Skip to content
Merged
Show file tree
Hide file tree
Changes from all commits
Commits
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension

Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Loading
Jump to
The table of contents is too big for display.
Diff view
Diff view
  •  
  •  
  •  
10 changes: 5 additions & 5 deletions README.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
<td align="center"><b>🤖 AI & LLMs</b><br><code>90</code></td>
<td align="center"><b>⚡ CLI Tools</b><br><code>121</code></td>
<td align="center"><b>🧪 Testing & QA</b><br><code>64</code></td>
<td align="center"><b>☁️ Free Cloud</b><br><code>71</code></td>
<td align="center"><b>☁️ Free Cloud</b><br><code>72</code></td>
<td align="center"><b>🤝 Up for Grabs</b><br><code>21</code></td>
<td align="center"><b>🎁 Dev Perks</b><br><code>30</code></td>
<td align="center"><b>🚀 1-Click Deploys</b><br><code>41</code></td>
Expand All @@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
### 🎯 The Race to 1,000 Verified Tools (Hacktoberfest Milestone)

```text
[███████████░░░░░░░░░] 542 / 1,000 Tools Verified (54% • 458 to go!)
[███████████░░░░░░░░░] 543 / 1,000 Tools Verified (54% • 457 to go!)
```

*Help us curate the definitive zero-paywall index! [Submit your favorite developer tool, API, or AI framework →](#-how-to-submit-your-project-or-api)*
Expand All @@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ DevShelf isn't a static markdown list. It runs directly inside your terminal, in
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ $ npx devshelf search "postgres" │
│ │
│ 📚 DevShelf CLI v1.1.0 — 542 Curated Tools (Live CI Audited) │
│ 📚 DevShelf CLI v1.1.0 — 543 Curated Tools (Live CI Audited) │
│ │
│ [1] Neon (Database / Serverless) │
│ Serverless Postgres with autoscaling, branching, and generous free tier. │
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -181,15 +181,15 @@ npx devshelf stats

## 📂 Browse Catalog by Category

Explore our curated collections of **542+ zero-paywall developer tools**, categorized into dedicated guides with subcategory indexing:
Explore our curated collections of **543+ zero-paywall developer tools**, categorized into dedicated guides with subcategory indexing:

| Category | Resources | Description & Subcategories | Guide |
| :--- | :---: | :--- | :---: |
| 🌐 **Free & Public APIs** | **104** | Weather, Finance, Mock/Dev APIs, Geocoding, AI/ML, Media, Entertainment | [**Browse APIs →**](docs/apis.md) |
| 🤖 **AI Agents & Local LLMs** | **90** | Local LLM Runtimes, Autonomous Agents, Coding Assistants, Orchestration | [**Browse AI Tools →**](docs/ai-tools.md) |
| ⚡ **CLI & Productivity Tools** | **121** | Terminal Utilities, Git Power Tools, Docker & DevOps, Benchmarking, DBs | [**Browse CLI Tools →**](docs/cli-tools.md) |
| 🧪 **Testing & QA Reliability** | **64** | E2E Testing, Mock Servers, Contract Testing, Security Auditing, Performance | [**Browse Testing Tools →**](docs/testing-qa.md) |
| ☁️ **Free Cloud & Developer Tiers** | **71** | Databases, Auth & Identity, Serverless Compute, Object Storage, Email, APM | [**Browse Cloud Tiers →**](docs/free-cloud.md) |
| ☁️ **Free Cloud & Developer Tiers** | **72** | Databases, Auth & Identity, Serverless Compute, Object Storage, Email, APM | [**Browse Cloud Tiers →**](docs/free-cloud.md) |
| 🤝 **Contributors Wanted** | **21** | Active open-source repos with curated Good First Issues and starter tasks | [**Browse Projects →**](docs/contributors-wanted.md) |
| 🎁 **Developer Discounts & Perks** | **30** | Cloud credits, free IDE licenses, student packs, open-source sponsorships | [**Browse Perks →**](docs/perks.md) |
| 🚀 **1-Click Deploys & Boilerplates** | **41** | Full-Stack templates, SaaS starters, BaaS, microservices deployable in 1 click | [**Browse Boilerplates →**](docs/boilerplates.md) |
Expand Down
6 changes: 3 additions & 3 deletions community/launch/devto-hashnode-article.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ If you have tried signing up for a new developer tool recently, you have probabl

Over the past decade, the developer software landscape has undergone a silent transformation. What used to be genuine free tiers designed to nurture grass-roots adoption have increasingly morphed into **trial traps**, **freemium bait**, and **vendor lock-in funnels**.

