Hi, I'm David Dias
Frontend engineer, open-source maintainer, and product builder.
I build developer tools, AI-assisted workflows, local-first apps, and practical resources through David Dias Digital.
I'm David Dias (he/him), a French-born š«š· Canadian šØš¦ with Portuguese šµš¹ heritage living in Toronto, Canada.
For 15+ years, I have worked across frontend architecture, accessibility, design systems, developer experience, and product engineering. My work tends to live where craft matters: interfaces people use repeatedly, tools developers depend on, and systems that need to stay understandable as they grow.
Proof Points
| Signal | What it shows |
|---|---|
| 100K+ GitHub stars | Long-running open-source work used by developers around the world |
| Front-End Checklist v2 | A frontend quality system with 385 rules, 11 categories, and MCP workflows for AI agents |
| Product studio output | Active work across web apps, macOS apps, iOS, developer tooling, docs, and content |
| Engineering range | TypeScript, React, Next.js, Swift, Tauri, Convex, accessibility, SEO, testing, and release systems |
Selected Work
| Project | What it is | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Front-End Checklist v2 | Open-source frontend quality system for humans and AI agents | Turns accessibility, performance, SEO, security, testing, privacy, and i18n practices into practical review workflows |
| Stackmatch | Developer discovery through real GitHub dependency fingerprints | Finds people and organizations who build with similar stacks instead of relying on bios, follower counts, or keyword search |
| llms.txt Hub | Directory for AI-ready documentation and llms.txt projects |
Helps developers and agents find documentation designed for AI-assisted work |
| UX Patterns for Developers | Practical UI pattern guidance for developers | Helps developers choose the right interface pattern before implementation quality review |
Product Studio
These are the current David Dias Digital builds I am putting real product energy into.
| Product | Status | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| MouseViz | Pre-launch | macOS mouse heatmaps, cursor trails, click analysis, session replay, and UX research workflows |
| Radarboard | Desktop beta | Local-first operating board for revenue, product analytics, reliability, releases, growth, and roadmap signals |
| Goshuin Atlas | Public | iOS app bridging Japanese temple traditions with modern technology |
| Goshuin.com | Public | Web companion for discovering temples and shrines in Japan |
Portfolio Map
| Area | Projects |
|---|---|
| Frontend quality and developer tools | Front-End Checklist, UX Patterns for Developers, Skill Check |
| AI and agent workflows | llms.txt Hub, AI vs Human, souls directory |
| Product operations and macOS | Radarboard, MouseViz |
| Culture and travel technology | Goshuin Atlas, Goshuin.com |
| Learning and independent work | Practical Guides Series, Indie Dev Toolkit, David Dias Digital, David Dias World |
How I Build
- Make quality operational. Good frontend work needs repeatable systems, not heroic cleanup at the end.
- Design for real workflows. I care about dense, useful interfaces that stay calm under repeated use.
- Respect accessibility, privacy, and maintainability. These are product decisions, not checkboxes.
- Build for humans and agents. Documentation, MCP surfaces, tests, and structured rules make software easier to inspect and improve.
Latest Content
From My Site
Medium Articles
- Iām Profiting From OpenClaw
- I Ditched My AI Agent Dashboard for Obsidian
- The llms.txt Guide You Need for Your Next Project
- Getting Started with llms.txt
- Beyond User Testing: Leveraging Frontend Experience
Connect
- Website: thedaviddias.com
- Product studio: daviddias.digital
- Newsletter: thedaviddias.substack.com
- YouTube: @thedaviddias
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thedaviddias
- X: ddias.link/x
"I like building products where frontend quality, accessibility, and developer experience are part of the foundation, not cleanup work at the end."