Having fun making mini static site apps
I've been having a blast making multiple mini apps that run in the browser. I've been trying to see how far I can go without having a backend and relying on other services. I wrote these for fun and wanted to know what folks think.
Having fun making mini static site apps launched on June 1, 2026 with 10 votes, #1,316 of 22,647 launches that month and more than 90% of that year's launches.
In plain words
This is a collection of browser-based mini apps built without a backend, instead leveraging external services to handle functionality. The apps are designed for anyone interested in lightweight, client-side web applications. What stands out is the creator's exploration of how far static site applications can go while eliminating server infrastructure, making these tools accessible examples of modern frontend development constraints and possibilities.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
Heyming OS is a browser desktop with 50+ built-in apps — DOOM, NES, 3D Pac-Man, StepMania, a Wordle solver, a web terminal, a notepad, a paint app, and more. No install, no signup. Launches in a tab.
A browser desktop with windows, a taskbar, a virtual filesystem, and 50+ built-in apps. Games, tools, and experiences. No install. No signup. A few apps to start with if you've never used Heyming OS before. Click any app to launch it standalone. Or open them all together in the OS. Play DOOM, 3D Pac-Man, classic NES games, StepMania, and Minesweeper right in your browser. Solve today's Wordle, run a web terminal, or spell your name with periodic table elements. Built by Joe Heyming, UI Engineer at Roblox. I'm Joe Heyming, a UI Engineer at Roblox based in Campbell, CA. This domain is a long-running playground for browser-side experiments — a Wordle solver, a NES emulator, a web terminal, a…from joeheyming.github.io
Does a similar job
all alternatives →

- IMI made a tiny app generator for myself, maybe you will find it useful2019 · ▲5
Hi, Sometimes I want to wrap an existing website into an Android app quickly so I made a service that does just that https://html2apk.com/ If you find it useful I'll be happy to hear about that, if you have any other comments/suggestions I'll be happy to hear about that too. 10x, Gilad
- LALaunch a static website in under 30 seconds2025 · orbiter.host · ▲9
Happy New Year HN! I’m the co-creator of Orbiter, a dead simple tool for uploading and hosting static sites. We built Orbiter for ourselves and realized it would probably be useful for others. Static site content is some of the simplest on the web, yet hosting this content has gotten increasingly complex over time. Many of you are engineers and don’t have much problem with CI/CD pipelines as a mechanism for deploying a website. This is true for me as well. But there are times when I want to just upload a simple website. I might not even want to put it under source control. And I know…
An HTML endless runner under 900 lines without frameworks or libraries2022 · github.com · ▲16My wife and I recently submitted to a mobile game jam on Newgrounds (yes, it's still around). What started as a question of whether we could do it somehow morphed into whether we could do without so many of the seemingly needless complications rampant in our respective industries. My wife thus did all the art as traditional frame-by-frame animation (no puppets or tweening) and I preceded without a game engine. I did use a pre-processor that gives JS a Lisp syntax (Parenscript), because C-syntax is gross. We hope the end result, while definitely of small scope, will serve to inspire some…
Simple headless, serverless, static, git-based CMS2024 · github.com · ▲5I couldn't find a CMS that met all my needs, so I built this prototype. It works for my purposes. I'm curious if anyone else finds it interesting or useful. If there's enough interest, I may continue working on it. Feedback welcome!
More life & fun this month
the category →
A free city-building game in your browser. You are the mayor. You know what the city needs. Now get it past the zoning board, the neighbors, the appeals court and the next election.
Life & fun · 1d ago · permit.petercai.com
- IV
Life & fun · 13d ago · tanzaniaeducationproject.org

Turn a phone, tablet or TV into a sign. Type a message and it fills the screen: welcome signs, timers, Wi-Fi passwords and more. No app, no account, free.
Life & fun · 14d ago · bigwords.page

Play a free virtual guitar online with your keyboard or by touch. Slow songs down and see every chord, string and strum. Acoustic, classic, electric and bass.
Life & fun · 8d ago · guitoro.com

Carrier settings from iPhone, Pixel and Galaxy firmware, decoded and compared: APNs, VoLTE, 5G and Wi-Fi Calling per carrier, and what each build changed.
Life & fun · 12d ago · carrierexplode.com

Life & fun · 22d ago · space.bl2.net
Source: Show HN post ↗
Launched alongside, June 2026
the whole month →
Fundraisly▲1,537AI fundraising agent that finds investors and books meetings
AI · Jun 2026 · fundraisly.com
Homebrew 6.0.0▲1,481Today, I’m proud to announce Homebrew 6.0.0. The most significant changes since 5.1.0 are a new tap trust security mechanism, the new faster, smaller, default internal Homebrew JSON API, sandboxing on Linux, better defaults informed by our user survey, many brew bundle improvements, improved performance and initial support for macOS 27 (Golden Gate). Happy to discuss any questions here!
Dev tools · Jun 2026 · brew.sh

Hi HN! I was super frustrated at apps like tiktok and wechat preventing me from saving or downloading the animated gifs, so I made a little tool to turn a screen recording into a slack-sized emoji. Hope you get some value from this!
Life & fun · Jun 2026 · vorpus.github.io



Search 18 years of Hacker News and chart how any topic, tool, or person trended. Overlay terms to compare their rise and fall across 45M posts and comments.
Life & fun · Jun 2026 · hackernewstrends.com