👋 Hi there, I'm cronw.hg (huanguan1978)

I am a software developer with nearly 20 years of experience. For most of my career, I’ve worked behind the scenes building enterprise-grade systems: customizing internal management software, designing backend APIs in PHP and Python, crafting web frontends, and managing Linux servers and MySQL databases.

While building systems in an era where "everything must connect to the cloud and data must be centralized," I began to question something fundamental: In a world of constant connectivity and aggressive telemetry, where do our personal privacy boundaries actually lie?

I decided to make a change. Two years ago, I transitioned into an indie developer role. I chose to channel my experience into writing clean, local-first software that truly belongs to the user.

Every tool I build is guided by three strict principles:

• 🔒 Privacy-First: Your data stays on your local device. Zero telemetry, no background tracking, and no hidden uploads.

• 🚫 Zero Distractions: No registration required, no ads, and no trackers. Just pure utility.

• ⚡ Lightweight & Efficient: No bloat. Minimal system footprint, designed purely for high performance.

📦 My "Privacy & Productivity" Toolbox

Whether you are on macOS, Windows, or Linux, you can easily install my tools via my 👉 Cross-Platform Homebrew Tap:

🖥️ Desktop GUI Applications

• 🤖 gai: A local-first, privacy-focused minimalist generative AI workbench. Designed specifically for beginners, it features a clean interface with absolutely no presets (no forced system prompts or rigid workflows), allowing complete freedom in parameter tuning. Guided by the built-in documentation, it encourages a "learning-by-doing" approach, helping newcomers quickly grasp the fundamentals of LLMs.

• 📂 fileshows: A visual file search and batch processing utility. It enables precise visual searches using glob patterns and metadata (size, mtime, MIME type), and allows batch processing of results—including incremental mirroring, archiving, deduplication, cleanup, and secure shredding. It also supports loading YAML configs (shared seamlessly with ft) to automate recurring tasks on a schedule.

• 🔒 chabox: An offline secure file vault powered by the ChaCha20-Poly1305 encryption algorithm. It provides an intuitive GUI with one-click encryption/decryption, alongside features like a private secure diary and file shredding (via multiple random overwrites) to permanently protect your sensitive data.

⚙️ Command-Line Interface (CLI) Tools

• ⚡ ft (filetools): A high-performance batch file processing tool for developers and power users. By writing intuitive YAML configuration files, you can easily build and automate cross-platform file workflows.

• 🔑 chapose: A lightweight file encryption utility sharing the same ChaCha20-Poly1305 encryption mechanism as chabox. Minimalist and highly efficient, it is explicitly designed for integration into scripts and automation pipelines.

💻 Green Development: Coding on a 10+ Year-Old Machine

My primary development and testing machine is an 11-year-old laptop (a 2015 MacBook Pro). I intentionally daily-drive this aging hardware for two key reasons:

Performance by Constraint: On resource-constrained older hardware, any inefficiency is instantly exposed. If my software runs smoothly here, it will absolutely fly on your modern machine.

Sustainability: By optimizing software to run well on legacy systems, I hope to encourage people to keep using the hardware they already own—extending device lifespans and reducing e-waste.

☕ Why I Need Your Support

As an indie developer without venture backing or ad revenue, keeping these projects alive comes with real, physical challenges:

• The Apple Compilation Barrier: While I love optimizing for older systems, macOS and modern developer toolchains (like Xcode) have strict OS requirements. My 2015 Mac can no longer run the latest OS version required to build and publish apps to the Mac App Store. I hope to raise enough funds to purchase a newer (even second-hand) Mac that supports the latest development environment, allowing me to bring these native utilities to Mac App Store users.

• Infrastructure Costs: Covering the baseline costs for documentation servers, website bandwidth, and annual app store developer fees.

If any of my tools have improved your workflow, or if you believe in my "privacy-first, local-first" software philosophy, please consider buying me a coffee.

Every single coffee keeps me motivated to continue building clean, honest software. Thank you so much for your support! ❤️