Projects, Tools & Experiments
The CyganLabs workbench: live utilities, self-hosted services, media workflows, and experiments with enough real use behind them to be worth documenting.
This page collects the things built, hosted, or maintained around CyganLabs. Some are public tools you can use immediately. Some are project writeups for systems that run behind the scenes. Some are intentionally odd experiments that make a point better by being a little strange.
If you need a utility right now, start with SimpleQR or the Tools shelf. If you want the broader map of what this site is for, start with Start Here.
Featured builds
These are the core projects: systems built or integrated deeply enough to solve a recurring problem, test an idea under real use, or keep part of the CyganLabs stack visible.
DriftLoom
DriftLoom is an AI creativity experiment: a stream of generated writing and imagery running on a steady cadence. The point is not just the output; it is what changes when an automated creative system has to keep a mood over time instead of winning one polished demo.
Read the DriftLoom project page →
Visit DriftLoom →
SimpleQR
SimpleQR is the quiet QR generator: no account, no tracking redirect, no subscription wall, and no attempt to turn a quick utility into a marketing platform. Paste the URL, get the code, leave with the thing you needed.
Read the SimpleQR project page →
Open SimpleQR →
Banano Node Monitor
Banano Node Monitor tracks the health and connectivity of the GypsyBanode node. It is a small observability project for a niche network, built around a simple idea: a clear dashboard is better than guessing whether something important is still alive.
Read the Banano Node Monitor project page →
View Banano Node Monitor →
Plex Requests
Plex Requests is the private intake path for media-server requests. It keeps the request workflow out of scattered text threads and gives the media stack a clearer front door. It is private by design; curation is still a conversation, not a public signup queue.
Read the Plex Requests project page →
Open Plex Requests →
Tools and hosted utilities
The smaller utilities live mostly on the Tools page. This section points to the ones that also explain the CyganLabs bias: narrow tools, clear boundaries, and as little ceremony as possible.
Markdown Cleaner
Markdown Cleaner strips invisible formatting, entity encoding, and copy-paste debris from rough text. It is useful around AI drafts, documents, copied web text, and anything else that brings formatting baggage along for the ride.
Open Markdown Cleaner →
Browse the full Tools page →
Link Cleaner
Link Cleaner removes common tracking parameters such as UTM tags, click IDs, campaign leftovers, and other URL clutter before a link gets shared somewhere else.
Heading Outline Checker
Heading Outline Checker catches skipped levels and messy heading structure before a page gets published, copied, or handed to someone else to make sense of.
Open Heading Outline Checker →
ShittyQR
ShittyQR is the deliberately bad sibling of SimpleQR: a functional QR generator wrapped in a parody of web bloat. The output works. The joke is the interface.
Read the ShittyQR project page →
Visit ShittyQR →
CyberChef
I did not build CyberChef, but I host a copy because it remains one of the most useful tools for decoding, transforming, inspecting, and cleaning up data without writing a script first.
Plex and media workflows
Plex and media-server help remain one of the most-used parts of CyganLabs. If you are here because playback quality, remote streaming, or device settings are misbehaving, start with the Plex hub.
Plex Help & Guides →
Practical advice for playback quality, device-specific settings, and the everyday work of making smart devices behave.
How the workbench fits together
The projects are varied, but the pattern is consistent: build useful things, keep their boundaries clear, and document what happens when they meet real use.
- Self-Hosting is the engine room: how the servers are built, maintained, exposed, and recovered.
- AI & Agents is where tool use, automation, permissions, and human review get tested against real workflows.
- Systems & Ops is the discipline: reliability, access boundaries, monitoring, and recovery.
- The Blog is the field-note layer: what changed, what broke, what worked, and what is worth thinking about next.
Best next step
If you need something useful immediately, open SimpleQR, use the Markdown Cleaner, or browse the full Tools shelf. If you are trying to understand the broader CyganLabs stack, go next to Self-Hosting, Systems & Ops, or Start Here.