Frustrated by this trend, our open-source team spent the last several months auditing over **542 developer tools, public APIs, AI agents, and cloud platforms**.
Frustrated by this trend, our open-source team spent the last several months auditing over **543 developer tools, public APIs, AI agents, and cloud platforms**.

We set out to answer one question:
*Can a developer still build, test, and ship production-grade software on a true $0 budget without entering a credit card?*
Expand All @@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ The answer is **yes** — but you need to know where to look.

To solve this permanently, we built and open-sourced **[DevShelf](https://devshelf.ritualdev.in)**: a zero-paywall developer ecosystem with continuous automated health checks, a terminal CLI, and a native Model Context Protocol (MCP) server.

Here is what we learned from auditing 542+ tools, along with the most valuable zero-paywall discoveries you can use today.
Here is what we learned from auditing 543+ tools, along with the most valuable zero-paywall discoveries you can use today.

---

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ Need real data for your prototype without wading through 10-step enterprise API
- **[Mockoon](https://mockoon.com)**: The easiest way to design and run mock REST APIs locally in seconds.
- **[WireMock](https://wiremock.org)**: Battle-tested API mocking with stateful behavior and fault injection.

### 4. Free Cloud & Database Tiers (71 Platforms)
### 4. Free Cloud & Database Tiers (72 Platforms)
- **[Neon](https://neon.tech)**: Serverless Postgres with instant branching and generous free storage.
- **[Turso](https://turso.tech)**: Edge-replicated SQLite powered by LibSQL.
- **[PocketBase](https://pocketbase.io)**: 1-file backend with embedded SQLite, realtime subscriptions, and auth.
Expand Down
6 changes: 3 additions & 3 deletions community/launch/hacker-news-show-hn.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
- **Title Option 2 (Problem-First):**
`Show HN: We got tired of 14-day trial traps, so we built a zero-paywall dev directory`
- **Title Option 3 (Engineering / Utility):**
`Show HN: DevShelf – 542+ verified free developer tools & APIs with CI health checks`
`Show HN: DevShelf – 543+ verified free developer tools & APIs with CI health checks`
- **URL:** `https://devshelf.ritualdev.in`
- **Source Code:** `https://github.com/RitualDev-Lab/DevShelf`

Expand All @@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ Like many of you, I got completely tired of modern SaaS "Free Tier" bait-and-swi
2. It's actually a 14-day trial that self-destructs into a $50/mo bill.
3. The project was abandoned 2 years ago and the endpoint 404s.

So we built DevShelf: an open-source, community-curated directory of **542+ verified developer tools, free public APIs, AI agents, and boilerplates** that have **zero credit-card paywalls and permanent free plans**.
So we built DevShelf: an open-source, community-curated directory of **543+ verified developer tools, free public APIs, AI agents, and boilerplates** that have **zero credit-card paywalls and permanent free plans**.

### 🛠️ What's Under the Hood:
- **Continuous CI Health Checks:** Every night, GitHub Actions pings URLs to verify HTTP 200 uptime and scans landing pages with a trial-bait analyzer that flags hidden credit card gates and expiring trials.
Expand All @@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ So we built DevShelf: an open-source, community-curated directory of **542+ veri
- **104** Free Public APIs (Weather, AI, Finance, IP, Geocoding)
- **90** AI Tools, Local LLM Runtimes & Inference Engines
- **121** CLI Utilities & Developer Productivity Tools
- **71** Free Cloud, Hosting & Database Platforms
- **72** Free Cloud, Hosting & Database Platforms
- **64** Mocking, Load Testing & QA Frameworks
- **41** 1-Click Production Boilerplates
- **146** Commercial Alternative Hubs (e.g. Postman → Bruno, Datadog → SigNoz, Firebase → Supabase/PocketBase)
Expand Down
6 changes: 3 additions & 3 deletions community/launch/product-hunt-maker-kit.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
---

## 🏷️ Short Description (260 characters max)
> A curated directory of 542+ verified free developer tools, open-source repos, and APIs with zero credit-card paywalls. Includes automated CI health checks, a terminal CLI (`npx devshelf`), and native MCP server for Cursor & Claude.
> A curated directory of 543+ verified free developer tools, open-source repos, and APIs with zero credit-card paywalls. Includes automated CI health checks, a terminal CLI (`npx devshelf`), and native MCP server for Cursor & Claude.

