The build log

What’s new?

The honest version history: what I added, why it’s useful, and what got a little better along the way.

No “synergy” or “game-changing solutions” in here. Promise.
August 23, 2026

Sixteen useful jobs get their own short route

Version 4.0

The toolbox now reaches well beyond images, with focused tools for documents, security, math, time, writing, design, small business, and everyday decisions.

Documents & security

PDF to JPG or PNG exports selected pages, while the Password Generator creates secure random passwords or readable passphrases without sending either one anywhere.

Math for real life

Scientific Calculator, Percentage Calculator, Tip & Split Calculator, Discount Calculator, and Exact Age Calculator answer five different questions without mixing them into one crowded page.

Time & words

Timer, Stopwatch & Alarm handles ordinary clock jobs, the Pomodoro Focus Timer structures work rounds, and Word Counter & Text Cleaner counts and tidies text locally.

Pictures that explain

Image Collage Maker frames up to 12 photos, and Screenshot Annotator adds arrows, boxes, highlights, notes, and pixelation.

Everyday decisions

The Unit Converter keeps U.S. and metric measurements together, while the Random Picker gives names and choices a fair spin.

Small-business basics

Invoice Generator creates a print-ready bill without an account, and Barcode Generator makes common UPC, EAN, Code 128, Code 39, and ITF artwork as SVG or PNG.

August 22, 2026

Eight everyday headaches get shorter answers

Version 3.0

HandyPebble now covers practical date math, time zones, cooking, countdowns, PDFs, QR codes, text changes, and file checks—without turning a quick job into a software project.

Dates & time

Business Day Calculator handles workdays and observed federal holidays, while the Time Zone Planner finds realistic meeting overlap across cities.

Kitchen & plans

The Cooking Converter knows that a cup of flour is not a cup of butter, and the Countdown Maker keeps important dates on your own device.

PDFs & QR codes

PDF Toolbox organizes pages and builds PDFs from regular images or iPhone HEIC photos. QR Code Studio creates or scans codes without automatically opening mystery links.

Compare & verify

Text Diff Checker finds changed lines, words, or characters, and File Checksum verifies downloads with SHA-256, SHA-384, or SHA-512.

Local by default

PDFs, images, text, and files are processed in the browser. The tools do not upload the material you open.

Built to come back to

Useful preferences stay on the device where it saves time. Sensitive content and one-off source files are not turned into accounts or cloud projects.

August 22, 2026

The next holiday gets a proper countdown

Version 2.1

The new U.S. Holiday Calendar puts major American dates into a familiar monthly view and keeps the next celebration ticking by the second.

Live countdown

See the next holiday with separate days, hours, minutes, and seconds, plus always-visible Thanksgiving and Christmas countdowns.

Dates with context

Federal holidays, popular observances, and nearby observed federal days are labeled separately instead of being tossed into one vague list.

Calendar-ready

Open any holiday for a plain-English explanation, then download a standard event file for Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, or Outlook.

Remembers your view

The last month, year, and filter stay on the device and update automatically the next time a different view is chosen.

August 22, 2026

Period planning gets privacy and honest limits

Version 2.0

The new Period Calculator estimates upcoming cycle dates without asking for an account or saving personal dates.

Quick forecast

Enter a last period, average cycle length, usual period length, and typical variation to see the next six expected cycles.

Calendar view

A three-month calendar marks estimated period days, fertile windows, ovulation dates, and today in one clear view.

Useful takeaway

Make a private planning PNG that keeps the estimate and its safety statement together.

No false promises

The page states clearly that calendar math is not birth control, pregnancy confirmation, diagnosis, or medical advice.

August 22, 2026

Private details get a paintbrush

Version 1.9

The new Mosaic & Blur Brush hides faces, plates, addresses, and screenshot details without sending a photo to the cloud.

Two useful effects

Paint strong mosaic pixels or a softer blur, then use Restore to bring original pixels back over a mistake.

Mixed on purpose

Every stroke keeps its own effect, strength, size, and feathering, so one photo can use different treatments in different places.

