DevLog: KBYTE Wasn't Supposed to Be a Product

Funny thing happened this week: a side project I built purely for myself started looking like a product. Ended up becoming one.

KBYTE lived at its own private domain, running a real C# backend that talks to a real database, nothing fake about it. I built it to track my own portfolio (currencies, funds, equities). It was never meant for anyone but me.

Truth is, I'd been looking for something like this since high school. Never found an app that was simple, easy to log into, and actually readable. I even paid for a couple apps over the years and refunded every single one. Earlier this year, before KBYTE, there was a Google Sheet, which did the job, sure. I even vibecoded some Google Script language? (that's the name I was blanking on) so I didn't have to log everything by hand. Still wasn't that convenient, mobile access was meh, sync worked but only after signing into a Google account every time. Eventually I just got tired of shopping for the right app and built the one I'd actually use.

And I do use it. It's not going to change the world or make me a millionaire, but it's simple, and it actually makes you sit with your life choices, mostly on the Banks page. I've got six separate credit cards, each with its own payment date, and there was no way I was going to keep switching apps just to remember how deep in debt I was every three days. Now, after every purchase (mostly White Monsters, if we're being honest), it's FaceID → browser → "ekle" and it's logged. It knows exactly where to file it and when to remind you of your poor choices.

I promise to be more responsible, Banks.

While working on it I kept noticing it was already doing the things a "real" product needs to do, and I hadn't planned for any of that on purpose. So this week I shipped a standalone demo — a client-side version that fakes the backend with seed data, so anyone can click around and get the actual feel of the app without touching my real, private instance. That's now live and linked from the portfolio section. -> kbyte.ancoesat.dev

On the site side: I added a gallery view for images that works contextually on any page. Click an image, it opens properly, instead of sending you to the SOURCE on a new tab. And, related to what you're reading right now; the blog itself went live this week. Admin login, a posting page, image uploads, the works. This post is the first thing published through it.

I was just trying to stop tracking my finances in a spreadsheet. Now I've got a live demo, a new backend feature, and a blog to write about both. That's usually how the good stuff happens; not planned, just noticed in time.

More soon.
-Anco, 20.09.2026 02:55