---

Expand All @@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ We built DevShelf to be the ultimate **Zero-Paywall Ecosystem**:
Every single resource in our directory has a **genuine, permanent free tier or is 100% open-source**. No credit card required. No trial traps.

### 🌟 Key Highlights:
1. **542+ Audited Tools:** Hand-curated across AI Agents, Free APIs, Testing/Mocking, Cloud DBs, and 1-Click Boilerplates.
1. **543+ Audited Tools:** Hand-curated across AI Agents, Free APIs, Testing/Mocking, Cloud DBs, and 1-Click Boilerplates.
2. **Continuous Automated Health Checks:** Every night, GitHub Actions pings all URLs and audits landing pages to ensure uptime and flag newly introduced paywalls.
3. **Native Terminal CLI:** Run `npx devshelf search "sqlite"` or `npx devshelf random` right from your command line.
4. **Native MCP Server:** Connect DevShelf to Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Windsurf via `npx devshelf-mcp` so your AI assistant can recommend verified free tools.
Expand All @@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ Thank you for your support! ❤️
---

## 🎨 Recommended Gallery Screenshots
1. **Slide 1 (Hero):** DevShelf homepage with search bar and live count pills (542+ Resources).
1. **Slide 1 (Hero):** DevShelf homepage with search bar and live count pills (543+ Resources).
2. **Slide 2 (MCP in Action):** Cursor / Claude Desktop chatting with `npx devshelf-mcp` discovering free APIs.
3. **Slide 3 (Terminal CLI):** Beautiful dark-mode terminal showing `npx devshelf search "vector db"`.
4. **Slide 4 (Alternative Hubs):** Side-by-side comparison matrix of commercial SaaS vs open-source alternatives.
Expand Down
10 changes: 5 additions & 5 deletions community/launch/reddit-launch-pack.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -6,7 +6,7 @@

## 📌 Post 1: r/webdev (2.2M+ members)
- **Flair:** `Project / Showcase` or `Resource`
- **Title:** `Tired of fake "free tier" dev tools, so we curated 542+ zero-paywall tools, APIs, and boilerplates with automated health checks`
- **Title:** `Tired of fake "free tier" dev tools, so we curated 543+ zero-paywall tools, APIs, and boilerplates with automated health checks`
- **Post Body:**

```markdown
Expand All @@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ We decided to build an open-source, community-maintained directory called **DevS
4. **Terminal CLI & AI MCP Server:** You can search tools directly in your terminal via `npx devshelf search <query>`, or plug `npx devshelf-mcp` into Cursor or Claude Code so your AI assistant knows real free APIs.
5. **No tracking or cookies:** Clean static site, zero third-party tracking scripts.

### Some of the 542+ resources indexed:
### Some of the 543+ resources indexed:
- **Free APIs:** Currency, Geocoding, IP, Weather, Mock Payment endpoints without CORS issues.
- **Local AI:** Ollama, vLLM, AgentShield, LocalAI for running local models without OpenAI bills.
- **Testing & Mocking:** LocalStack, WireMock, Mockoon, MSW, Playwright.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ Let me know what self-hosted developer tools we're missing!

## 📌 Post 3: r/opensource (250k+ members)
- **Flair:** `Project`
- **Title:** `DevShelf: An open-source directory of 542+ free developer tools with zero telemetry and native MCP server`
- **Title:** `DevShelf: An open-source directory of 543+ free developer tools with zero telemetry and native MCP server`
- **Post Body:**

```markdown
Expand All @@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ Hello r/opensource!
We built **DevShelf** (https://devshelf.ritualdev.in) to solve a growing problem: the commercialization and paywalling of developer tools.

### What is DevShelf?
A 100% open-source, community-driven catalog of **542+ verified developer tools, free public APIs, AI agents, and 1-click boilerplates** that never require credit cards or trial commitments.
A 100% open-source, community-driven catalog of **543+ verified developer tools, free public APIs, AI agents, and 1-click boilerplates** that never require credit cards or trial commitments.

