A fast, privacy-focused, offline-first Swiss Army Knife desktop app for software engineers. Built with Electron, Vite, React, TypeScript, Monaco Editor, and Tailwind CSS.
Knife aggregates daily developer utilities into a unified, desktop-native interface. Operating 100% offline with zero external network runtime requirements, Knife ensures your code snippets, JWT tokens, environment strings, and database schemas remain strictly private on your local machine.
- Zero-Latency Monaco Editor: Built-in VS Code editor engine with syntax highlighting, line numbers, error diagnostics, and customizable indentation (2, 4, or 8 spaces).
- Format & Minify: Instant formatting and minification for JSON, HTML, YAML, and XML documents.
- Bi-Directional Converter: One-click conversions between
JSON↔HTML↔YAML↔XML. - JSONPath Finder: Interactive path evaluator (e.g.
$.settings.themeorfeatures[0]) returning parsed node results.
- JSON to CSV: Converts arrays of JSON objects into RFC 4180 compliant CSV format.
- JSON to Excel: Formats JSON data into tab-separated values (
.tsv) ready for instant copy-pasting or export to Microsoft Excel & Apple Numbers. - JSON to SQL: Auto-detects column data types (
INTEGER,REAL,BOOLEAN,TEXT) and generates:CREATE TABLEDDL schema statements.- Properly escaped
INSERT INTO table (columns...) VALUES (...)DML queries.
- SQL to JSON: Parses
INSERT INTO ... VALUES (...)statements and converts SQL dumps into structured JSON arrays of objects. - CSV to JSON: Reverse conversion converting raw CSV strings into typed JSON objects.
- Monaco Markdown Editor: Zero-latency Markdown editing with live syntax highlighting and code block formatting.
- Real-Time Rendered HTML: Styled live preview with dark-mode typography, blockquotes, code syntax, tables, and task list checkboxes.
- View Modes: Switch between Split View, Live Preview, and Editor Only.
- Quick Formatting Bar & Export: Insert headings, bold/italic, blockquotes, code blocks, task lists; export
.mdor.htmlfiles directly.
- Standard Hashes: Multi-hash calculation for MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, and SHA-512.
- Bcrypt Hash Generator: Custom salt rounds selection (cost factor 4–14) with Web Crypto random byte generation.
- Bcrypt Match Verifier: Test plain-text passwords against any
$2a$/$2b$Bcrypt hash with live pass/fail match feedback. - Base64 & URL Encoders: UTF-8 Base64 encoding/decoding and URL component encoding/decoding.
- JWT Inspector: Real-time breakdown of Header and Payload (Claims) in Monaco JSON view.
- Expiration Detector: Live token status calculator displaying active status or exact expiration date/time.
- Batch ID Generator: Generate UUID v4, ULID, and NanoID in customizable batch quantities (1 to 100) with uppercase and hyphen options.
- Monaco Match Overlay: Live match highlighting decorations rendered directly inside Monaco Editor.
- Regex Flags: Toggle
g,i,m,s, anduflags dynamically. - Capture Groups Table: Detailed breakdown of match indices and sub-capture groups.
- Preset Library: Built-in regex templates for Email, IPv4, URL, ISO Date, HEX Colors, and Strong Passwords.
- Visual Diff Engine: Side-by-side split view and inline code comparison using Monaco Diff Editor.
- Line Statistics: Real-time line addition (
+) and deletion (-) counters.
- Color Pick & Convert: Convert colors across HEX, RGB, HSL, and OKLCH.
- WCAG 2.1 Contrast Audit: Automatic contrast ratio calculation against light (
#FFFFFF) and dark (#0B0F19) backgrounds with AA and AAA pass/fail compliance ratings.
- Unix Epoch Converter: Converts Unix epoch timestamps (seconds & milliseconds) to system local time, UTC, ISO 8601, and relative time offsets (e.g. "In 3 hours").
- Cron Visualizer: Parses 5-part cron syntax with human readable descriptions and next 5 scheduled execution dates.
- System Tray Docking: System tray icon with quick action context menu.
- Global Floating HUD (
Cmd+Shift+D): Global hotkey to toggle Knife into a floating overlay window over any active desktop app. - Command Palette (
Cmd+K): Searchable overlay modal for rapid keyboard navigation. - Local Persistence: User preferences and active tab states saved locally offline.
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
Cmd + Shift + D (or Ctrl + Shift + D) |
Toggle Floating HUD Window over any active desktop app |
Cmd + K (or Ctrl + K) |
Open Quick Action Command Palette |
Escape |
Dismiss Command Palette or Modal Overlays |
- Desktop Framework: Electron 34
- Build Tool: Vite 6 with
vite-plugin-electron - Frontend: React 19, TypeScript 5, Tailwind CSS 3
- Code Editor: Monaco Editor (
@monaco-editor/react) - Icons: Lucide React
- Utilities:
crypto-js,bcryptjs,js-yaml,fast-xml-parser,diff
- Node.js: v18.0.0 or higher
- npm: v9.0.0 or higher
# 1. Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/mickela/knife.git
cd knife
# 2. Install dependencies
npm install
# 3. Start development environment
npm run dev# Build desktop production bundle
npm run buildknife/
├── electron/
│ ├── main.ts # Main process (Window, System Tray, Global Shortcuts, IPC)
│ └── preload.ts # ContextBridge exposing native APIs
├── src/
│ ├── index.html # Entry HTML
│ ├── main.tsx # React DOM root
│ ├── App.tsx # Main workspace & tool switcher
│ ├── components/
│ │ ├── layout/ # Sidebar, Header, CommandPalette
│ │ ├── common/ # MonacoCodeEditor, MonacoDiffEditor, CopyButton
│ │ └── tools/ # Individual tool implementations
│ │ ├── JsonYamlStudio.tsx
│ │ ├── DataSqlStudio.tsx
│ │ ├── HashBcryptEncoder.tsx
│ │ ├── JwtIdInspector.tsx
│ │ ├── RegexTester.tsx
│ │ ├── DiffChecker.tsx
│ │ ├── ColorStudio.tsx
│ │ └── TimestampCron.tsx
│ ├── types/ # TypeScript definitions
│ └── utils/ # Web Crypto fallback & utilities
├── package.json
├── vite.config.ts
└── tailwind.config.js
Knife is built with strict privacy principles:
- 100% Offline: No network requests are made during runtime.
- Zero Telemetry: No tracking, analytics, or external logging scripts.
- Local State: All persistent configuration data stays inside your system's user data directory (
knife-store.json).
This project is open source and available under the MIT License.