Chapter 00 · Prologue

I build tools from small obsessions.

> a midnight archive of tools, experiments & self-hosted systems —
most of them born from one small question.

“What if this annoying little thing could be tracked, automated, synced, or made nicer?” That question kept coming back. So I kept building.

Read the origin Open a channel
archive v1.0 · live self-hosted Poland · CET/CEST
Chapter 01

The Spark

It started with reading. The same way most of my projects do — quietly, between chapters.

I was going through webtoons and manhwa, chapter after chapter, and I kept wondering: how much time do I actually spend here?

A single chapter felt short — maybe seven or eight minutes. But whole series quietly turned into hours. I wanted stats. Not in a spreadsheet. Not tracked by hand. Something automatic, lightweight, and mine.

That’s where the archive started. Not with a roadmap or a portfolio plan — with one habit, and one question that wouldn’t go away.

Chapter 02 · flagship

TrackToon turns reading into memory.

TrackToon grew from one question: how much time do these chapters actually become? Now it is becoming a browser companion and reading hub that turns scattered reading sessions into a personal reading history.

  • sessions
  • time
  • progress
  • sync
  • history

The best example of how I build: one habit, one question, one system at a time. // flagship archive record

What started as a simple timer became proof that a small habit can grow into a full system — extension, sync, hub — each piece emerging naturally from the last, still shaping into one complete experience.

01
Capture Detects reading sessions in the browser
02
Sync Connects local progress with the self-hosted backend
03
Remember Turns chapters into personal reading history

Not a full product landing. This is the builder’s preview. Read the full case study →

webtoons.com / ch.128 reading
...
ch. 128 · reading
TrackToon active
session 06:42 · ch.128
pace 7–8 min / ch
TrackToon Hub
14h 38m this week
126 ch 8 series
view case study visit TrackToon open GitHub
Chapter 03

The Ecosystem Expands

Once the tracker existed, the next question appeared naturally: what if my reading list, progress, history and time spent could all live in one place?

TrackToon // ecosystem core
⎙ browser extension captures reading sessions
⌗ reading website turns stats into a hub
☰ reading list keeps progress organized
∿ stats & history shows time, chapters, habits
⇄ sync layer connects local data with the web
⁂ AniList bridge connects media identity & progress
◈ self-hosted backend stores and syncs the archive
Chapter 04 · side-arc

Moon Reader Hub

Then it happened again. The same thought, in a different reader. The same instinct, on a different shelf.

I was reading novels in Moon Reader and the same thought came back: this should have stats too.

So another small tool started forming — not because it was on a roadmap, but because the habit created the idea. Self-hosted. Synced quietly. Just enough to feel like the reading was being seen.

novel reading self-hosted WebDAV sync stats dashboard AniList bridge
ARC-002 side-arc
online

Moon Reader Hub

Born from: reading novels and wanting the same stats magic as TrackToon.

Now it is: a quiet self-hosted stack that syncs reading progress and serves a small stats dashboard.

last session 28 min · 14 pages
books in shelf 12 active
streak 9 days
View repository →
Chapter 05

Other Archive Records

More projects, more patterns. The same instinct repeating itself in different shapes.

Not every project starts with reading. Some start with data I want to own, a friend’s Discord server, or an old tool that finally needs replacing.

ARC-003 data tooling
syncing

AniList Backuper

Born from: wanting control over my own media data, outside one platform.

Now it is: a small toolkit that backs up, syncs and reshapes AniList data into my own storage.

What it proves: API & data ownership, and personal data archive skills.

data archive list backup API-connected personal library
View repository
ARC-004 community bot
archived · loved

Cooler Ai-chan

Born from: a friend’s Discord server that wanted an AI presence, just to see what would happen.

Now it is: a bot, an assistant experiment, a playground for figuring out how AI can feel useful in a small community.

What it proves: AI & community assistant prototyping.

Discord AI assistant prototype community tool experimental
View repository
ARC-005 family business · live
production

Magazynio bridges into real work

Born from: an old family warehouse program that couldn’t grow anymore.

Now it is: a cleaner custom system for everyday shop and warehouse work — used in real operations, not a demo.

What it proves: turning messy real-world workflows into usable custom software.

practical software inventory flow custom tooling real user
View case study
Chapter 06

How I Build

Not a stack list. A build loop — the pattern that shows up in every archive record, repeating itself until the tool feels right.

build loop // always iterating
// build loop · step detail active
01

Notice

notice the friction

A repeated action, missing stat, annoying workflow, old tool, or data stuck in the wrong place. The friction is the signal.

friction.log // every project starts here
02

Shape

shape the system

Turn the idea into a flow: what should be tracked, stored, shown, synced, or automated? Sketch the architecture before touching code.

flow sketch // data needs a shape
03

Build

build the interface

The part people touch: dashboards, readers, admin panels, extensions, forms, and small details. Where the system becomes real.

interface // make it tangible
04

Connect

connect the pieces

APIs, accounts, local data, sync, backups, and self-hosted services become one clean system. The plumbing that makes it live.

connected // wire it together
05

Iterate

host & iterate

Run it, watch it break, fix it, improve it. The build does not end at “works on my machine” — it ends when the tool feels right.

next iteration // loop back to step 01
Chapter 07 · open for builds

The same process, for real work.

I’m shaping this archive into more than a personal playground. The same thinking works for real people too.

If it is small, weird, useful, and currently done by hand — that is exactly my kind of build.

work_request_board pricing visible brief first small builds welcome

Need a website?

Personal sites, business pages, product pages, portfolios, and landing pages that feel custom — not like a template wearing different colors.

// give the project a home

Need a custom tool?

Small internal apps for workflows that currently live in spreadsheets, old software, messages, or manual copy-paste.

// replace the thing done by hand

Need a dashboard?

Readable panels for stats, operations, accounts, reading logs, inventory, or anything that deserves to be visible.

// make the data visible

Need it deployed?

Docker, VPS setup, reverse proxy, monitoring, backups, small CI/CD, and making sure the thing actually lives somewhere.

// ship it and keep it alive
view services & pricing send a signal
Final Chapter · Open Channel

Open Channel

Have a strange little workflow, an old tool, a reading habit, a website idea, or an internal system that deserves to exist? Send it into the archive.

Most signals start with a sentence like: “I keep doing this by hand and it’s starting to annoy me.” Those are my favorite kind.

location Poland · CET/CEST
github @ShiroePL
flagship tracktoon.com
deviantart @madrusss