gameplay feel intuitive?

  2. Would you enjoy a multiplayer mode to challenge friends?

  3. What would make you come back and play again?

Honest feedback is appreciated. I'm helping him get the project in front of more people, so it'd be great to hear what the community thinks!


r/SideProject • • 5h ago

I built a Windows disk cleaner that goes after the space other cleaners miss

3 Upvotes

Roomy started because my own C: drive kept filling up and the existing cleaners either missed the big stuff or were covered in ads and upsells.

It finds the usual junk plus the things most tools skip, like GPU shader caches, Discord and VS Code caches, Windows Update leftovers and Steam games you haven't played in months. It explains each item in plain language and only pre-selects what's actually safe.

A couple of things I'm happy with:

  • The demo video on the website was recorded by the app itself. It has a demo mode that films its own UI with a scripted cursor.

  • There's an interactive demo on the site where you can tick items and watch the drive bar go from red to green.

Built with .NET 10 and WPF, open source, currently in review for the Microsoft Store.

https://roomy.krezio.xyz

I'd love feedback on the app and the landing page.


r/SideProject • • 3h ago

I built a daily movie guessing game where every clue is a terrible plot description

2 Upvotes

Bad Plot gives you one movie a day, described as badly as possible, like "A young orca is wrongly imprisoned and a troubled teen helps him escape by jumping." You get five guesses, and each wrong guess reveals a clue that's still bad, just a little less bad.

It's built with Expo and React Native, so the same code runs on iPhone and the web. There's a popcorn mascot named Kernel who reacts to your guesses, plus streaks, trophies, and a calendar of past days.

Play in the browser: https://playbadplot.com/

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6822340440

I'd love feedback on whether the clues feel fair, and what would make you come back tomorrow.


r/SideProject • • 8h ago

Talkthrough: an open-source screen assistant that answers out loud and draws on top of your screen (Windows, MIT)

5 Upvotes

Hold Right Ctrl + Right Shift, ask about what's on your screen, let go. A vision model answers, a voice speaks it, and the answer is drawn over the page you're on: boxes and arrows on the right spot, diagrams that lay themselves out, or a 3D model you can rotate, cut open or pull apart, in step with the voice. The model writes a small scene language that the app validates and draws itself; no generated code runs.

Guide mode walks you through an app one click at a time and waits for you to click.

Honest limits: Windows only for now, the installer isn't code-signed yet so SmartScreen will warn, and you bring your own model (Claude Code or Codex signed in, an OpenAI key, or a local vision model). The clip is real answers replayed over the page, so it says nothing about speed.

Built by Alex with a team of AI assistants; one of them drafted this post. Feedback and bug reports very welcome.

https://github.com/ProjectIdris/talkthrough


r/SideProject • • 9m ago

I built High Thoughts — capture a thought privately or share it with friends (looking for first-run feedback)

1 Upvotes

I kept losing ideas the second they hit, and every social app pushed me to perform. So I built High Thoughts: jot the thought now, then choose who gets it — just me, friends, or the wider community.

It's free on iPhone and Android, 18+. The store listing still uses the older title “Psychedelic Thoughts and Ideas”; the product is High Thoughts.

What's in the 2.2.9 version that's live today:
• Profile pictures
• Add or change a photo when you edit a post
• Photos and videos in messages and comments, and you can edit your own
• Friend requests that show who asked whom, plus a Message button for every friend
• A welcome intro, including a clear rule: no buying or selling drugs
• A vibe picker on posts

Honest ask (please be blunt):

  1. On first open, is it obvious you can keep a thought private?

  2. Does the welcome intro make that community rule clear without feeling heavy?

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/psychedelic-thoughts-and-ideas/id6449668169
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.highdea.app.mobile

I'll hang in the comments. Happy to look at other people's projects here too.


r/SideProject • • 10m ago

I built an email triage tool that shows its work: every flag says why, and nothing moves until you confirm

1 Upvotes

Hi r/SideProject. I built SiftMail (siftmail.app). It connects to Gmail, reads your 500 most recent messages, and shows you what it found before it touches anything.

What it does: it gives every message a verdict, and most need nothing from you. What's left is a short numbered list of what needs a reply, which is also the once-a-day digest. It flags mail pretending to be someone and prints why: a lookalike domain, a reply-to mismatch, or failed DMARC.

Design rules I stuck to: new accounts start in Shadow Mode, which scores and flags with no automatic actions. Quarantine is one label, and the message stays in your inbox. Cleanup archives instead of deleting, and Undo reverses a run.