A practical batch

Edit up to 12 photos, keep separate undo histories, download one result, or package the whole group into a ZIP.

Still local

Opening, painting, previewing, and exporting happen inside the browser. The selected photos never get uploaded.

August 22, 2026

The car deal gets unpacked before the payment

Version 1.8

The new U.S. Auto Loan Calculator starts with the amount financed, then shows the monthly payment and total interest without hiding the trade or old-loan payoff.

Nationwide starting point

Choose any state or Washington, D.C. to load a state-level vehicle tax starting point and an editable trade-in tax setting.

Trade math included

Positive trade equity reduces the new loan. Negative equity is called out clearly when an old payoff gets rolled forward.

Term cost made visible

Compare APR and terms from 36 through 84 months, with total interest and a yearly payoff table beside the monthly number.

Clear limits

State and local rules vary, so the page labels its result as a planning estimate—not a dealer worksheet, lender quote, or tax advice.

August 22, 2026

The house payment gets the whole story

Version 1.7

The new U.S. Mortgage Calculator estimates more than principal and interest, so the monthly number has fewer expensive surprises hiding behind it.

Whole monthly estimate

Add property taxes, homeowners insurance, HOA dues, and PMI alongside the fixed-rate loan payment.

Down payment, both ways

Enter dollars or percent and the other value stays in sync, with the resulting loan amount always visible.

Long view

An annual amortization schedule shows how much goes to principal, how much goes to interest, and what balance remains.

Honest assumptions

The calculator does not invent a PMI charge or pretend to fetch a live interest rate. Every important assumption stays editable.

August 22, 2026

The cutout can bring its own background

Version 1.6

The Freehand Image Cutout can now save a high-quality JPEG when transparency is not what you need.

Two honest choices

Transparent PNG remains the default. Choosing JPEG changes the preview, file name, format, and both download buttons together.

Soft color slider

The JPEG background starts at white and moves through eight restrained macaron colors for quick product shots, cards, and posts.

No mixed-up files

JPEG mode only downloads JPEG. Switch back to Transparent PNG whenever you need the removed area to stay transparent.

Still local

Background compositing and export happen inside the browser. The original image never gets uploaded.

August 22, 2026

Odd shapes get a clean exit

Version 1.5

The new Freehand Image Cutout lets you trace the exact part of a picture you want and save it as a transparent PNG.

Draw it yourself

Use a mouse, pen, or finger to draw one closed outline. Nothing tries to guess which subject you meant.

Fix the outline

Add or remove small areas, undo the last correction, and zoom or move the image when an edge needs a closer look.

Softer edges

A simple feather control smooths hand-drawn bumps, while optional auto-trim removes unused transparent space.

Stays local

The image is traced and exported inside the browser. No upload, account, watermark, or saved copy.

August 22, 2026

A familiar calculator joins the shelf

Version 1.4

The new Classic Calculator handles everyday arithmetic and percentages without hiding the useful buttons behind a mode switch.

Familiar layout

The number pad, four basic operations, percentage, sign, decimal, clear, and delete controls sit exactly where you expect them.

Keyboard ready

Number keys, operators, Enter, Backspace, and Escape work alongside the large touch-friendly buttons.

Percentage behavior

Use % on its own to divide by 100, or use it with addition and subtraction to calculate a portion of the first number.

No saved tape

The calculation stays in the open page and disappears when the page is refreshed or closed.

August 22, 2026

The saved tab finally has a face

Version 1.3

HandyPebble now has a proper little yellow pebble in browser tabs, bookmarks, phone shortcuts, and installed web apps.

Easy to spot

The simple black H stays readable even when the icon is squeezed down to 16 pixels.

Browser ready

Modern SVG and PNG icons sit alongside a multi-size ICO fallback for older browsers and saved bookmarks.

Phone friendly

An Apple touch icon and web app sizes keep home-screen shortcuts from falling back to a random page screenshot.

Everywhere

All public pages now point to the same icon set, so the toolbox keeps one recognizable face from page to page.