### Open-Source Architecture:
- The entire catalog lives in JSON schemas in the git repo.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ When building side projects on a budget, SaaS bills for authentication, database
To help myself and other makers bootstrap with $0 infrastructure costs, I built **DevShelf**:
👉 https://devshelf.ritualdev.in

It's a curated directory of **542+ developer resources** with permanent free tiers, no credit-card requirements, and zero trial traps.
It's a curated directory of **543+ developer resources** with permanent free tiers, no credit-card requirements, and zero trial traps.

### Features:
- Filter by: Free APIs, CLI Tools, AI Agents, Mocking/QA, 1-Click Boilerplates, and Free Cloud.
Expand Down
4 changes: 2 additions & 2 deletions community/launch/twitter-viral-thread.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -68,14 +68,14 @@ SigNoz is an open-source, OpenTelemetry-native APM providing distributed tracing

You don't even have to leave your code editor:
- Run `npx devshelf search "vector db"` right in your shell.
- Or plug `npx devshelf-mcp` into Cursor & Claude Code so your AI assistant queries 542+ verified free tools natively!
- Or plug `npx devshelf-mcp` into Cursor & Claude Code so your AI assistant queries 543+ verified free tools natively!
```

### Tweet 8 (CTA & Link):
```text
Every tool on DevShelf is audited daily with automated CI health checks. No credit cards. No trial traps.

Explore all 542+ verified developer tools:
Explore all 543+ verified developer tools:
🔗 https://devshelf.ritualdev.in

Star the repo & help reach 1,000 tools:
Expand Down
8 changes: 4 additions & 4 deletions data/counts.json
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,17 +1,17 @@
{
"totalCount": 542,
"totalCount": 543,
"milestone": "540+",
"exactCount": 542,
"exactCount": 543,
"shelfCounts": {
"ai-tools.json": 90,
"apis.json": 104,
"boilerplates.json": 41,
"cli-tools.json": 121,
"contributors-wanted.json": 21,
"free-cloud.json": 71,
"free-cloud.json": 72,
"perks.json": 30,
"testing-qa.json": 64
},
"reposCount": 337,
"updatedAt": "2026-10-24T02:05:01.026Z"
"updatedAt": "2026-10-24T16:19:39.565Z"
}
5 changes: 3 additions & 2 deletions docs/free-cloud.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -4,7 +4,7 @@

[← Back to Main Directory](../README.md) • [🌐 Live Search App](https://devshelf.ritualdev.in) • [➕ Submit New Resource](../README.md#-how-to-submit-your-project-or-api)

[![Total Free Cloud](https://img.shields.io/badge/Free_Cloud-71_Curated-blueviolet?style=for-the-badge)](https://devshelf.ritualdev.in)
[![Total Free Cloud](https://img.shields.io/badge/Free_Cloud-72_Curated-blueviolet?style=for-the-badge)](https://devshelf.ritualdev.in)

**Jump to Subcategory:**
[Authentication & Security](#authentication-security) • [Cloud Hosting & PaaS](#cloud-hosting-paas) • [Databases & BaaS](#databases-baas) • [Messaging & Queues](#messaging-queues) • [Observability & Analytics](#observability-analytics) • [Search & Discovery](#search-discovery) • [Self-Hosted Cloud & PaaS](#self-hosted-cloud-paas) • [Storage & Buckets](#storage-buckets) • [Transactional Email](#transactional-email)
Expand All @@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
| [**Casdoor**](https://casdoor.org) | `100% Free & Open Source Apache-2.0` | UI-first open-source Identity and Access Management (IAM) / Single-Sign-On (SSO) platform with web UI. | [Explore](https://casdoor.org) |
| [**Ory Kratos**](https://www.ory.sh/kratos) | `100% Free & Open Source Apache-2.0` | Cloud-native user management system and identity provider implementing login, registration, MFA, and social auth. | [Explore](https://www.ory.sh/kratos) |