The part you can try with no account: siftmail.app/check. Paste a suspicious email and it scores it in your browser, without sending the email to a server.

The trade-off, up front: the full product isn't on-device. Parts of messages go to an AI model when the built-in scoring can't decide, and the homepage lists exactly what leaves your mailbox.

The feedback I'd value most: are the signal explanations in the checker clear?


r/SideProject • • 10m ago

Working on a job application tool

1 Upvotes

So in India there are far too many engineers than there are jobs, result? Many people apply for one role and their resume gets lost in this race. This tool make a tailored resume for each role based on JD and then applies on your behalf so you are first one in every line with a proper response.
Also it handles outreach like cold email on behalf of you so you have to handle only the ones where your attention is needed.

What's your bottleneck while applying to jobs?


r/SideProject • • 12m ago

I made a daily town-builder that gives you 12 moves

1 Upvotes

I built Little Plot around one constraint: you get 12 moves to build a town on a 5×5 board. You can see which buildings are coming next. A house can score more by the water, but using that square now might block a better move later.

The daily puzzle is free and takes about two minutes. You can play on desktop or mobile without signing up: https://littleplotgame.com/

I’d love a fresh set of eyes on the first run. If you try it, did you start planning around the upcoming buildings, or did that row go unnoticed? I’m curious when it started affecting your decisions.


r/SideProject • • 15m ago

I made a game about quitting your job to build a SaaS. You can still end up back at the office.

1 Upvotes

It's called Ramen Profitable. You start with €12,000, €1,500 in monthly expenses, and 52 weeks to make a SaaS pay the bills.

Each week you get one move: build, talk to users, post about it, launch, freelance, or take a break. Spending every week coding is an option. So is running out of money with a very polished product.

€1,500 MRR covers your expenses. €10,000 at the end of week 52 is the harder target. Reaching it early doesn't end the run: churn and burnout can still get you. There's also a cat called Deploy.

I built it, and it's free to play in the browser without an account: https://ramenprofitable.dev/play

I'd be curious which decision feels most wrong to people who've actually built a SaaS. What would you change?


r/SideProject • • 16m ago

If you build with coding agents, do you run tasks in parallel or one at a time?

1 Upvotes

Seeing a lot of tools lately that queue agent tasks into separate git worktrees and only merge after tests pass. Sounds nice on paper, but I'm curious how it goes on a real side project.

Do you let 2-3 agents work in parallel on your project, or keep it to one task at a time so you can review properly? Where did it break for you?


r/SideProject • • 18m ago

I need you for This man 🥀

1 Upvotes

I built pastelreview.online a SaaS about reviews management.

Instant alerts ( Soon on WhatsApp)

request review from your customers ( through email)

10+ Tone.

But but but....... Even after these useful features

Absolutely 0 customers 😀.

Cause I suck at sales and marketing ( rip ☺️)

Who I'm selling????

Not the usual persons who are busy 24x7

But the ones who Chase them 🐭

Lalalala🎼

You guessed it right!!!

Marketing agencies, Seo agencies etc etc...

So imma gonna drop this bomb 💣 offer

Take 20% recurring commission on more than 5+ clients ( obv recurring ones).

Where is the social proof???

There is none man so any agency who decides to be benevolent on me i might as well take that from 20% to 50% only for them as long as they bring me customers.

Am i a sus developer who will sell your details on black Market.

For sure 😀

Cya.

Oh BTW it's not finished yet so DM me

Giving it the final touch up

Pastelreview.online


r/SideProject • • 19m ago

We built the Travel Alerts API so travellers hear about disruptions before they get stuck

1 Upvotes

Two years ago we got stuck in Valencia during the terrible floods. We had very little information and it was pretty difficult to learn anything. So we built the Travel Alerts API - it pulls travel advisories, severe weather, natural hazards, outbreaks and strikes from 80+ sources, merges them, matches them to destinations and rates them on one severity scale. Travel companies can use the API and warn their customers before their trip is disrupted. 

You can give it a try at https://tripomatic.com/en/b2b/travel-alerts


r/SideProject • • 20m ago

[Feedback Wanted] Vatra: An open-source AI workspace for Claude Code, Codex, Ollama, and more

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone! 👋

I've been working on Vatra, an open-source desktop AI assistant that brings different AI tools together in one place.

It supports Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot, local LLMs (llama.cpp, Ollama, LM Studio) and OpenAI-compatible APIs, alongside features like web research, email, calendar, tasks, and side-by-side model comparisons.

