Awesome Developer First Overview

A curated list of awesome developer-first tools products.

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Awesome Developer-First

A curated list of awesome developer-first products.
(👀 Shameless plug) You might like unzip.dev (developer trends newsletter I created).
You can follow Agam and flo for more dev related content :)

The definition of developer-first for this repo is:

• Developers are the target audience.
• "Headless", "API-first", "SaaS" are frequently used keywords.
• Usually, this means that the front page has some code examples.
• Products - tools/services that people pay for.

+ 👀 Watch this repo to get notifications about new products we find

For the latest additions click here (⭐769).

Contents

• Analytics
• Authentication & Identity
• Automation
• Backend-as-a-Service
• CI/CD
• CMS (headless)
• Code Quality
• Computer Vision
• Databases & Spreadsheets
• Debugging
• Deployment Hosting
• Discussions
• Documentation
• Environment & Secret Management
• Feature Flags
• GEO
• IDE
• Infrastructure as Code
• Integrations
• Localization
• Mail
• Media
• Messaging
• Misc
• Monitoring
• Natural Language Processing
• Orchestration
• Payments & Pricing
• Repo
• Reports Generation
• Scraping
• Search
• Security
• Shipping
• Testing

Analytics

Track web/app visitors.

• Baremetrics - Subscription analytics for Stripe.
• Heap - Product analytics API for web and mobile, captures all events.
• Mixpanel - Product analytics and dashboards.
• Pirsch - Privacy-friendly web analytics with a backend integration and API.
• Plausible - Simple, privacy-friendly, and open-source web analytics tool.
• • PoeticMetric - Privacy-first, regulation-compliant, blazingly fast analytics tool.
• PostHog - Open-source product analytics platform.
• Segment - Collect user data and send it to your other tools.
• Tinybird - Real-time data streams to APIs.

Authentication & Identity

Products that handle authentication and user identity for you.

• Aserto - Cloud-native authorization for applications and APIs.
• Auth0 - Authentication & authorization as a service.
• AWS cognito - AWS's authentication as a service.
• BoxyHQ Enterprise SSO - Open-source API for enterprise SSO and Directory Sync.
• Clerk - Authentication and user management platform for React, React Native, and Next.js.
• Corbado - Passkey-first authentication as a service.
• Firebase Auth - Google Firebase's take on authentication.
• FusionAuth - Security-centric authentication as a Service, including self-hosting.
• Hanko - Passwordless (WebAuthn API) PSD2, eIDAS, and GDPR compliant.
• Kinde - Authentification and user management as a service.
• LoginRadius - Managed user authentication service with SSO.
• Magic.link - Passwordless (email-based) log in as a service.
• Okta - Embeddable authentication with SSO.
• Ory - Open-source identity & access-control solutions (also available as a service).
• Oso - Authorization framework (RBAC).
• Permit.io - Permissions and access-control as a service.
• SuperTokens - Open-source and hosted email & Oauth authentication with prebuilt UI.
• Userfront - Simplistic user authentication with pre-built back-office dashboard.
• WorkOS - Enterprise SSO and more out-of-the-box enterprise features.

Automation

Automate workflows via APIs and SDKs.

• Abstra - Python-based workflow engine for custom business processes.
• n8n - Free and source-available fair-code licensed workflow automation tool.
• Trigger.dev - Open-source platform to create workflows from APIs, on a schedule or on demand.

Backend-as-a-Service

Abstract away all the backend hassles with an out-of-the-box suite of backend solutions.

• Appwrite - End-to-end backend server for frontend and mobile developers.
• Supabase - Hosted and open source managed Postgres DB like Firebase.

CI/CD

Continuous Integration/Delivery.

• CircleCI - YML to configure your builds, parallel jobs, jobs marketplace.
• Depot - Drop-in replacement to build Docker images faster in CI.
• GitLab - Open-source CI and hosted solution with Github-like abilities.
• Gitpod - Automated cloud dev environments.
• Spacelift - CI/CD platform for infrastructure-as-code, currently supporting Terraform, Pulumi, AWS CloudFormation, and Kubernetes.

