bits.1978.io
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Small tools,
given away.

bits is where the little pieces of 1978.io end up — the single-file utilities that were useful enough to keep, and small enough to give away. Every one is free and MIT. Read the docs, poke the live demo, then copy the file into your project and forget where it came from.

  • zero dependencies
  • no build step
  • no telemetry
  • MIT

The tools

  • Scry

    PHP

    Is this a real browser? Which browser, which OS, desktop or mobile? Scry answers those four questions and refuses to pretend it can answer more.

    • PHP 8.0+
    • single file
    • zero deps
    • MIT
    Docs & live demo → Detects the browser you are reading this in, server-side.

  • trace()

    JavaScript

    Put trace(); at the top of a function and it logs "Called: loadUser". Off by default, so it cannot ship noise to production.

    • JavaScript
    • ~30 lines
    • zero deps
    • MIT
    Docs & live demo → Flip tracing on and off in your browser, live.

  • More will land here as they get written.
    Watch github.com/1978io.

House rules

Everything published here follows the same handful of rules, because that is what makes a small tool worth taking:

  • One file if it can be. Copy it in, require or <script src> it, done. A package manager is offered where it makes sense, never required.
  • No dependencies. Nothing to audit, nothing to update, nothing to break in eighteen months.
  • Honest about scope. Each tool says plainly what it does not do, and points at the bigger library when that is the right answer.
  • MIT, genuinely. Take it, copy it, rename it, ship it. No attribution hoops, no "open core", no upsell.

The docs on each page are that tool's own README.md, rendered — so what you read here is what ships in the repo.