Joe Santos
Software engineer
Software engineer

I’ve been using Node.js already for some time. Used it extensively when I was at BABOOM (you may check more about this project here) building tools like the translation manager or with the frontend build system. As open source, I’ve built a MrCrowley and a node png to css. My build systems are all in Node.js. They can be webpack, require.js or simple grunt.js tasks but in the end all is Node.js.
A love has grown inside of me for Node.js and now I think that finally I’m getting good with it!

Update: Nowadays, I find Go a better language and since then I’ve been slowly converting my tools to that.


I’ve built two more tools with it. Secret friend and a pomodoro timer.
Why did I built these tools? Simple answer, because it is very easy to build tools with Node.js!


Secret friend

Secret friend screenshot

Christmas brings gift giving and such. My family likes to use secret friend method. We were about to write little papers with names on it when I remembered: “Wait a minute… I could do this easily with node.js!”. Built the tool in less than an hour with its interface. People went to the computer one by one getting their name and that was it. Of course that making the little papers would take less than a hour but where would be the fun in that?


Pomodoro timer

Pomodoro timer screenshot

I started having some back pain problems some time ago. One of the solutions I’ve found for this issue was to set a pomodoro timer. Researched for applications done for that purpose. Found some interesting ones but once again asked myself “This is pretty easy to build. Why don’t I do it? I can save some money and build something cool to add to my open source tools.”. Spent some time doing it to have the breaks and a neat interface with time bars and such and now I’ve been using it everyday! I’m not kidding, I’m using a tool I’ve built in like a day every single day! Every 30 minutes I get up stretch and when the break time tells me to get back to work I say “yes sir!”.


I’ll keep building stuff with node.js. Fun, easy and fast. Why shouldn’t I? Experimenting more and more with electron.js and maybe it won’t be that much long for me to release some application built with it.

Update: I don’t think this will happen in a nearby future. An article is coming out with the whys.