The latest articles on Forem by Tru (@wizardrytezch). https://forem.com/wizardrytezch https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3725552%2F854f793a-c607-42a0-bcce-2c8c5dd9c2ee.png https://forem.com/wizardrytezch en Tru Sun, 08 Feb 2026 19:09:02 +0000 https://forem.com/wizardrytezch/i-generated-50-micro-saas-ideas-in-3-minutes-heres-5-free-4d6f https://forem.com/wizardrytezch/i-generated-50-micro-saas-ideas-in-3-minutes-heres-5-free-4d6f <p><a href="https://wizardrytezch.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://wizardrytezch.substack.com</a></p> <p>Tired of paying for AI APIs that give different results every time? </p> <p>I built a <strong>deterministic</strong> product idea generator that works 100% offline. Same seed = same results. Every time.</p> <p>Here are 5 fresh ideas I just generated for the <strong>"AI tools"</strong> niche:</p> <h2> 1. CodeReview Bot </h2> <p><strong>The Problem:</strong> Solo developers have no one to review their code, leading to bugs in production.</p> <p><strong>The Solution:</strong> AI-powered code review automation that checks for security issues, performance bottlenecks, and style violations. Integrates with GitHub/GitLab. One-click fixes....</p> <p><strong>Why it works:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Ease: 8/10</li> <li>Demand: 9/10 </li> <li>Differentiation: 7/10</li> <li>Time to Ship: 6/10</li> </ul> <p><strong>Revenue Model:</strong> Digital product ($19-49)</p> <h2> 2. API Health Monitor </h2> <p><strong>The Problem:</strong> UptimeRobot is too basic, Datadog is overkill and expensive for indie devs.</p> <p><strong>The Solution:</strong> Simple uptime monitoring with webhook alerts, status pages, and response time tracking. No bloat, just the essentials....</p> <p><strong>Why it works:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Ease: 7/10</li> <li>Demand: 8/10 </li> <li>Differentiation: 8/10</li> <li>Time to Ship: 5/10</li> </ul> <p><strong>Revenue Model:</strong> Digital product ($19-49)</p> <h2> 3. Content Calendar AI </h2> <p><strong>The Problem:</strong> Consistency is the hardest part of content marketing. Writer's block kills momentum.</p> <p><strong>The Solution:</strong> Auto-generate 30 days of social media content in 10 minutes. Hooks, threads, and carousels tailored to your niche....</p> <p><strong>Why it works:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Ease: 6/10</li> <li>Demand: 9/10 </li> <li>Differentiation: 6/10</li> <li>Time to Ship: 4/10</li> </ul> <p><strong>Revenue Model:</strong> Digital product ($19-49)</p> <h2> 4. SaaS Starter Kit </h2> <p><strong>The Problem:</strong> Every founder rebuilds auth, billing, and dashboards. Waste of time.</p> <p><strong>The Solution:</strong> Production-ready boilerplate with Next.js, Stripe, Supabase Auth, and Tailwind. Launch in 48 hours instead of 2 months....</p> <p><strong>Why it works:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Ease: 8/10</li> <li>Demand: 10/10 </li> <li>Differentiation: 5/10</li> <li>Time to Ship: 3/10</li> </ul> <p><strong>Revenue Model:</strong> Digital product ($19-49)</p> <h2> 5. Indie Analytics </h2> <p><strong>The Problem:</strong> Google Analytics is complex, invasive, and overkill for simple SaaS.</p> <p><strong>The Solution:</strong> Privacy-first analytics for bootstrapped founders. Simple dashboard, no cookies, GDPR compliant, fast loading....</p> <p><strong>Why it works:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Ease: 7/10</li> <li>Demand: 8/10 </li> <li>Differentiation: 8/10</li> <li>Time to Ship: 5/10</li> </ul> <p><strong>Revenue Model:</strong> Digital product ($19-49)</p> <h2> Want More? </h2> <p>I generate 50 ideas every week using this tool. The full bundle includes:</p> <ul> <li>Gumroad course ideas</li> <li>Etsy product concepts </li> <li>AI prompts for marketing</li> <li>Market analysis for each niche</li> </ul> <p><strong><a href="https://wizardrytezch.gumroad.com/l/cxajqh" rel="noopener noreferrer">Get the full toolkit on Gumroad →</a></strong></p> <p>Or follow me here for weekly free drops.</p> <p><em>Generated offline with <a href="https://github.com/CrazhHolmes/passive-gen" rel="noopener noreferrer">Passive-Gen</a> — zero API costs, 100% deterministic.