### <a id="cloud-hosting-paas"></a>Cloud Hosting & PaaS (13)
### <a id="cloud-hosting-paas"></a>Cloud Hosting & PaaS (14)

| Service | Free Tier Allowance | Description | Links |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :---: |
Expand All @@ -46,6 +46,7 @@
| [**GitHub Pages**](https://pages.github.com) | `100% Free with 1GB repository size limit and 100GB bandwidth/mo` | Websites for you and your projects, hosted directly from your GitHub repository with automatic SSL. | [Explore](https://pages.github.com) |
| [**GitLab Pages**](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/pages) | `100% Free with custom domain support and Let's Encrypt SSL` | Publish static websites directly from any repository on GitLab with integrated CI/CD pipelines. | [Explore](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/pages) |
| [**Glitch**](https://glitch.com) | `Free public hosting with auto-sleep after inactivity` | Friendly community and instant web development environment where anyone can build, remix, and host full-stack apps. | [Explore](https://glitch.com) |
| [**deed.page**](https://deed.page) | `Free plan: 25 sites, 25 MB per site, 60 publishes/hour, 10 retained versions, 1 custom domain` | Static hosting built for AI agents and scripts: one HTTP PUT or the remote MCP server publishes an HTML file or folder to a permanent https://<slug>.deed.page URL, with no account or signup step. | [Explore](https://deed.page) |

### <a id="databases-baas"></a>Databases & BaaS (15)

Expand Down
8 changes: 8 additions & 0 deletions shelf/free-cloud.json
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -311,6 +311,14 @@
"freeTier": "Free public hosting with auto-sleep after inactivity",
"statusTags": ["No Card Required", "CI Verified"]
},
{
"name": "deed.page",
"url": "https://deed.page",
"category": "Cloud Hosting & PaaS",
"description": "Static hosting built for AI agents and scripts: one HTTP PUT or the remote MCP server publishes an HTML file or folder to a permanent https://<slug>.deed.page URL, with no account or signup step.",
"freeTier": "Free plan: 25 sites, 25 MB per site, 60 publishes/hour, 10 retained versions, 1 custom domain",
"statusTags": ["No Card Required"]
},
{
"name": "Aiven Free Tier",
"url": "https://aiven.io/free-plans",
Expand Down
2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion site/.well-known/llms.txt
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
# DevShelf: Free Developer Tools & Public APIs Directory

> Curated catalog of 542 verified free developer tools, public APIs, AI coding agents, and open-source alternatives with zero paywalls.
> Curated catalog of 543 verified free developer tools, public APIs, AI coding agents, and open-source alternatives with zero paywalls.

DevShelf is an open-source, community-driven developer resource ecosystem curated by RitualDev-Lab and developers worldwide. Every resource is manually verified to ensure a permanent free tier, open-source license, or generous allowance with no mandatory credit card or 14-day trial traps.

Expand Down
4 changes: 2 additions & 2 deletions site/api/v1/categories.json
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
{
"version": "1.1.2",
"updatedAt": "2026-10-24T02:04:55.740Z",
"updatedAt": "2026-10-24T16:19:38.664Z",
"totalCategories": 8,
"categories": [
{
Expand All @@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
{
"slug": "cloud",
"name": "Free Cloud & Databases",
"count": 71,
"count": 72,
"endpoint": "https://devshelf.ritualdev.in/api/v1/categories/cloud.json"
},
{
Expand Down
2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion site/api/v1/categories/ai.json
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
{
"version": "1.1.2",
"updatedAt": "2026-10-24T02:04:55.740Z",
"updatedAt": "2026-10-24T16:19:38.664Z",
"slug": "ai",
"name": "AI Agents & Local LLMs",
"count": 90,
Expand Down
2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion site/api/v1/categories/apis.json
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
{
"version": "1.1.2",
"updatedAt": "2026-10-24T02:04:55.740Z",
"updatedAt": "2026-10-24T16:19:38.664Z",
"slug": "apis",
"name": "Free Public APIs",
"count": 104,
Expand Down
2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion site/api/v1/categories/boilerplates.json
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
{
"version": "1.1.2",
"updatedAt": "2026-10-24T02:04:55.740Z",
"updatedAt": "2026-10-24T16:19:38.664Z",
"slug": "boilerplates",
"name": "1-Click Deploy Boilerplates",
"count": 41,
Expand Down
2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion site/api/v1/categories/cli.json
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
{
"version": "1.1.2",
"updatedAt": "2026-10-24T02:04:55.740Z",
"updatedAt": "2026-10-24T16:19:38.664Z",
"slug": "cli",
"name": "CLI & Developer Productivity",
"count": 121,
Expand Down
Loading
Loading