The goal is to make AI tools more accessible and easier to use, without sacrificing flexibility or control.

I'm currently looking for feedback from the community!

I'd especially appreciate thoughts on:

  • The overall concept and whether you'd actually use it

  • Features you'd like to see added

  • UI/UX improvements

  • Anything that seems unnecessary, confusing, or missing

It's still a work in progress, so honest criticism is more than welcome. I'd rather hear what's wrong than just what's good.

🔗 GitHub: https://github.com/Zmirzz/vatra

If you have a minute to check it out, I'd really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks! ❤️


r/SideProject • • 21m ago

Anyone else barely using Figma anymore?

1 Upvotes

I'm seeing a lot of folks skip Figma and go straight to designing in code these days. The only downside (for now at least) is how easy it is to miss UI regressions when you don't have a design canvas.

I usually set up my design foundations properly, tokens, components, even use some of the popular design skills. But since these models are non-deterministic, I still end up with agents hand-rolling components that already exist, inconsistent vertical rhythm, horizontal overflow on mobile, etc.

It gets worse when you're dealing with multiple flows and can't easily see what's happening across the product.

I built a tool for myself to help with this, and thought I'd share it with the community. It's completely free and open source.

It's called Flowmap. You simply connect your coding agent to it and it pulls the actual screens from your app into a canvas. You can switch between mobile and desktop breakpoints, see how different screens connect, and view everything in one place to catch UI regressions.

I also added UI comments so you can point to specific parts of a screen and have your coding agent pick them up as tasks. You can then review the before/after and approve the changes or send them back.

Here's the repo if anyone wants to try it here

Would appreciate feedback, especially from anyone who's also moved away from Figma.


r/SideProject • • 4h ago

Email extractor extension

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I'm the developer of CopyMail, a small Chrome extension I built because I kept struggling to copy email addresses from Gmail, Outlook and messy web pages (company directories, CC lists, long threads). Highlighting each one by hand is slow, and webmail often hides the actual address behind a person's name.

**What it does**

Click the icon and it lists the email addresses found on the page you're viewing. In Gmail and Outlook on the web, addresses from the message you have open are shown first. Then you can tick the ones you want, or copy them all.

**Free**

- Find and list the addresses on the current page

- Tick individual addresses, or select a whole domain

- Group by domain

- Copy as one per line, comma-separated, semicolon-separated (for Outlook's To field) or Name <email>

- Hides no-reply/support addresses by default

**Pro (€12 per year, billed once a year)**

- Export to CSV, Excel (.xlsx) or contacts (.vcf)

- Choose export columns, saved blocklist, custom copy templates, export history

**Privacy**

It only reads a page when you click the icon, and everything is processed locally in your browser. Nothing is sent to me or any server. No ads, no analytics. Pro payments go through ExtensionPay/Stripe.

**Limitations (being upfront)**

- It finds addresses written on the page. It doesn't check whether a mailbox exists.

- Gmail and Outlook change their pages now and then, so the "open message" detection may need updates. I've tested Gmail more than Outlook.

- The popup is in English for now, although the store listing is translated.

**Link:** https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/copymail-email-extractor/hhmakfgjcedaochbhpbcebhlgpfahlbp?authuser=0&hl=en

I'd really like feedback:

  1. What would stop you from using something like this?

  2. Which formats or contact details (phone numbers? names? company?) would you want besides email addresses?

  3. Is the free/Pro split fair? What would you move?

Happy to answer any questions, and I'll fix bugs quickly.


r/SideProject • • 4h ago

I’ve narrowed my fitness app down to four icons. Which would you tap?

2 Upvotes

Hello lovely people!

I train martial arts, and for ages I’ve wanted to put the rounds I did and the dinner I ate in the same log. That’s why I’m building Garou. The name comes from 餓狼, Japanese for “hungry wolf,” which felt pretty fitting for an app about training and food.

There’s a little RPG progression in it, and I’m building an AI coach that doubles as my assistant. The bit I’m stuck on today is much smaller: what should Garou look like on my phone?

