This is where recurring problems become scripts, utilities, web applications, and occasionally open-source projects.
Some tools are polished. Some are experimental.
Most exist because I got tired of doing something repeatedly.
Every tool here exists because some repeated task became annoying enough to fix.
Status: Live
I needed a lightweight way to track work without fighting a complicated system.
A deliberately simple timesheet application.
Status: Active
Asset surveys involve repetitive scanning, photo collection, and manual record keeping.
A small web application that turns the process into a streamlined workflow.
Status: Live
Creating printable asset tags and barcode label sheets repeatedly is annoying and error-prone.
A browser-only tool for generating printable barcode-based asset tags and inventory labels.
I rarely start with an idea for software.
Most tools start with irritation.
A repetitive task. A fragile process. An operational shortcut that should have existed already.
Once the friction becomes large enough, building a tool becomes easier than repeating the work.
Sometimes it becomes a script.
Sometimes it becomes a web application.
Sometimes it becomes an open-source project.
Most of the time it simply makes work better.
Engineering is not about building software.
It is about understanding a problem, measuring it, building a tool, and improving the system.
Software just happens to be the material I use most often.
The goal is always a better system.
Loose parts, active builds, and notes that have not settled into finished tools yet.
Current books, articles, and research notes that help explain systems, tools, and long-term work.
All public projects are available through GitHub.
Open source remains part of the lab because useful tools are easier to trust, reuse, and improve when the source is visible.
This is where small tools end up.
Most projects here started as real problems: a repetitive task, a missing utility, or something that was simply easier to build than to search for.
Some projects become useful. Some remain experiments. Both are welcome.
For longer-form thinking, architecture notes, and decision memory, visit nagorn.me.
The bench usually has a few materials within reach.
Each site serves a different purpose. Nagorn.io is the workbench: experiments, small tools, and useful things that may or may not become larger later.
