PHP developer · Exeter, UK

I write PHP for a living.
Now I ship native apps with Claude.

Twenty years of web development, a day job running IT for an e-commerce group, and a growing shelf of Mac and iPhone apps I'd never have had time to build alone.

See what I've built github.com/dsteer21

Things I've built

Mac tools I use every day at work, two of them free and open source, and a puzzle game just for fun.

macOS app

MysqlDesk

Your databases. One fast window.

A native MySQL client for macOS. Every server in one sidebar, queries in tabs that can each point at any server, and result edits and deletes previewed as real UPDATE and DELETE statements before anything is saved.

  • Passwords kept in the macOS Keychain
  • Edit or delete rows, then review the exact SQL in one transaction
  • Run All shows every result at once, up to 10
  • ⌘B column search for tables with hundreds of columns
  • Swift
  • SwiftUI
  • MySQL 5.7–8.4
  • MariaDB
Download for Mac Read more Source
MysqlDesk: Query tabs

macOS app

GitDesk

Git, at a glance. Every repo, one click.

A 2 MB native Git client for macOS. A colour-coded commit graph, Pull All across every repository in parallel (fast-forward only, so no surprise merge commits) and squash-before-you-push.

  • Pull every repo at once, in parallel
  • Amend and push safely with --force-with-lease
  • ⌘P to commit and push, run actions or switch repos and branches
  • Stage, diff, stash and .gitignore from a right-click
  • Swift
  • SwiftUI
  • git
Download for Mac Read more Source
GitDesk: Commit graph

macOS app

MdDesk

Markdown, the way it should read.

A native Markdown viewer and editor for macOS. It shows .md files as clean, readable pages instead of a screen of symbols, with the source and a live split preview one keystroke away.

  • Preview, Editor or Split, with ⌘E to flip between reading and editing
  • Choose the font, then resize everything together with ⌘+ and ⌘−
  • Drop files on the window or the Dock icon to open them in tabs
  • Outline sidebar, live reload and GitHub Flavored Markdown
  • Swift
  • SwiftUI
  • WebKit
  • cmark-gfm
Coming soon to the Mac App Store Read more
MdDesk: Preview

macOS app

JsonDesk

JSON, laid out so you can read it.

A native JSON viewer and editor for macOS. Drop a file on it or paste some JSON, and it is shown as a clean, colour-coded tree next to the text, ready to read, filter, edit and save.

  • Drop files on the window or the Dock icon, or press ⌘V to open the clipboard
  • Edit in the text or the tree, with one undo history for both
  • Errors given with the line, the column and a plain reason
  • Beautify and Minify without changing a character of your data
  • Swift
  • SwiftUI
  • AppKit
Coming soon to the Mac App Store Read more
JsonDesk: Text and tree

iPhone & iPad game

PopDoku

Pop-star logic puzzles.

A relaxing logic puzzle with a sparkly pop twist. Find one outfit in every row, column and colour zone, with no two touching. Every level has a new look, and every puzzle has exactly one solution.

  • Endless levels, from 5×5 up to 9×9
  • Every puzzle generated and checked for a single solution
  • Ten colour themes and a music fact for every win
  • Sounds synthesised in Python, so no licensing
  • Swift
  • SwiftUI
  • CoreGraphics
  • StoreKit 2
Download on the App Store
PopDoku: Home

PHP × Claude

I'm a PHP developer at heart: MySQL, REST APIs and e-commerce back ends. Claude is how that experience turned into Swift apps.

01

Start from a real itch

MysqlDesk and GitDesk exist because I wanted faster tools for my own day job. Knowing the problem inside out matters more than knowing the language.

02

Pair, don't paste

I describe the behaviour, Claude Code writes the Swift, and I review every change the way I'd review a colleague's pull request.

03

Test like it's production

A preview before every database write, fast-forward-only pulls, a solver that proves each puzzle has one answer. The safety nets come first.

04

Ship it, then share it

Everything ends up on GitHub or the App Store. Small, native and free where I can make it so.

Motorcycle forum · Est. 2004

South West Bikers

The UK forum for bikers in the South West.

Away from the apps, I run South West Bikers. It has been bringing riders from across the South West together since 2004, for ride outs, track days, meets and a lot of talk about bikes. It runs on phpBB, so there is PHP under this one too.

  • 6,000+ members
  • 280,000+ posts
  • 24,000+ topics
  • Ride outs and meets across the South West
  • Track days, including the yearly trip to Llandow
  • Mechanical help, how-tos and reviews
  • For sale, wants and swaps
Visit southwestbikers.com
Dave Steer on GitHub

On GitHub

@dsteer21 · Exeter, UK

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