CMS (headless)

Backend only Content Management System, you decide on frontend and consume content via API.

• Contentful - CMS as an API.
• ElegantCMS - Headless CMS builder.
• Ghost - Blog platform, can be used as headless CMS (ex. with Hexo).
• Sanity - Headless CMS, treat content as data.
• Strapi - Open-source headless CMS, 100% JavaScript.

Code Quality

Check your code quality.

• Codacy - Automatic code quality checks.
• Sonar - Lint and code quality checks.

Computer Vision

Manipulate and detect visual data.

• Clarifai - Set of computer vision APIs.
• CloudSight - Digital media brand recognition.
• Google Vision AI - Google's AI vision APIs.
• Roboflow - Simplified computer vision model creation for developers.

Databases & Spreadsheets

Storing data and processing it.

• Airtable - Database and spreadsheet hybrid with an API.
• Apitable - API-oritented Airtable alternative.
• CrateDB - Distributed open-source SQL database for real-time analytics.
• Neuledge - Abstract ORM with a universal schema language for any kind of database.
• PlanetScale - Hosted managed MySQL database, CI integration & auto scaling.
• Upstash - Serverless tailored redis provider.

Debugging

Tools that help in tracking bugs.

• Lightrun - Debug production servers using a plugin in the IDE (on-prem or SaaS) that supports Java, Node.js, and Python.
• Linear - Issue tracking built for developers.
• Rookout - Debug production servers via a cloud-based debugger. Supporting Java, .Net, Node.js, Python, and Ruby.

Deployment Hosting

Products that help you deploy your app/website.

• Adaptable - Deploy apps and DBs via common templates.
• Cyclic.sh - Full stack app hosting (including dynamo db and s3).
• DeployBot - REST API to trigger deployments from GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket.
• Digital Ocean App Platform - Deploy and don't care about infrastructure, works with all major frameworks.
• Fly.io - Deploy dockerized full stack apps via a location-aware service (latency reduction).
• Heroku - Deploy via CLI to scalable servers.
• Kinsta - Deploy static sites, apps, and databases from GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket and host headless WordPress.
• Koyeb - Serverless platform for deploying full-stack apps and APIs in minutes.
• Netlify - Deploy JAMStack (mainly Gatsby) via CLI.
• Platform.sh - Continuously deploy full-stack apps.
• Qoddi - Git connected app hosting platform.
• Quix - One tool to build and run event streaming applications.
• Railway - Out-of-the-box git to deployment with auto scaling, DBs, secrets and rollbacks.
• Render - Deploy from git to a CDN with SSL.
• Vercel - Cloud platform for building and deploying serverless web applications, static websites, and Jamstack (mainly Next.js) projects.
• Zeabur - One click deployment for frontend, backend and databases services.

Discussions

Comments and forums.

• Bazaarvoice - Ratings, reviews as a service.
• Commento - Privacy centric embeddable comment system.
• MuutIo - Tools to create a community-driven app.
• Yotpo - Reviews ratings and Q&A as a service.

Documentation

Documentation solutions.

• Apidog - All-in-one API documentation tool, 1-click to generate API documentation from requests.
• Bump.sh - API documentation and change management solution.
• DeveloperHub - Collaborative developer documentation platform.
• Mintlify - AI powered code documentation, IDE extension (open source).
• ReadMe - Personalized and dynamic developer docs.
• Swimm - Docs that are coupled with your code, auto-synced, works with your IDE.

Environment & Secret Management

Manage environment variables and secrets for multiple apps or projects.

• 1Password Secrets Automation - Secrets management with integration to 1Password.
• Doppler - Environment variable management across projects, in one place.
• Envkey - Environment management with syncing mechanism for all apps.
• Ubiq - Encryption APIs wiht secret management.
• Vault - API driven secret key management.