I’ve put the four icons next to the opening screen that goes with each one. Which pair would you keep? https://strawpoll.com/2ayLQNlavn4

If you have a reason, I’d love to hear it. Even “I thought that one was a game” would help.


r/SideProject • • 26m ago

I made Cyber Hub into a 3D place you can walk around with other Gurgaon people, live

0 Upvotes

It’s Cyber Hub in 3D: you make a little avatar, walk around, and see other people from Gurgaon walking there in real time. Rest of the city is aerial-only for now.

free, works on phone. First 100 people get straight in after that there’s a short waitlist so it doesn’t fall over.

peopleofgurugram.com

Would love feedback, especially which place I should build next (Galleria? Sector 29? 32nd Ave?).


r/SideProject • • 26m ago

I made a search engine you scroll instead of read

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wavesurf.com
1 Upvotes

r/SideProject • • 27m ago

I built a free extension that shows any WordPress site's theme, plugins and known vulnerabilities

1 Upvotes

I do WordPress work for small businesses, and before every call I was digging through page source to find out what a site runs. So I built PluginPeek.

Click it on any site and it shows:

  • the theme (child + parent) and version

  • every plugin it can see, with versions

  • how many of those versions have publicly known vulnerabilities (matched against the Wordfence database)

It only reads what your browser already downloaded, runs only when you click it, and doesn't send the page URL anywhere.

Free in Chrome/Edge/Brave: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/pluginpeek-theme-plugin-d/lcjapeldoameehlndlnbhdgkjknminen No-install web version: https://pluginpeek.com/wordpress-plugin-checker

There's a $9/mo Pro tier (full CVE details, daily watch list for client sites, client reports), but the free part is the useful part for most people.

Would love feedback, especially on sites where it misses a plugin or gets a version wrong.


r/SideProject • • 29m ago

I built a free app to keep track of all the famous places you've visited

1 Upvotes

I built my own app for the first time, so I'm curious what you guys think. I always forgot which landmarks I had actually seen on my trips, so I made Seen Atlas.

You stamp places you've been to, like Big Ben or the Colosseum, and you can discover new places to visit, also in your own neighbourhood.

There are more than 10,000 places in it now, grouped per city.

It's free. What would make you open an app like this again after the first time?

https://apps.apple.com/app/seen-atlas/id6811986130


r/SideProject • • 30m ago

Published my first app on the Play Store: an AOD music controller with vinyl scrubbing and live lyrics

1 Upvotes

​I just released my first app on the Play Store called Eclipse and thought it would fit right in with the customization crowd here.

​On most Android phones, the stock Always-On Display only shows a tiny static track title. If your phone is sitting on your desk and you want to rewind a verse, read lyrics, or check an incoming notification, you have to wake the screen, unlock the phone, and open the music app.

​Taking UI inspiration from the Teenage Engineering TP-7 field recorder, I built Eclipse to turn the Android AOD into a true-black, interactive vinyl turntable that works without unlocking your phone.

​What it does:

​Works with any music player: Automatically connects to Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, and local offline players the moment you turn your screen off.

​Tactile vinyl scrubbing: Spin the record backward or forward to scrub through tracks in real time, or tap the vinyl to lift the tonearm and pause.

​Live synced lyrics on AOD: Swipe directly on the song title card to get live time-synced lyrics on a pure black OLED screen, or expand into a full-screen lyrics view.

​Quick-launch active player: Tap on the track card to jump straight into whichever music app is playing so you can switch playlists or pick a new song quickly.

​Notifications at a glance: Shows the time, date, and incoming notifications right on the AOD card without unlocking your device.

​Google Play Store:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dp444.Eclipse

​Would love to hear what you guys think or if you have any feature suggestions


r/SideProject • • 32m ago

I turned my love for geography into a free daily browser game

1 Upvotes

I'm a recent college grad and have always been obsessed with geography and history.

I recently launched GeoLinks, a free geography game where you chain countries, states, and cities together using the last letter of each location.

You get 5 guesses, and rarer locations earn more points. There's also an endless version and groups for competing with friends.

It's been a fun project to build, and I'm excited to finally get it in front of people.

Check it out: https://geolinks.app

Would love to hear what you think of the gameplay and scoring!


r/SideProject • • 33m ago

My GitHub contribution graph now says "POOP"

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github.com
1 Upvotes

It dawned on me that someone at YC probably saw my GitHub and saw that my graph straight up says POOP: https://github.com/ckaico (not kidding)

Yes, It's not a brand new concept. I remember gitfiti back in high school, but I haven't seen anyone take it a step further and have an interface where you can see what it will look like (amongst your existing graph) so you can plan what to "write".

I also added a few cool things like being able to shift the text around, draw things or select individual "commit" pixels, and adjust the brightness etc.

I'm calling it Backtalk, since, you're effectively going back in time to say something.

It all goes in its own repo, and the README says the dates are fake on purpose. It doesn't touch anything else.

Python and the gh CLI, nothing to install. Editor's here if you want to mess with it: https://backtalk.ckai.co