I’m building a browser-based image editor inside Algolassi — and it’s becoming more capable than I expected 😄
I originally started Algolassi as a place for developer tutorials and tools, but while building the Developer Tools section, I kept finding myself needing small image-editing utilities.
Instead of sending people to several different websites, I decided to try building an image editor directly into Algolassi.
It started very simply:
Upload an image
Crop it
Scale it
Rotate it
Remove a background
Compress it
Convert it to different formats
But then I started adding the little things that make an editor actually pleasant to use.
The current Image Tools editor has:
🖼️ Visual processing history
Every processed version is kept so you can go back and select previous versions.
✂️ Crop with draggable handles
The crop rectangle can be moved and resized directly on the image, with X/Y/width/height values available as well.
📍 Live pixel coordinates
Move the mouse over the image and the editor shows the actual image X/Y pixel position.
📋 Copy & Paste selections
Select a region, copy it, then paste it somewhere else in the same image.
The interesting part is the paste interaction: after pressing Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, the copied region becomes a semi-transparent floating preview that follows the mouse. You can move it around and place it where you want, or press Esc to cancel.
↶ Undo / Redo
I'm also working on proper editor history so operations can be stepped backward and forward with the buttons or Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y.
🧩 Layers
There is also a Layers mode for building compositions without immediately changing the original image.
📐 Scale preview
You can change dimensions and preview the result before creating a new version.
💾 Multiple output formats
The editor can work with PNG, JPG, WebP, AVIF, TIFF, ICO and other formats supported by the tool.
The whole thing runs in the browser, so the goal is to make it useful without requiring a desktop application for small editing jobs.
There are obviously much more powerful image editors out there. 😄
That's not really the point I'm trying to solve.
I'm interested in the space between “I just need to quickly modify this image” and “I need Photoshop.”
I’d love feedback from other indie hackers:
What is one small image-editing feature you use surprisingly often that most lightweight editors don't provide?
Algolassi:
https://algolassi.online/developer-tools/image-tools/
I'm continuing to build this in public, so feedback — especially criticism — is very welcome.