Feature Flags

Control production features with conditional flags in your code.

• Flagsmith - Feature flags-as-a-service platform simplified.
• GrowthBook - Open-source feature flag and experimentation platform.
• LaunchDarkly - Feature flags-as-a-service platform.
• Split - Feature flags platform with data analytics.
• Unleash - Open-source, privacy-first, and enterprise-ready feature management solution.

GEO

Location services.

• Mapbox - Maps and locations products for devs.
• OpenCage - Forward and reverse geocoding API based on open data.
• PlaceKit - Locations search API.
• Radar - Geofencing and geo APIs.
• SmartyStreets - US Reverse Geocoding and Address Verification APIs.

IDE

Products that extend your IDE and help development.

• Codota - AI code completions for your IDE.
  • TabNine - Deep learning completion (part of codota).
• Fine - Build Software with AI Agents.
• Kite - AI assistant in your IDE (Python or JS).

Infrastructure as Code

Declare your infrastructure and reproducibly provision cloud infrastrucure from it.

• Pulumi - Developer-first IaC with Python, TypeScript, Go and more languages...
• Terraform - DSL, open-source and free (paid solution adds team management, policy-as-code...).

Integrations

Integration management systems or products that ease integration development.

• Apideck - Integration marketplace builder, one-API with 3rd parties for quick development.
• Panora - Easy, flexible API to add customer-facing integrations to your SaaS product.
• Revert - Open-source unified API to build B2B product integrations.
• Sequin - Interface with third-party services using SQL.
• Vessel - Developer-first, native integration platform for GTM tools.
• YepCode - Build and run serverless functions with the best development experience.

Localization

Translating your product (also denoted i18n).

• Localazy - App translation built for developers.
• Tolgee - Developer & translator friendly web-based localization platform.

Mail

Sending emails as a service.

• Anymail finder - Verify and find email APIs.
• FormSpree - Receive form submissions by email.
• Hunter.io - Email lead and validation APIs.
• Imitate Email - End-to-end email testing tool.
• Lob - Email and address verification.
• Loops - REST API to manage contact properties, send events and transactional emails.
• Mailgun - Send, track, and receive emails.
• Resend - Email API to build, test, and deliver transactional emails.
• Sendgrid - Email API.

Media

Media APIs (optimization, CDN).

• APITemplate.io - APIs to generate images and PDFs from reusable templates.
• Cloudinary - Optimize, create, manage, and deliver images and videos.
• Dyte - Build powerful live experiences in your product with an all-in-one Video SDK.
• Flatfile - Programmatically import data from files so it's API-ready.
• ImageKit - Automate image optimization, transformation, and delivery.
• imgix - Transforms, optimizes, and cache images.
• Mux - APIs to upload, manage, and stream video.
• Pintura - A fully configurable JavaScript image editor SDK.

Messaging

Messaging APIs - SMS, notifications, chats, and VoIP.

• Ably - Pub/sub, real-time messaging, notifications, chat, multiplayer and data synchronization.
• Applozic - Chat SDKs, real-time messaging.
• Knock - Notifications as a service.
• MagicBell - Real-time notification system with API & UI components.
• Novu - Open-source notification (Email, SMS, Direct, and Push) management.
• Stream - Feed and chat as a service.
• Twilio - SMS, push notifications, and VoIP APIs.
• Vonage - Video, SMS, chat, and voice APIs.

Misc

Different products that probably don't have a category.

• Actyx - Developer-first factory building.
• Defer - Serverless Node.js background jobs.
• Interval - SDK to build internal tools and scripts for your product.
• ngrok - Generate public URLs for internal servers (behind NAT/firewall).
• Nylas - APIs for productivity workflows (email, calendar, contacts...) - like plaid for productivity.
• Plain - API-first customer service platform (support, feedback, rating widgets...).
• Volta - Fast, elegant GitHub desktop and web app.

Monitoring

Monitoring your production application.