</em></p> sideprojects startupideas passiveincome cli Tru Tue, 03 Feb 2026 04:56:01 +0000 https://forem.com/wizardrytezch/i-built-404-smoke-test-5f28 https://forem.com/wizardrytezch/i-built-404-smoke-test-5f28 <p><strong>$Turn 404s into 💵 – play the ghost game</strong></p> <p>Try it: $<a href="https://github.com/CrazhHolmes/404-smoke-test" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/CrazhHolmes/404-smoke-test</a></p> sideprojects launch 404 monetization Tru Thu, 22 Jan 2026 08:21:09 +0000 https://forem.com/wizardrytezch/i-built-an-offline-passive-income-generator-no-apis-no-ai-calls-3j5e https://forem.com/wizardrytezch/i-built-an-offline-passive-income-generator-no-apis-no-ai-calls-3j5e <p>Most tools that claim to help you generate “passive income ideas” rely on one thing:<br> someone else’s API.</p> <p>They look impressive on the surface, but under the hood they’re fragile:</p> <p>rate limits</p> <p>API keys</p> <p>model changes</p> <p>subscriptions</p> <p>unpredictable outputs</p> <p>I wanted something simpler, more boring, and more reliable.</p> <p>So I built Passive-Gen — an offline CLI tool that generates reproducible passive income ideas for platforms like Gumroad, Etsy, and prompt-based products.</p> <p>No APIs. No accounts. No subscriptions.</p> <p>The Problem With Most Passive Income Tools</p> <p>If you’ve ever tried a passive income generator before, you’ve probably noticed a few issues:</p> <p>You can’t reproduce results</p> <p>You don’t know why an idea was generated</p> <p>You’re locked into an online service</p> <p>The output feels random or shallow</p> <p>Most tools optimize for flash, not usefulness.</p> <p>As a developer, that bothered me.</p> <p>What I Wanted Instead</p> <p>I wanted a tool that:</p> <p>Works entirely offline</p> <p>Produces deterministic output (same seed = same results)</p> <p>Generates structured, inspectable data</p> <p>Feels like a dev tool, not a marketing toy</p> <p>That’s how Passive-Gen started.</p> <p>What Passive-Gen Actually Does</p> <p>Passive-Gen is a command-line tool written in TypeScript that generates:</p> <p>Gumroad product ideas</p> <p>Etsy product ideas</p> <p>AI prompt ideas</p> <p>A full JSON bundle with metadata and scoring</p> <p>You run it like this:</p> <p>passive-gen “veteran fitness” — count 10 — seed 42</p> <p>And it outputs:</p> <p>Markdown files you can read immediately</p> <p>A JSON bundle you can analyze or pipe into other tools</p> <p>The same results every time if you reuse the seed</p> <p>This makes it useful for:</p> <p>Become a member<br> indie hackers</p> <p>solo founders</p> <p>prompt engineers</p> <p>builders who want repeatable research</p> <p>Why Determinism Matters</p> <p>Deterministic output might sound boring — but it’s powerful.</p> <p>It means:</p> <p>You can compare niches objectively</p> <p>You can rerun experiments</p> <p>You can build tooling on top of the output</p> <p>You can trust your process</p> <p>Most idea generators don’t give you that.</p> <p>Open Source First, Convenience Second</p> <p>Passive-Gen is free and open-source on GitHub:</p> <p>👉 GitHub (free, inspectable, build-it-yourself)<br> <a href="https://github.com/CrazhHolmes/passive-gen" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/CrazhHolmes/passive-gen</a></p> <p>Anyone can:</p> <p>inspect the code</p> <p>modify it</p> <p>build it locally</p> <p>For people who just want something ready to run, I also offer a pre-built version on Gumroad with:</p> <p>compiled binaries</p> <p>a quick-start guide</p> <p>example outputs</p> <p>👉 Gumroad (pre-built convenience version)<br> <a href="https://wizardrytezch.gumroad.com/l/cxajqh" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://wizardrytezch.gumroad.com/l/cxajqh</a></p> <p>The code stays open. The convenience is optional.</p> <p>What This Is (and Isn’t)</p> <p>Passive-Gen won’t:</p> <p>guarantee income</p> <p>pick winners for you</p> <p>replace thinking</p> <p>What it does give you is:</p> <p>structured idea generation</p> <p>repeatability</p> <p>a clean starting point</p> <p>From there, execution is still on you.</p> <p>What’s Next</p> <p>I’m using Passive-Gen as a foundation for:</p> <p>better niche analysis</p> <p>scoring refinement</p> <p>chaining into other tooling</p> <p>For now, it’s intentionally simple.</p> <p>Sometimes boring tools are the ones that last.</p> opensource webdev cli