August 22, 2026

Two controls remember what they’re doing

Version 1.1

The Watermark Maker can tilt repeated marks, and Border & Padding now remembers the frame you built.

Diagonal repeats

Turn on “Repeat across the image,” then slide from −60° through 0° to +60°. The angle stays disabled when repeat is off, so a single watermark still behaves exactly as expected.

Frame memory

Padding, corners, colors, border width, shadow, file format, and quality stay on this device for the next image.

A real reset

“Start over” only removes the current image. “Reset saved settings” asks for confirmation before returning every remembered frame setting to its defaults.

Still private

Both improvements run inside the browser. Images and saved preferences never leave the browser.

August 22, 2026

The subject can finally scoot over

Version 0.6

The Rounded Corners preview now lets you zoom in and drag the image until the important part sits exactly where it should.

Added

A 100–250% zoom slider, mouse and finger dragging, double-click recentering, and arrow-key nudging.

Kept sensible

Zoom and position belong to one image, so they reset when you choose another instead of following you around like an uninvited plus-one.

Download behavior

The saved file keeps the original pixel dimensions. Zooming simply crops the outer edges you moved beyond the frame.

Still private

Framing, previewing, and downloading all happen locally in the browser. The image never leaves your device.

August 22, 2026

Sharp corners get an easier exit

Version 0.5

The Rounded Corners tool adds a clean finish to photos and graphics without turning a two-minute job into a design-software tutorial.

Added

Four useful radius presets, a live slider, smooth and classic curves, and a press-and-hold original comparison.

Kept simple

It handles one image at a time: choose it, shape it, and download. Export settings stay tucked away until you need them.

Privacy

Images are processed locally in the browser. HandyPebble never receives, stores, or reads the file.

Why one image?

Corner shaping is visual. Focusing on one preview makes the decision faster and keeps the interface easy to understand.

August 22, 2026

The file-format headache gets a shortcut

Version 0.4

The Image Converter turns iPhone photos, web downloads, and assorted “unsupported file” surprises into JPG, PNG, or WebP—without a cloud upload.

Added

Local conversion for JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC/HEIF, AVIF, and GIF inputs, with batches of up to 25 images.

Why it helps

You can move an iPhone photo to a PC, open a WebP in an editor, or prep transparent artwork without starting a whole research project.

Privacy

This is hand-coded browser software, not an AI service. Files stay on your device, and HandyPebble never receives them.

Also useful

One-click ZIP downloads, honest quality notes, and a choice of JPG backgrounds for transparent images.

August 22, 2026

Words get their own studio

Version 0.3

The Text Card Maker turns quotes, thoughts, and tiny manifestos into sharp PNGs—without making you wrestle a full design app.

Added

Nine original themes, ten type moods, four social-media sizes, alignment controls, long-text fitting, and watermark-free PNG downloads.

Why it helps

You can make a quote card, announcement, or shareable thought in a minute, even on a phone.

Privacy

Your text and finished image stay in your browser. Nothing gets uploaded, saved, or read by HandyPebble.

A little personality

The tool borrows its energy from print shops, subway signs, corner stores, and people who still care about good type.

August 22, 2026

Image Resizer joins the toolbox

Version 0.2

The second pebble is here. It resizes one image or a whole batch without sending anything to a server.

Added

Percentage, maximum-width, and exact-pixel resizing for JPG, PNG, and WebP.

Why it helps

You can fix oversized uploads, prep blog images, or hit an exact dimension without opening an editor.

Privacy

The resizer runs entirely in your browser. I can’t see or keep your images.

Also improved

The homepage is now a proper tool directory, and shared image code has a clean home for future tools.

August 21, 2026

The first pebble

Version 0.1

HandyPebble went from a coming-soon page to a working website with its first real tool.

Added

A private Image Compressor for JPG, PNG, and WebP, with batch support and clear size savings.

Why it helps

Smaller images load faster, fit upload limits, and take up less space.

Built for trust

No account, no file upload, no storage. The useful stuff is right where you need it.

Under the hood

Search metadata, a sitemap, mobile layouts, and a folder structure that won’t turn into a junk drawer.