Project · Developer tools
DevDex: what it solved and how
A native macOS app that finds every project you have ever started and opens it straight into the right IDE.
The thinking
One decision worth defending
- 01
Problem
Months after you last touched a project, its folder name tells you nothing, and finding it means opening every IDE and scrolling its recent list.
- 02
Decision
Work out what each project is by reading its own manifest file, not by guessing from the folder name, and show both names.
- 03
Why it holds
A pubspec.yaml or package.json knows the real name and type. Folders with mixed signals show a primary type with a badge for the rest, so nothing is hidden by a silent guess.
What it includes
Built
- Folder scanning for Flutter, Node, TypeScript, Python, Rust, Go, Swift, Java, Ruby, PHP and plain git repos
- The real project name read from the manifest, next to the folder name
- One click to open a project in any IDE you have installed
- An Env Vault for .env files, locked behind Touch ID or your Mac password
- A native Windows port with the same scanning engine
When the data is messy, show the mess honestly. And paint from a cache first: an app that opens instantly feels better than one that is slightly more complete.
Keep going