• Airbrake - Error monitoring in production.
• Better Stack - Uptime monitoring, incident management, and status pages.
• Highlight.io - Full-stack monitoring platform.
• KeenIO - Event streaming platform.
• LogRocket - Replay bugs users had.
• Rollbar - Reports errors in production.
• Sentry - Application monitoring for bugs and performance.

Natural Language Processing

Interactions with natural language.

• CometLLM (⭐421) - UI to log, visualize, and search prompts, prompt templates, prompt variables, and chains.
• DialogFlow - Voice/text chatbot framework by Google.

Orchestration

Orchestration tools for (micro) services.

• Abstra - Python-based workflow engine for custom business processes.
• AWS Step Functions - Visual workflow service to build distributed applications and automate processes
• Camunda- Platform - Workflow engine that delivers scalable, on-demand process automation.

Payments & Pricing

Handling payments, credit card processing, and invoices.

• Braintree - Paypal's take on API-first payments.
• Increase - Bare-metal banking APIs.
• LemonSqueezy - SaaS payments - covers more countries and takes care of VAT Tax.
• OpenMeter - Open-source usage metering for billing and chargeback.
• Paddle - Revenue delivery platform for SaaS with broad geographical support (unlike stripe at the moment).
• Plaid - Accept, send ACH (bank transfers) and get bank information.
• Stigg - API-first pricing plans.
• Stripe Payments - Accept payments and move money globally with APIs.

Repo

Repository and artifacts management.

• Artifactory - Create your own package repository.
• Cloudsmith - Cloud-native private package management.

Reports Generation

Generating reports, mainly PDFs.

• Carbone - JSON into PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, ODS... API.
• DocRaptor - HTML to PDF API built specifically for Paged Media using the Prince PDF library.
• Export SDK - PDF generator API with visual template editor.
• Image-Charts - Chart as Image API for reports, PDFs and more.
• PDFBlade - HTML to PDF API usage based pricing.

Scraping

Fetching data from websites not via an intended API.

• Apify - Turn websites to an API.
• browserless - Browser automation deployed to the could.
• Crawlbase - Scrape hard-to-scrape websites with proxies.
• ScrapingANT - Scrape with headless chrome.
• ScrapingBee - Using headless browsers and proxies to scrape without being blocked.
• SearchApi - Real-time Google SERP API.
• SerpApi - Real-time search engine scraping API.

Search

Index and search your content as a service API.

• Algolia - Search as a service and full suite of search APIs.
• Meilisearch - Open-source, fast and relevant search engine.
• Swiftype - Search as a service (crawlers and React ready).
• Typesense Cloud - Open-source and hosted search as a Service.
• Websolr - Open-source and hosted search with Solr.

Security

Products that secure your codebase.

• Bearer - Static application security testing (SAST) tool for JavaScript and Ruby stacks.
• GitGuardian - Real-time GitHub activity scanner.
• Infisical - Open-source, end-to-end encrypted secrets manager.
• Snyk - Vulnerability scanner for code, dependencies, containers, and infrastructure as code.
• Socket - Detect and block open-source supply chain attacks.

Shipping

Creating and handling the shipment of goods.

• EasyPost - Shipping APIs for e-commerce.

Testing

Testing tools.

• Apidog - GUI tool for API mocking, testing (scenario testing, functional testing, performance testing, etc.).
• Applitools - Automated visual testing.
• Beeceptor - REST API mocking.
• Blackfire.io - Performance testing.
• Chromatic - Visual UI testing for storybook.
• Ddosify - Distributed Performance Testing Platform.
• Firecamp - DX first open-source API dev tool alternative to Postman.
• Loadmill - Generate tests from user behavior.
• Octomind - Auto-generated, run and maintained Playwright UI tests with AI-assisted test case discovery.
• Percy - Continuous visual testing.
• Testim - Frontend testing.

Contributing

See here: CONTRIBUTING.md (⭐769)